German shipbuilder Lurssen Yachts has just finished constructing the world’s most expensive yacht in the world. The $600-million Azzam was launched in April using a number of powerful tugboats to usher the behemoth vehicle. All other yachts near it were dwarfed by the Azzam and how it could have been hidden for four years of construction was quite impressive. At 590 feet (180 meters) long, Azzam surpasses Roman Abram ovich’s Eclipse by 57 feet, thus pushing the latter down to being the second largest luxury yacht in the world.
The construction of Azzam was kept under hush because its owner wanted to keep a low profile. Names of wealthy people from the Middle East were linked with the expensive yacht including billionaire from Saudi Arabia, Al Waleed bin Talal who also happens to own a super yacht called Kingdom 5KR. But a report from CNBC revealed that it belongs to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nayan, the president of United Arab Emirates and an emir from Abu Dhabi. The sheikh is said to be one of the richest monarchs in the Middle East and he is also known as a philanthropist. His last significant donation was a $150 million pledge to the University of Texas’ cancer center.
Azzam is an Arabic word that means ‘determination’. It’s also the name of Abu Dhabi’s official Ocean Racing Team. The press had linked all the details and came to the conclusion that the Arab Sheikh and Abu Dhabi Emir owns the super yacht. The ship’s design was done by Nauta Yachts, a company known for customizing yachts in the sea faring community. French designer Christophe Leoni was responsible for its interiors. Leoni’s work is synonymous to luxurious and sophisticated stylings for yacht’s interiors. Azzam is rumoured to have 50 suites and a 95-foot salon aside from other excessive visage.
The Arabian superyacht is also built to have security features such as bullet-proof walls, making a sea voyage for the extremely important person safer. Its engineering is a quite a feat as its gargantuan size does not mean it sails slow. In fact, not only is it the most expensive and largest yacht in the world but it’s also the fastest. Lurssen equipped Azzam with two gas turbines and two diesel engines. The power sources can deliver a total of 94,000 horsepower enabling Azzam to travel at about 35 miles per hour or more than 30 knots.
Photo Credit: mick_masters1 @flickr