The top 5 longest motor yachts in the world
By Lutz Deckwerth
The history of seafaring possibly dates back more than 120,000 years. Simple watercrafts are said to have existed during the Middle Palaeolithic period, but the first evidence can only be found around 20,000 BC: bone harpoons and fishhooks. Around 7000 B.C., people began to build watercraft for the first time, with which they could also sail the high seas. Around 800 BC, Greeks, Phoenicians and Persians developed the first galleys and the first pirates appeared around 100 BC. Almost a thousand years later, the Vikings became an important war- and seafaring people.
The development from steamboat to the first motor yacht
The galley was followed by the caravel and galleons, but it was not until several hundred years later that a Frenchman built the first functioning steamboat in 1783. It was the first boat in history that was not powered by manpower and wind. The age of tall ships and steamboats dawned. There were still several decades to go until the technical transition from sailing ship to steamship.
Around 1885, the two Germans Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach came up with the idea of constructing a petrol engine and testing it on water. The motor-driven boat was born. Ten years earlier, the 24-year-old Friedrich Lürssen founded his shipyard in Bremen-Vegesack on the Weser. He worked together with Daimler and concentrated on getting the “Rems”, one of the first motorboats ever on the water. At the beginning of the 20th century the focus was on racing boats, later on naval shipbuilding and at the end of the 1980s, yacht building.
The top 5 longest motor yachts in the world
The Lürssen shipyard in Bremen can now look back on almost 145 years of shipbuilding history. With locations throughout northern Germany, it is one of the market leaders in yacht building today. Since its founding, the shipyard has produced more than 13,000 boats and ships. In addition to milestones of gigantism on the world’s oceans such as “Rising Sun”, “Topaz” or “Azzam”, Lürssen delivered a total of around one third of the world’s largest motor yachts and is now considered by its owners to be the primary address for 100-metre-plus designs.
Since the takeover of the long-established Hamburg company Blohm + Voss in autumn 2016, the Lürssen Group has been represented three times in the list of the longest motor yachts in the world. Large, luxury yachts are the domain of the super-rich. Russian, American and Arab billionaires are especially involved in the race for the longest yacht.
5: On May 12, 2016, Lürssen delivered the 156-metre yacht, Dilbar – the world’s largest motor yacht in terms of gross tonnage. Without a doubt Dilbar is one of the most complex and demanding yachts built according to dimensions and technology. With a gross tonnage of 15,917 tonnes, Dilbar offers spaces never before seen on a yacht. Its indoor swimming pool offers an impressive 180 cubic metres of water and is the largest swimming pool built on a yacht.
Its 30,000 kilowatt diesel-electric power plant is the largest installed on a yacht and allows it to operate at a continuous speed of 22.5 knots. Peter Lürssen, fourth generation shipyard owner, said in June 2016: “Dilbar is a proud example of the range of sizes that Lürssen can build and our order book currently includes several yachts over 70 metres in length. The Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov paid around 263 million dollars for his yacht “Dilbar”.
4. The mega yacht Dubai is owned by Sheikh Muhammad bin Raschid Al Maktum, the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai. The 162 metre long yacht was commissioned in 1995. Originally it was built in cooperation with the German shipyards Blohm + Voss and Lürssen. In 1997, however, the construction contract was stopped by the client and went to the new owner Muhammad bin Raschid Al Maktum in 2001.
The equipment includes a landing site for helicopters up to a maximum of 9.5 tonnes. There is a swimming pool on deck. The yacht is divided into eight decks and can accommodate up to 88 crew members and 115 guests. The four MTU 20V diesel engines each have an output of 6,301 kilowatts and accelerate the ship to up to 26 knots.
3: The 163-metre Eclipse is the yacht of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. It was completed by the Hamburg shipyard Blohm + Voss in the autumn of 2010. On a total of nine decks there is a 16-metre pool, a discotheque, a cinema, as well as 20 jet skis and four motorboats on board. And of course there are also two helicopter landing pads – one of which can be lowered into a hangar. There will also be a submarine and a missile defence system on board.
The ship offers space for 24 guests and their 70 servants. The engine power is 29,600 kilowatts, the speed is 25 knots.
2: The Fulk Al Salamah, with a length of 164 metres, follows in second place among the largest motor yachts in the world. The eight-decker of superlatives was commissioned by the Sultan of Oman and built at the Mariotti shipyard in Genoa. It was launched in the summer of 2016. In addition to other standard amenities of this class, such as on-board helicopters, pools and sports facilities, this super yacht also has a concert hall. The hull is home to numerous showpieces from the ruling family’s collection of automobiles. Information about engine power and speed is not published anywhere. The owner is the Sultan Qaboos of Oman.
1: With a length of 180 metres, the Azzam is currently the longest mega yacht in the world. The owner is Prinz al-Walid ibn Talal Al Saud from Saudi Arabia. The flagship of the Lürssen shipyard left the dock on 5 April 2013. The ship has seven decks, a helipad and can sail over 30 knots. A combination of 2 gas turbines and 2 diesel engines with a total of 94000 hp drives the ship. The construction time is also a record. Peter Lürssen, managing partner of Lürssen, proudly said in April 2013: “If it is delivered later this year, it will only be under construction for three years after one year of engineering. It really is another milestone in our history, but also in the history of yacht construction.”
The new longest motor yacht comes from Norway
With the 183 metre Espen-Øino design Project REV, a new superlative is being created at Vard in Norway. Behind this mega project is the commercial shipbuilder VARD. The ship will be used by researchers and marine experts to study the environmental changes of the ocean. The REV will be equipped with a range of environmentally friendly and sustainable energy solutions. In addition to the slender hull line to reduce fuel consumption, an energy recovery rudder system and a battery pack with an exhaust gas purification system are located below the waterline. When it is completed in 2020, it will not only break records, but will also set environmental standards.