Portrait: The many qualities of gigayacht designer Espen Øino

You can't get more in the centre of it all. Espen Øino International is located at the pier head of the Jetée Lucciana. A fine address for a design office, which EØI is, strictly speaking. The location makes the eponymous Norwegian a kind of gatekeeper of Port Hercule, the already Mediterranean centre of the superyacht scene. At the Monaco Yacht Show, the crowds push past the office even shortly before the end of the trade fair day. Espen Øino hurries from a lecture on the potential of nuclear energy into the meeting room. A mirrored glass front provides a view of the docks, with shelves on one side reaching up to the high ceiling. Books lie on them and various full-size models bask in the sun: Giga formats from Lürssen, Oceanco and Feadship. One that stands out is the same size, but on a scale of 1:7.5: a wooden rowing boat built by his father, who was a fifth-generation wooden boat builder.

More from Espen Øino

• A cruise with "REV Ocean" on behalf of research
• A limited edition from Espen Øino
• Let the conversions begin

Inspired by Jan Herman Linge

Boats characterised his childhood in Norway. "It is an incredibly rich coastline with over 100,000 islands and many lakes. There are now one million boat registrations for every five million inhabitants," says Øino about the boating culture known as Båtliv. "I always had an interest in design and was constantly drawing. I was surrounded by boats in our summer house." His penchant for the maritime profession was fuelled by a fellow countryman. With shining eyes, the 62-year-old begins to talk about the hero of his youth: "My motivational guru was a man called Jan Herman Linge, a pioneer during the transition from wood to fibreglass in the 1960s. I really wanted to work for him."

Sailors know Linge as the designer of the once Olympic Soling class, but he also designed the first Windys: Cabin cruisers from 22 feet with clear geometries and self-confident edges. Øino pulls out a book about Linge, who, like himself, was a naval architect, but was also immersed in design. On display are boats from the 1970s, in which Øino's lines and his current style, characterised by trapezoids, can be found.

Although the collaboration with Linge never materialised, the fascination with Windys remained. The Norwegian motorboat brand did not need much convincing in the mid-2010s; for Espen Øino it was a matter of the heart - at a time when his office had become the first port of call for yacht designs beyond 100 metres. He had no worries about dilution. "It's a great honour to follow in his footsteps," emphasises Øino, who bought a Windy SR40 himself and regularly uses the 13 metres for quick transfers to Capri in the summer. For the four Windy models to date, which are based on Linge's no-frills design language of the 60s and 70s, the studio from Monaco not only covered the design but also construction tasks such as hull calculations.

Foundation for the rational aura

Espen Øino moved away from his home country at the age of 17. He completed his A-levels in Normandy and made pioneering discoveries further south: "The Côte d'Azur opened my eyes to the world of yachts." Nevertheless, he returned to the north, to the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, where he enrolled in Naval Architecture and encountered dry engineering instead of yachts. The degree programme gave him the technical skills that became the foundation for the rational aura that surrounds him. "Engineers tend to think logically and create shapes that fulfil complete functions. I love drawing and being able to create my own shapes, not just arbitrary ones," says the world connector, whose breakthrough came from a deeply geometric formal language.

Charles Simonyi's supposedly simple mission was to cause a stir with given means. Once again, the Monaco native has turned to a book. It was published in a small private edition and contains a diary entry from 1999, written during a flight from Seattle to London: "I met C. S. at his incredible property on Lake Washington, and we had conversations about what would soon become known as Project 9906. I was confused and intrigued at the same time."

From "Echo" to "Skat" - and into the superlatives with "Octopus"

He came into contact with Simonyi, the architect of Excel and Word, through his Microsoft colleague Paul Allen, who had previously hired him for "Octopus". Øino continues: "The biggest challenge of my professional career so far turned out to be the most incredible, interesting and outstanding project. The end result seems to leave few people indifferent, and that is probably the best compliment for the client and the yacht." This refers to the 71 metre long "Skat", which Lürssen delivered in 2002. The Hungarian-born mathematician used the Norwegian word for treasure, also commonly used as a nickname. The military-looking number on the stern stood for the young Espen Øino's sixth commission.

"He was much bolder in terms of design and had very precise ideas. He was keen to respect the building materials. He didn't see the point in spending energy on moulding and pressing panels and profiles." This is exemplified by the winter garden on the aft upper deck, which is built on a vertical line with diagonal lines extending from each end to form an open isosceles trapezoid. This includes a combination of bay windows and skylights, as requested by the same owner for "Norn" (90 metres) and another for "Bold". Øino is proud that the Admiral Armani 72m, a close interpretation of the fair, is only a few metres abeam.

Even before "Skat", he had similar experiences with windows that protruded outwards but were round. From "Echo" (later "Katana", "Enigma" and currently "Zeus"), he oversaw all technical aspects as project manager during his time at Martin Francis. The Briton found inspiration for the 75 metres, which Blohm+Voss delivered in 1991, in the convex windscreens of Parisian buses of the 1970s. He had hired Francis in 1986 with a different intention:
"Martin designed sailing yachts, and that's what I wanted too." Espen Øino conjures up an "Echo" magazine report from 1992 and emphasises that it is still one of the coolest yachts and one of the best designs.

Dominance in the 100 metre-plus market

Francis-Eleve started out on his own account in 1994 with an office in Antibes, which later moved behind the Yacht Club de Monaco. After just four years of self-employment, he won the tender for Paul Allen's legendary 126-metre explorer "Octopus". Together with seven colleagues, he managed a "fairly complex project with many requirements". The list included - mind you, shortly before the turn of the millennium - a handful of tenders, an aeroplane, a helicopter and a car. The aeroplane was replaced by a second helicopter, which was also parked in the hangar. A diving boat, recording studio and ice-class requirements were also added. Øino has a lot to thank the blue giant for: "We are currently working on a 130-metre design for a customer who loves 'Octopus'. For him, she is one of the most timeless yachts."

There were several opportunities for him to demonstrate his versatility. Thanks to customer requests: "Out of ten, one or two are willing to do something really different." In 2011, the 38-metre-long "Shooting Star", an open format, shot across the pages of this publication. The report stated: "The curved stern clearly demonstrates the Øino signature." Round? In his early phase, the Norwegian designed significantly more curved. The direction was set by his first project 9408, with which he went after customers.

Guido Krass liked the style, but the German entrepreneur initially awarded a refit to Espen Øino. They became friends and in 2003 became partners at the West Australian shipyard Hanseatic Marine. Four years later, "Silver" (74 metres) was launched under the SilverYachts brand, sporty in appearance and progress, but efficient in consumption per nautical mile. A large-format photo reproduction of her sister "Silver Fast" in the office bears witness to the connection to the shipyard and to Krass, for whom Øino opened a new chapter with "Bold" (85 m): an aluminium explorer that cuts through the sea swiftly and economically and with the appearance of a corvette with a thinned stern. With Silver Yachts, they then moved into new territory again. Krass and Øino designed the SilverCat, a 36-metre-long catamaran with the volume of a 50-metre monohull.

Today, the studio stands for its dominance in the 100-metre-plus market. "The man for big things" was the headline of BOOTE EXCLUSIV in 2014, when he already had 15 employees. His prediction that "after 'Azzam' will certainly be a 200-metre yacht" has not yet materialised, but he currently has 14 gigayachts to his name and has completed a total of 26 yachts with Lürssen alone. And "REV Ocean" brings him as the first of his guild close to what was believed to be impossible. The 195 metres are designed as a yacht and research vessel. Øino launched the hybrid construction in 2016 with the Norwegian owner and is part of its Special Projects Division, which is headed by Italian Andrea Bonini. He is also responsible for the survey boat "Ocean Mapper" and the line finding of two expedition ships for Hurtigruten, which have been sailing for HX since 2019.

Premises on the pier of the Yacht Club de Monaco

Until September 2025, there was no fully-fledged website to testify to the studio's credentials. Users were stuck on a homepage. Up to here and no further. The lack of presence could also be interpreted as Scandinavian discretion or a form of advertising. Some brands use it to create additional magic. "But now we are focussing more on product design and series boats like those from Windy. We thought it was time to open up and appeal to a different market, not just people behind customised yachts," explains Øino as he gives a tour of his website via a screen projection.

The EØI seal adorns outdoor furniture from Paola Lenti or Siebensee, diving boats from Triton, carbon accessories for tenders from Tecwire or skis for the Yacht Club de Monaco, a collaboration with Black Crows from Chamonix. The company division for special projects operates in additional rented office space a few metres from the shore, which can only be accessed via a makeshift exhibition stand during MYS. Øino had to rent this so that its employees could get to their workstations during the show.

The Espen Øino International team includes 29 people from nine countries, including Germans. They moved into the premises on the pier in 2016. The property was empty, Øino - who has been Monegasque since 2006 - asked around, held talks and secured a lease. He says of the location: "It's at the end of the dock, there aren't many people on foot here outside the trade fair. It's perfect for us because it's discreet. We've welcomed amazing personalities, they've all loved it."

"It's up to me to ask the right questions"

There will be no photos of interiors on the new website, simply because the EØI team does not design interiors. They do create the layouts with the GA plans and thus the elementary framework - an essential project requirement for the founder, who also plays the semi-custom market for Damen Yachting (Amels 60 and 80) and Benetti (LIFE, 85 m). In the course of open and lavishly designed outdoor areas, Øino inevitably also became interested in outdoor furniture, through which he developed an interest in ergonomics and practical aspects of furniture: "I'm a pretty observant person, in hotels I immediately scan the bathroom to see if everything is in the right place. It's all about ergonomics. I'm obsessed with these things."

He has always believed that life on board a yacht takes place outside most of the time. Normally, the living areas inside are used far too little. Nevertheless, he believes that individual usage habits are important for large custom projects: "Customers often know better what they want to do with their yacht. not want. It's up to me to ask the right questions, I try to read their minds or in their eyes." Not surprisingly, he favours physical meetings for presentations in the early stages. "If they don't like something, some don't dare to say it, but you can feel it. I can quickly sketch something out on site and change it according to their wishes. That way, they make a contribution and feel like they are part of it," says Øino, who doesn't want to be called a designer but sees himself as an engineer with a very logical way of thinking.

When asked whether he has ever failed to complete a job, he thinks for a moment and answers in the negative. "In a few cases, I had the feeling beforehand that we couldn't connect and avoided working together." For him, it's not about something subjective like beauty. "My job is more about supporting customers in the design of their boat."

Who will win the race for the zero-emissions target?

Especially in times of the energy transition, he plays an important role as a consultant for a clientele that is consistently interested in future-proof designs: "There is a lot of discussion about alternative fuels, be it hydrogen, ammonia or LNG, and whether to burn them in thermal combustion engines or use fuel cells with hydrogen to generate electricity. I think it's still completely open who will win this race towards the zero-emissions target in 2050." The nuclear option could become an opportunity with Øino's concept, which envisages two sealed five-megawatt microreactors for 120 metres. At the MYS presentation, he emphasised that these would be leased modules so that the owner and crew would not have to deal directly with nuclear fuel.

The question arises: How does Espen Øino manage not to think about yachting, when does he switch off? In summer on board his Windy, in winter while skiing. Or he travels to Düsseldorf for boot and accepts the award for the SR40 as European Powerboat of the Year. On stage, the Norwegian had a boyish joy written all over his face. Is it because he is now just as successful with small boats for the masses? Jan Herman Linge certainly played a role too.