"REV Ocean": 195 metres for researchers or charter guests - and both together

"REV Ocean" will become a reality and leave Norway this month. The 195-metre explorer is due to be launched at Damen Shiprepair in Vlissingen at the beginning of 2027. The largest yacht in the world? The charter plans that have now been published and the first visualisations of the interior developed by H2 Design suggest so. There is a central atrium with a glass lift and suspended staircase that extends over five decks. A total of 180 curated works of art from 80 Norwegian artists with a connection to the sea are to come on board.

"REV Ocean": Primarily in the service of science

The 615 square metre owner's deck will have a master suite, two VIP cabins, a lounge area and a dining area including a show kitchen. The maximum number of charter guests is 28, although the 18 cabins would offer more space. The "REV Ocean" will also have a yacht finish. The hull, which appears much lighter in colour in the latest renderings, will be completely smoothed and painted to a high gloss. However, only 25 per cent of the year will be devoted to "expedition mode", as Burgess and REV Ocean call private use.

Based on plans by Espen Øino International, the keel was laid at the beginning of 2018, with design elements from explorer yachts and research vessels. The interior volume of 19,250 gross tonnes can accommodate a maximum of 106 people, and up to 90 in polar regions. Almost the entire front half of the ship, from deck three to the top, is dedicated to yacht operations. The 65-strong crew live below, and the aft half belongs to the scientists with nine laboratories and an auditorium for 30 people. Who comes on board and when is clearly regulated: "REV Ocean" will be underway 75 per cent of the year on behalf of research. BOOTE EXCLUSIV travelled to Norway shortly before the 195-metre giant set course for the Netherlands on its own keel. Tesumo poles were installed on deck and the interior work in the guest areas was completed; crew quarters, laboratories and hangars were largely finished - also a kind of statement regarding the primary focus.

Norwegian driving force behind REV Ocean

On site, REV Ocean CEO Nina Jensen made it clear: "We see ourselves more as a vessel than a yacht." The acronym REV says it all: "Research and Expedition Vessel". Jensen, who headed WWF Norway for 15 years, manages the specially established foundation of the same name. However, it does not send its own teams, but coordinates the scientists' stays and aims to offer a dynamic platform in the literal sense of the word. The applications are processed by two REV employees: marine biologist Dr Eva Ramirez-Llodra from Spain and German polar ecologist Dr Josephine Rapp. Up to 34 researchers will come on board per tour at no cost to them. In return, REV Ocean wants concrete results from which actions or innovations can be derived and which are published on the freely accessible online platform Hub Ocean.

Three main challenges were identified in order to achieve the goal of "One Healthy Ocean": Plastic pollution, climate change and ocean acidification, as well as overfishing and the environmental impact of fishing. The foundation was established by Kjell Inge Røkke in 2017. In the same year, the Norwegian entrepreneur joined Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge initiative and promised to donate more than 50 per cent of his fortune to philanthropic causes. The "REV Ocean" client was instrumental in developing the trawl system at the stern. At the end of the net funnel, the live samples are pre-sorted by camera recognition (Deep Vision AI from Scantrol) and sucked into the laboratory in a tube by vacuum.

REV submersible goes to a depth of 2,300 metres

However, the moon pool was literally at the centre of the planning for "REV Ocean" - and this once again demonstrates its original purpose. The 7.7 x 5 metre "tunnel" amidships is used by the diving robot (ROV) "Aurora" to dive to a depth of 6,000 metres. Even the submersible "Aurelia", a custom-built Triton with an acrylic glass sphere from Germany, can reach the water regardless of swell or ice. Heinz Fritz GmbH in Herbrechtingen, Baden-Württemberg, produced a spherical pressure hull with a diameter of 2.40 metres and a wall thickness of 32 centimetres (!) from two parts. It has already withstood a test pressure of 276.71 bar, which corresponds to a diving depth of 2,760 metres.

In practice, the submersible, which is already being used by the REV Ocean team, can go as deep as 2,300 metres. Charter guests are unlikely to venture that far into the deep sea, but they could. Burgess would also like to organise private expeditions to the Arctic or Antarctic with the travel professionals from Joro Experiences, where you can join explorers. Fittingly, the submersible "Aurelia" is parked in a hangar together with a wakeboard boat. The space was only created as a result of the twelve metre extension that VARD had to carry out in Brattvag, Norway, in spring 2024.

Extension by 12 metres and one deck less

The reason for placing the 12-metre section in the aft third: the design was too top-heavy. The narrow hull shape, optimised for efficiency, stood in contrast to a fully glazed panoramic lounge on the highest deck. A good 25 metres above the surface of the water, the 33 panes of the winter garden weighed 22 tonnes. This deck was cut in the course of the extension, but the closed viewing platform was retained - one deck lower, with a superstructure made of aluminium instead of steel as usual and with larger glass surfaces and a floor area of 290 square metres. Overall GL Yacht glazing over 115 tonnes of multi laminated safety glass on "REV Ocean".

The prescribed increase in length provided space on deck for a padel tennis court or containers - depending on use - and below for a laboratory with 3D printers, transmission room (in addition to the Mission Control Room), storage space and additional diesel tanks, which increased the range by around 20 per cent. It should be possible to maintain autonomy for 90 people for 114 days. Diesel generators deliver a maximum of 11 megawatts of power, while Corvus batteries store up to 3 megawatt hours of energy and enable whisper-quiet journeys. The propulsion system consisting of two 3,200 kilowatt electric motors, which act on the propellers via 46 metre (!) long shaft systems, has been awarded the Silent R notation and therefore meets the strictest requirements for underwater noise emission. The R stands for Research Vessel like the one currently under construction. "Meteor IV"which usually obtain this classification supplement.

The ACH145 from Airbus Helicopters, which has already been ordered, lands on the helipad in the stern next to the 15-tonne crane or at the front on the certified landing pad with hangar in the forecastle. This means that two helicopters can be flown to Antarctica without the need for a support ship as a base for the replacement aircraft, which is mandatory in these latitudes. "REV Ocean" has the potential to fulfil the "two in one" claim. Burgess can also be used to book holidays without any connection to science. The London-based brokerage house has not yet revealed how much a week's holiday will cost. What is clear is that the charterable research vessel will sail under the flag of Norway - with 1,150 kilometres of cable on board and a large number of scientists.