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Opportunity for yacht spottersLürssen gigayacht "nausicaä" takes a break in Kiel

Martin Hager

 · 25.03.2026

Australian designer Marc Newson created a futuristic explorer with a glass dome as an office. Lürssen built the methanol fuel cell yacht in Schacht-Audorf and has now sent it on its first sea trials. It travelled through the NOK to the Kiel Fjord.
Photo: Tom van Oossanen/Lürssen
The 114-metre-long "nausicaä" from Lürssen is currently moored at the dock near Kiel city centre, delighting yacht spotters. The futuristic explorer with methanol fuel cells completed further test runs and previously passed through the Kiel Canal. Designer Marc Newson created an extraordinary steel hull with a high proportion of glass for Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.
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The "nausicaä" is currently moored in Kiel and is attracting a lot of attention. The 114.20 metre long explorer was built under the project name Cosmos in the Lürssen Halls and is currently completing test drives again on the Baltic Sea. The yacht had previously sailed through the Kiel Canal from Schacht-Audorf. The Australian designer Marc Newson created a six-decker for the Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, which stands out with its curvy, futuristic design. The shipyard built the ship in Schacht-Audorf and celebrated the launch in August. The name "nausicaä" is associated with Greek mythology with Japanese pop culture. In Homer's Odyssey, Nausicaa rescues the shipwrecked Odysseus and symbolises hospitality and courage. The name also refers to the famous manga "Nausicaä from the Valley of the Winds" by Hayao Miyazaki, which in Japan symbolises a nature-loving heroine with strong leadership skills.

Methanol fuel cells as a drive

The "nausicaä" is the first Lürssen yacht with methanol fuel cells. Freudenberg e-Power Systems from Munich supplied a 1 MW system. A reformer converts methanol into hydrogen, which fuel cells then convert into electricity. The system is designed for silent operation. In practice, this means 15 days of CO2-neutral anchoring or more than 1,000 nautical miles at low speed. The steel hull is reinforced to ice class 1D and pushes safely through light ice. The yacht offers the owner the opportunity to explore all five major oceans and all seven continents.

Glass and steel characterise the design

Marc Newson favoured a high proportion of glass and steel. The superstructure is made of steel, which is rather unusual for Explorer. A strip of windows runs around the flanks of the forward upper deck and ends at the front in the glass bow skirt of the panoramic lounge. A glass dome is enthroned on the top deck above the owner's office. A tunnel connects it to the roof terrace behind the radomes. The fully glazed bridge deck encloses a glass bulwark. Lürssen developed a customised solution to bend large sections of thick glass. The panes are free of unevenness and offer crystal-clear visibility. The raised bow and stern hull emphasise the robustness. A large dinghy slides safely into the water from the stern hull like a rescue cruiser. The 59-metre explorer "Senses" already relied on a similar principle in 1999.

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Owner documents construction progress

Yusaku Maezawa revealed himself as the client via Instagram. The 47-year-old founder of Zozotown, the Japanese Zalando, reported on the launch spectacle with long videos. He documented the journey by private jet and helicopter as well as the boarding via a side opening in the fuselage. Designer Marc Newson said of the project: "Working with an extremely creative client has given us the rare opportunity to push the boundaries of what is technically possible. Everything from the smallest detail to the silhouette - exterior, interior and everything in between - is our design."

Technical data:

  • Overall length: 114.2 metres
  • Shipyard: Lürssen
  • Exterior designer: Marc Newson
  • Interior designer: Marc Newson
  • Ice class: 1D
  • Fuel cells: 1 MW (Freudenberg e-Power Systems)
  • Fuel cell range: 1,000+ nautical miles at low speed
  • Anchorage duration CO2-neutral: 15 days
Martin Hager

Martin Hager

Editor in Chief YACHT

Martin Hager is editor-in-chief of the titles YACHT and BOOTE EXCLUSIV and has been working for Delius Klasing Verlag for 20 years. He was born in Heidelberg in 1978 and started sailing at the age of six, in an Opti of course. This was soon followed by 420s, Sprinta Sport and 470s, which he also sailed on the regatta course with his brother. His parents regularly took him on charter trips through the Greek and Balearic Islands. Even at a young age, it was clear to him that he wanted to turn his passion for water sports into a career. After graduating from high school and completing an internship at the Rathje boatbuilding company in Kiel, it was clear that he did not want to become a classic boatbuilder. Instead, he successfully studied shipbuilding and marine engineering in the Schleswig-Holstein state capital and focused on yacht design wherever he could. His diploma thesis dealt with the “Testing of a new speed prediction method for sailing yachts”. In 2004, the superyacht magazine BOOTE EXCLUSIV was looking for an editor with technical and nautical background knowledge, a position that was perfect for Martin Hager. The application was successful and a two-year traineeship was arranged. After twelve years as an editor, the editorial team changed and he took over responsibility for BOOTE EXCLUSIV as editor-in-chief in 2017. After long-time YACHT editor-in-chief Jochen Rieker moved to the role of publisher, Martin Hager also took over the position of editor-in-chief of Europe's largest sailing magazine YACHT, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, at the beginning of 2023. When he's not working on topics for the two water sports titles, Martin Hager likes to go out on the water himself - preferably with kite and wingfoil equipment or on a little after-work trip across the Alster.

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