Our sister magazine BOOTE EXCLUSIV has just published its ranking of the 200 largest motor yachts in the world. We reveal the top 20 and their history! The list features fewer new entries than in previous years, but is packed with more exciting background stories than ever before.
The largest motor yachts in the world:
The superyacht industry is prospering, and the volume of orders placed with shipyards is higher than ever before. Nevertheless, the number of new entries is declining. At 23 yachts, the increase in the 200 longest yachts is seven fewer than two years ago. However, the reduction relates to the top 100, with deliveries behind them remaining constant at eleven. This must be taken into account: The large-format motor yachts we are dealing with here are generally based on four-year planning and construction phases.
The reasons are complex and far-reaching. Two developments are particularly affecting the shipyards: firstly, the pandemic-related delays due to stretched supply chains, which have apparently set back Abeking & Rasmussen's gigaproject 6507 and Lürssen's 90-metre-long "Skat" successor. On the other hand, there is a standstill as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. It looks as if the new Heesen flagship, the 80-metre "Galactica" owned by former shipyard owner and Lukoil boss Vagit Alekperov, and Feadship's 118-metre project 1010 will be held back for some time because their owners are presumably on sanctions lists. Both motor yachts are as good as ready for delivery and therefore appear in our ranking list. However, it is unclear what is still slumbering in yacht building halls around the world.
Authorities such as the Italian Guardia di Finanza and the US KleptoCapture task force, which confiscates the property of Russians who have become rich through corruption, have provided unprecedented transparency in the circle of large motor yachts. This has led to exclamation rather than question marks behind speculation about the identity of some owners. The most notable of these are "Scheherazade" (13th place) and "Crescent" (19th place), which were built by Lürssen as sister yachts, each for Russian owners: probably in black for Igor Sechin as a second yacht to "Amore Vero" (113th place) and in white for Vladimir Putin, who also owns "Graceful" (130th place).
This time we have attributed 33 yachts to Russian owners, compared to 29 in the last Top 200. 15 of them are motor yachts over 100 metres in length. 33 Top 200 owners have a US passport - calculated because "Amadea" now sails under the star banner after being confiscated by the FBI and is counted by us. Whereby "only" seven Americans sail on ocean domiciles over 100 metres long. In the Middle East, there were surprising sales such as the Omani state yacht "Al Said" (7th place) - and newbuilds such as "Blue" (5th place). The 160-metre Lürssen is said to belong to a sheikh from the United Arab Emirates, where a total of eleven owners of top 200 yachts live. The European ranking is won by Great Britain with nine entries, while Germany is represented with four.
Very large motor yachts continue to come from German shipyards, with Lürssen delivering 22 top 100 models. But Abeking & Rasmussen and Dörries Yachts are also working on gigayachts. In the Netherlands, Oceanco with "Infinity" (117 metres, 31st place) and Feadship with Project 1010 (118.80 metres, 30th place) are battling it out for the longest project built there. However, Amels also received a 120 metre order with its "Signature" project. The 182.90 metre long "REV Ocean" from the Norwegian Vard shipyard is expected from 2024 and will hopefully and finally lead the next top 200.
final can be recorded: The average length of motor yachts continues to increase. To be included in our Top 200 list, the length must be 73.70 metres. Last time, 72.60 metres was enough. The entry threshold for the Top 100 rose from 86.00 to 88.00 metres.
Largest motor yachts: What's coming soon
BOOTE EXCLUSIV publishes the ranking list of the 200 longest yachts every two years. As a lot can happen in the meantime, we provide a preview of which selected large formats are waiting in the wings worldwide.
REV Ocean / 182.90 m
Just building a yacht is not enough for Kjell Inge Røkke. The Norwegian, who laid the foundations for his fortune with a fishing fleet in Alaska, founded a non-profit organisation of the same name that wants to bring scientists on board the Øino-Explorer - once the construction delays have been overcome. Vard carried out the metalwork in Romania and the equipment will be fitted out in Norway until at least 2024.
Project Opera / 146.00 m
With the Lürssen giant, which emerged from the "Sassi" fire, the owner remains true to the shipyard and its dimensions. What's more, he even wanted the 146 metres to be moved to Bremen once the metalwork in Hamburg had been completed. The major fire occurred there in September 2018, when the interior work was well advanced. Lürssen is expected to move the new "Opera" project out of the dock in Berne in 2023.
J7 Explorer / 120.00 m
Some would describe the path that this large Indonesian format took into the water as Stone Age. Others, however, would describe it as clever or effective. Because these 120 metres rolled into the ocean via gigantic long fenders, as can be seen in the screenshot above. The launch video can be found on YouTube, and the special yacht - advertised as an Explorer - will hopefully soon be sailing in the Mediterranean.
Project 6507 / 118.00 m
Abeking & Rasmussen's first giga format is a phantom. Neither photographs of finished sections nor of the hull came under the spotters' lenses. And instead of renderings, there are only photos of the keel being laid three years ago. What is known is that Joseph Dirand's Paris office designed the exterior and interior and had to take the Nemo lounge and submersible into account. A&R was awarded a 120-metre-plus contract in 2021.
Skat / 90.00 m
The technical launch over the Helgen took place in May 2020 at Lürssen-Kröger. The national flags of the US owner and his Swedish wife could be seen on the bow. The special lines by Espen Øino indicate that "Skat" owner Charles Simonyi is expanding by 19 metres after 19 years. He is filling the interior spaces with the Hamburg office of Dölker + Voges. Delivery is expected before the end of this year.
