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• Lurssen Yachts

On the 5th April 2013 Lürssen, the leading shipyard for large luxury yacht building, launched the 180m yacht AZZAM - the largest motor yacht in the world. The sleek and elegant superyacht features exterior design by Nauta Design.

Fulk Al Salamah

• Mariotti Yachts

This 164-metre (538ft) superyacht was built in Italy by Mariotti Yachts and now sits in the Omani capital as part of the royal fleet. The Italian built superyacht is currently the second largest privately owned yacht in the world, after Lurssen's Azzam.

• Blohm + Voss

Roman Abramovich's yacht Eclipse has received a huge amount of industry attention, not just for its size but for the celebrity of its owner. Eclipse is the largest and most expensive superyacht ever built. When initially ordered she was estimated to cost approximately £330million, by the time she was delivered however, her overall costs were closer to the £1billion mark due to the extra luxury fittings and security measures required by her owner. With a crew of up to 60, Eclipse is a giant of the sea. She was the fourth superyacht comissioned by Abramovich.

• Platinum Yachts

This magnificent yacht was originally commissioned by Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei. Construction was suspended in 1998 and the vessel left unfinished until HH Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum secured the rumoured $300 million project. Platinum Yachts took the mega yacht to completion and in 2006 launched Dubai to become the world’s largest private yacht. Today however, Dubai is the second largest privately owned yacht in the world.

Launched in February 2022, Project Blue is Lurssen's latest secretive yacht project. With little revealed about her specifications and designers, her expansive size was confirmed by the German shipyard following her launch: an incredible 160m. Project Blue will be Lurssen's second-largest superyacht, and is due to be delivered in 2023. She was recently spotted in Bremerhaven, Germany, making her way out to sea for her maiden sea trial. She is expected to have a beam of 21m, and a gross tonnage of 15,320 GT. Her other specifications are currently unknown.

Originally known as Project Omar, the 156 metre superyacht Dilbar was launched in 2016 after over 4 years of construction. A favourite with yachtspotters worldwide, Dilbar is considered the largest superyacht in the world by volume.

Like most royal superyachts, little is known about Al Said, a giant mega yacht formerly codenamed "Project Sunflower". She was delivered to the Sultan of Oman in 2008 as a replacement for a smaller mega yacht of the same name. At a stunning 155m, Al Said consists of six large decks and features striking exterior and interior design by Espen Oeino International, the same company that designed the stunning 127m mega yacht Octopus. According to reports, Al Said is said to accommodate as many as 70 guests and 154 professional crew, as well as featuring a concert room capable of accommodating a 50 piece orchestra.

When construction of A+ (formerly named Topaz) first began she was forecast to be the 4th largest yacht in the world and to measure approximately 147m (482’3’’ft). Having left her floating shed at the Lürssen shipyard located in Bremen, Germany, she is now ready to claim that mantle and undergo the final phases of construction.

Prince Abdulaziz

• Helsingor Vaerft

As one of the yachts of the Saudi Royal Family, Prince Abdulaziz is used to conduct official business as well as for pleasure. The largest yacht built in the 20th century, the interior alone took 15 months to complete. Originally built for the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia who named the yacht after his son, it is now owned by his brother Abddullah.

Very little is known about Lurssen's mysterious superyacht OPERA. At 146m, the superyacht will be the sixth largest yacht Lurssen has built at the time of her launch in September 2022. OPERA was first spotted in May 2021 when she transported to the yard's Bremen outfitting facilities in Germany.

El Mahrousa

• Samuda Bros.

This Egyptian presidential yacht is not only one of the world’s largest but also one of the oldest. Built in 1865 in London, the yacht was intended for the King of Egypt. Originally named Mahroussa, El Horriya was extended in 1872 and again in 1905.  Nowadays she is berthed in Alexandria and is listed as a training ship by the Egyptian Navy.

Developed by German shipyard Lürssen, construction of Project Luminance is underway at their facilities near Lemwerder. Due to enter the esteemed list of the Top 10 largest superyachts in the world, information about the 145m superyacht is limited at this moment in time. Lürssen are world-famous for their incredible innovations and their capacity to build extremely large mega yachts filled with numerous features. Photos that have been captured of the boat indicate that she will have considerable deck space with plenty of room left over indoors to be packed out with luxury.

SAILING YACHT A

Sailing Yacht A is a highly unique vessel, with an LOA of 142.81m. She is one of the world’s largest and the most advanced superyachts with a number of unique features, including an underwater observation pod, hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system and premium navigation systems. Her three masts are the tallest and most highly loaded freestanding composite structures in the world. Her futuristic design was created by Philippe Starck, her smooth silver-metallic surfaces challenging the expectations of conventional aesthetics.

As one of the most well-known builders of Top 100 yachts, Lurssen's NORD (formerly Opus and Redwood) has been highly anticipated as one of the largest ever to launch from the German yard. Also the largest project set to launch in 2020, at 142m, she will accommodate up to 36 guests in 20 cabins and was designed by Nuvolari Lenard.

• ADMShipyards

The 141m superyacht Swift141, now christened 'Yas', was successfully launched by ADMShipyards in November 2011; entering the record books as both the largest launch of 2011 and most significant superyacht in recent history. ADMShipyards, members of Privinvest, has proudly announced the launch of their first superyacht. At 141 meters, this stunning private yacht ranks as the sixth largest superyacht in the world.

• Lloyd Werft

Project Solaris is the revolutionary explorer yacht built by German masters of engineering Lloyd Werft. Topping off the yard's record for ultra large luxury yacht build, Project Solaris is an estimated 139m+ explorer yacht at the German giant's shed.

Scheherezade

As with most yachts in construction at Lurssen, little is known about this 140m project. We do not yet know the designer or architect, but she has been spotted moving around the build-hall. Her sightings have lead yacht spotters on the docks of the yard to aptly name her 'Project Lightning.' We hope to see her launch towards the end of 2019.

Ocean Victory

• Fincantieri Yachts

The largest yacht ever built in Italy and one of the ten largest in the world, Fincantieri has announced the successful delivery of Project Victory - a 140 metre superyacht launched in 2014 - under the official name of Ocean Victory.

Code named as Mipos (short for Mission Possible) during her construction, Al Salamah belongs to Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Kept a great secret, rumours tell that she has over 80 rooms, a helipad, and an indoor swimming pool complete with glass roof. A real working wonder, this yacht was completed in 1999 after only two years.

Owned by media bigwig David Geffen, Rising Sun is rumoured to have been commissioned by Ellison specifically to be larger than Paul Allen’s Octopus. This 2004 yacht is spread over five decks and is equipped with everything from Jacuzzi bathrooms and wine cellars to a top deck basketball court.

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Flying Fox: On board the world's most expensive charter yacht that will set you back €3M a week

Power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z have been spotted on board the world's largest yacht available for charter, Flying Fox after missing the Met Gala 2021. BOAT takes a tour of the largest and most expensive charter yacht in the world. 

The standout Lürssen superyacht takes the freshest superyacht trends – and then pushes them to the limit. On a canvas of this scale, that’s fantastically far: the 136-metre, six-deck Lürssen yacht towers 32 metres above the waterline – as tall as three London buses balanced end on end – and has seized the crown as the world’s largest charter yacht .

“If people tell you that we can create a brief for a 130-metre-plus project, I can tell you that’s totally wrong,” says Evgeniy Kochman, CEO of brokerage house Imperial, which acted as owner’s rep on the owner’s last superyacht project and shepherded Flying Fox from inception to completion. “Like every yacht, you start with a white sheet – but in this case you have many more spaces to fit and to adapt to a very demanding, meticulous owner.”

Flying Fox’s 7,000 square metres of curving exterior by Espen Øino certainly contain a spectacular array of spaces, designed with originality by Øino, Mark Berryman and the owner, and executed with precision by Lürssen. The owner himself was deeply involved in every detail, “from the engine room to the observation deck”, says Kochman, who personally attended more than 50 meetings with the client, poring over the GA for an average of 14 hours at a time. Key to shaping the design was the owner’s experience on his previous fleet of superyachts. “It looked obvious to combine the facilities of them in one fully functional superyacht,” says Kochman.

Looking at the finished arrangement, it is clear that the key takeaway from his other yachts has been a passion for watersports and wellness – which defines this boat. It’s a modern preference reflected on many new yachts, but never before on this scale. The whole aft end of the yacht is a two-deck temple to on-water fun and relaxation. The tone is set when guests step on to the 22.5-metre-wide bathing platform and into one of the best superyacht spas to date. With heated limestone floors and louvred oak panelling, the centrepiece of this 400-square-metre “sea lobby” is a vast spa pool , the waters of which can be changed from steaming to icy in about 10 minutes (thanks to dual hot and cold tanks) so it can be used as a plunge pool following the hammam or sauna.

There’s also the first cryosauna ever installed on a yacht. It comprises an antechamber at -60 ̊C, followed by a main chamber at -110 ̊C – you stay in for a maximum of three minutes and emerge with a post-sprint endorphin rush. It is popular with professional athletes to aid muscle regeneration and pain relief. “It is not so easy to come down to that temperature; normal air-conditioning cannot do this,” says Florian Preuss, project manager at Lürssen. “You need three compressors and three circuits – so you cool down three times; three independent systems, working in three steps.”

To starboard off the sea lobby lies a loungey relaxation room with a fold-down balcony. To port, the counterpart balcony sits between a kite surf store and a dive centre that will make enthusiasts swoon. There’s every bit of kit imaginable, from advanced nitrox mixing systems to full face masks and underwater scooters, plus a super-quiet compressor. “We can cater for anyone who has never dived before,” says the dive instructor. “We can start you up in the main swimming pool on the aft deck, all the way through to technical rebreather diving here – if we have certified clients on board, we can do expeditions down to 100 metres. We can do enriched air nitrox just for recreational diving or trimix as well.” In the boat’s hospital there’s also a “proper” decompression chamber.

The fun continues in the cavernous and innovative tender garage just forward, which holds five tenders and a treasure trove of toys, from flyboards and hoverboards to Seabobs and windsurfs. The space has also been specced to meet regulations for fuelling the tenders with petrol. “Quite a technical challenge to achieve that,” says the captain, “similar to what supertankers have.”

And there’s space for more. “We also investigated and prepared the tender garage to carry a personal submarine ,” says Preuss. “So we installed an extra hatch in the tender garage so that you can go from the deck above into the submarine.” Because it’s shorter than a tender, launching it via the two sliding cranes designed to hitch each end of a boat would not work, “so we designed a special rack to put the submarine on, which can be picked up by the crane”.

Aside from the tender garage, this spa and sports space is designed to feel cohesive – you can walk via side decks all the way round from the bathing platform to the fold-down terraces either side of the spa. Directly above the lower deck spa pool, meanwhile, a three-metre by three-metre section of deckhead slides into a forward pocket to create a two-deck atrium. Stainless-steel handrails are then erected around the gap on the main deck. When closed, as Preuss puts it, “you can walk over it as if it was not there”; open, it connects the lower and main decks in spectacular fashion.

The spa-like feeling is carried through this aft part of the main deck too. Just inside from the aft deck is a beauty centre, followed by a dry massage room – “We carry a lot of high-tech electrical equipment so we can do body-shaping and electrical facials, and we use high-quality products by Swiss Perfection and Elemis,” says the therapist. There’s a wet massage room too, where “we do massages with the rain showers on, so you’re laid on a nice warm water bed, in a full shower”.

For more active guests there’s a standout superyacht gym packed with the latest Technogym kit, a balcony for fresh-air yoga and a gym “menu” laying out what’s on offer. It is staffed by ex-British military instructors (of the supportive rather than the shouty kind) – in fact, all crew members are dual-trained in order to staff Flying Fox’s wellness and watersports components: for example, the medic is a dive instructor and some of the housekeepers are also hairdressers.

But the jewel in the crown of this whole two-deck space – at least technically – is the 12-metre aft deck pool. A 22.5-metre beam allowed the team to place this transversely. “It was the owner’s idea to do it in this direction and the rationale behind it was that it would take up less space,” says Øino. “If you were to orient it in the longitudinal direction it would overshoot big time into the deck house and the gym, so it was a very rational decision.”

“I don’t think there is another project with a pool arranged this way,” adds Preuss. “And this is, of course, difficult from an engineering side because of the movement of the water – if the ship is rolling it is difficult to keep it in the pool.” The yard ordered extensive model testing at the University of Duisburg-Essen with a 1:10 scale model mounted on a pedestal that moved according to seakeeping analysis of the ship – so simulating real conditions. The yard identified the solution as two retractable baffles that create a “gate” in the middle that breaks up the volume of water, so it can’t build up momentum. Crew can still empty the pool in three minutes, but there are fewer occasions when they will have to and therefore more times the pool can be used.

But all of this is nothing that guests would ordinarily see. What they will notice is the glass front that can be misted to opaque at the touch of a button, the swim jets at one end and the massage jets at the other, and the height-adjustable floor that means it can offer a deep swim, shallow paddle or even, at full height above the water, a bandstand for parties.

The 10 guest suites are ranged forward of the gym, so guests can pad straight from their beds for a workout or, further aft, a morning swim. These rooms are uniformly massive and each opens on to one of the long side decks, which can be separated into broad fixed balconies in different configurations via hidden sliding panels (there are 45 sliding doors on Flying Fox ). “We’ve carried families with the children in one suite and the parents in another, with this one big balcony for them. It works really well,” says the captain.

The decor here, as throughout the yacht, is, says Berryman, “clean-lined, contemporary”, functional and tactile, with Japanese influences. The aim is a feeling of calm that fits perfectly with both the spa and the wider boat, with a small palette of colours, materials and finishes for a cohesive look – golden oak, caramel bamboo, brushed limestone, travertine marble and cream leather, as well as rattans and coconut shell embellishment.

The upper deck master suite carries this pared-back look as well. There’s a 48-square-metre bathroom, centred with an oval bath and huge shower all ranged outboard, for the views through double-fronted sliding doors on to the broad private deck that wraps all the way around the front of the suite. Highlighting the decor is a delicate mosaic of corals and seaweeds at the back of the shower. “The owner has a love of mosaics,” says Berryman, noting that the 1,700-year-old Lod Mosaic found in Israel in 1996 was an influence on their designs. “We also have them on the floors running throughout the main deck and the lower deck areas.” Created for Berryman by a specialist near Venice, they take on a playful character on the guest suite doors, each marked with a different sea creature.

The owner’s suite also comprises a beauty room and his-and-hers dressing rooms, but the cabin itself is the showstopper. “I have to say it was a difficult area to do,” says Berryman. “At 105 square metres you think, well, it’s a bedroom and you’ve got an aft saloon and aft dining room, what does he need out of it?” The solution was to place the bed to port and to create a cosy sitting room to starboard, complete with an ethanol fireplace.

There are 180-degree windows and Øino replaced bulwarks with glass so that views could flow straight out to the seascape. Forward on the private terrace is a huge spa pool with sunpads and seating. Adjacent to the suite is a cluster of work-focused spaces – a meeting room and the owner’s office, accessed through a studio. “The owner said to me early on, ‘I’m here to work, so I don’t want to be looking at the beautiful sea out there; let me face a wall and then I can concentrate,’” says Berryman.

But things get more social with one of the most extraordinary spaces on board. To port on the upper deck lies a loungey sitting room, for flicking through magazines and, perhaps, waiting for a meeting in the office. To starboard, the space drops off, behind glass balustrades, into a double-height saloon.

“Originally the upper deck saloon and dining was laid out to the port and starboard sides. After a few months of looking at those areas, we all felt the boat needed a wow factor,” says Berryman, “and also there was the saloon on the bridge deck – how many saloons did you actually need? So the starboard side upper dining was removed and the double-height space created.” The space is certainly wow-inducing and to avoid the feeling of, as Berryman puts it, “standing in the middle of a field” the seating is grouped in the centre of the saloon, leaving a walkway of warm oak around the outside.

Also aiding a cosy feeling is the real-wood fireplace, one of five superyacht fireplaces on board. They work, as Preuss puts it, “like a normal fireplace at home” except with insulated ducts routing smoke up through the mast with the help of forced extraction, and measures to meet marine safety regulations. “The glass pane in front needs to be closed all the time and there is a shut-off mechanism,” says Preuss, adding that when you are dealing with unusual onboard technology, “regulations don’t exactly describe what is possible and what is not possible – you have to discuss a lot with the authorities to come to a good solution”.

Another unusual – and residential – feature of the saloon is the greenery. It borders the staircase down from the upper deck and sprouts from planters set into the balustrade, while two ficus trees tower in the outer corners of the space. “We have a full irrigation system on board that is then linked down to the engine control room so that you can keep a check on what is working and if there are any problems there,” says Berryman. The different watering schedules, nutrients and quantities for different plants are programmed in. There are also “specialised lighting systems to give them the correct amount of UV without bleaching the materials”, notes the captain.

Adjacent to the bridge deck saloon lies a dining saloon with a long table by Metrica (which made all the loose furniture on board). A central aquarium, filled with bright artificial corals, adds a splash of colour while delineating the spaces (which can be entirely sequestered using sliding screens).

But just as the spectacular spa acknowledges the trend towards wellness, the yacht’s primary dining areas reflect the modern preference for eating al fresco. “My own experience of cruising is that you always end up spending your time on the outside decks,” says Øino, “so actually moving the cooking outside is a very logical thing to do.” The outdoor kitchen on the bridge aft deck features a wok station, a Josper (coal-powered Spanish grill), a rotisserie capable of cooking a whole lamb, goat or suckling pig, a churrasco oven, pizza oven, teppanyaki and tandoori grill. Guests can sit at a counter and watch the chef work, or at an extendable dining table.

Aft, seating around a gas-fuelled firepit offers the perfect nook for a nightcap. “Everyone says it has completely changed the dynamics of the boat, the interaction between the chef and the guests,” says Øino. “The chef is at the forefront and has become the star on board.” On the upper aft deck is a more intimate version of this space, which Øino describes as “more like a juice bar with ice cream and yoghurts”, as well as an outdoor cinema area and another firepit.

There are other noteworthy outdoor spaces. Take the helipad on the sundeck aft – it has an 18-metre D-value, capable of accommodating the world’s largest helicopters, including an Airbus H175. There are also power points and a DJ alcove built into the mast for when the helipad is used as a dancefloor, and a neat waiting room for departing guests (there is also a foredeck helipad on the bridge deck, with a 14-metre D-value). Up top there’s a (relatively) petite roof deck, with the best views out to sea and also all the way down to the main deck, via the glass roof of the lift shaft. “Despite the very large size of the boat, it can sometimes be difficult finding intimate spaces away from everyone else,” says Øino. “But when you are on the top deck you know that you are on your own – it’s private there.”

The relaxed winter garden , meanwhile, is an indoor space that feels airy thanks to two huge openable, domed skylights made by Yachtglass. “They look light but the skylights are massive and actually very heavy so they were not easy to produce,” adds Preuss. “They needed a couple of tries.”

Perhaps the most surprising thing about this boat is that chartering was not among its primary aims. From the equally proportioned suites, to the neutral decor, massive spa, outdoor lifestyle and dynamic positioning, it seems as if she was built for it. There’s even a cinema with D-Box seating for the latest blockbusters with motion and vibrations (Lürssen had to box the room and add “many tonnes of steel”, says Preuss, to soundproof it). This really is a boat with the scope to offer something for everyone.

“Conceiving and building such yachts is not a quiet path for all parties involved,” notes Kochman with some understatement. “But seeing the pride in the eyes of our client at the delivery, of our build and operational team, and of the crew, reminds us why we do this job.” Now that the hard work is done, there’s nothing for the owner to do but sit back and enjoy the most relaxing boat afloat.

The Crew Cut

It takes a powerful “human engine” to run a boat like Flying Fox – and behind-the-scenes design to supercharge crew work. “We carry two galleys, one for guests and one for crew, and four chefs in total,” says the captain. “We have 55 crew to feed two, sometimes three hot meals.” With a full capacity of crew plus 25 guests, that’s 246 meals a day.

The guest galley is a cook’s fantasy. There’s a pasta machine and prep area with drying racks, a lobster tank for the freshest seafood, vacuum packing for tender steaks using a sous-vide water bath, Pacojet freezing blenders for silky purées and ice creams – and every other bit of kit you could imagine. The fridges and freezers on board measure a total of 137 cubic metres.

In terms of space to relax, “crew consideration was always in the middle of everything”, says Evgeniy Kochman. Aside from large cabins, lounge, mess and gym, crew have use of a comfortable outdoor lounge just behind the forward helipad – a request of the owner. The paperless wheelhouse is set up to handle anything the sea can throw at it. “The bridge splits into three key areas,” says the captain, “planning and communication, navigation and emergency response.” Recessed screens can completely isolate the emergency space.

“You allow the bridge officers to continue with the navigation. They don’t get overawed with all the other communication going on, which could create another incident.” It’s a system common on cruise ships, not on yachts.

All images courtesy of Guillaume Plisson for Imperial.

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Jay-Z Hires Jeff Bezos' ‘Mega Yacht’, Buys $600,000 Audemars Piguet Watch To Celebrate

"Audemars before all of y'alls."

"I get filthy when that liquor get into me." Image: @beyonce

It’s been a scintillating September when it comes to awards shows and big celebrity events, like the Met Gala and New York Fashion Week, but one celebrity power couple has been conspicuously absent: Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

That’s because the talented musicians have skipped the red carpet ‘dos for an extended holiday in Europe with their family and friends. The pair have been living lavishly, jetting around the Mediterranean on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ US$500 million mega-yacht and dining at some of Europe’s top restaurants. Must be nice. If that wasn’t exxy enough, Jay-Z has apparently treated himself with a fine European timepiece for a souvenir.

Over the weekend, Beyoncé shared a photo of herself and her husband relaxing on the yacht, draped in designer clothes – Mrs Carter in Dior and Mr Carter in an AMIRI x Playboy shirt – with Jay looking particularly staunch with a champagne flute in hand and a new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked worth a cool AU$585,650+ on his wrist.

It’s yet another worthy addition to one of the most lavish watch collections in the rap game.

First released in 2019, this version of the famous luxury sports watch boasts a veritable cavalcade of impressive features. As the name implies, it features a perpetual calendar, which also incorporates a moonphase complication at 6 o’clock. Subdials at 12, 3 and 9 o’clock depict the month, day and date respectively. Instead of a seconds hand, the watch’s third hand displays what week of the year it is, with week counters placed on the watch’s chapter ring – a rather unusual touch.

RELATED: John Legend’s ‘Beater’ Watch Costs More Than Your Car

But the horological flexing doesn’t stop there. Key components of the movement are constructed from pink gold, which is exposed by an openworked sapphire dial (not to be confused with a skeletonised movement). On top of that, the watch’s case and bezel are constructed from black ceramic.

A masterful piece, it’s like a ‘greatest hits’ of haute horlogerie all in one watch – the perfect piece for a musician hitmaker like Jay-Z.

Check out some of Jay-Z’s other incredible watches below

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Posted May 14, 2024

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Silicon Valley’s favorite Harvard dropout (sorry, Gates) has arrived in Panama at the same time as the “ Launchpad ” vessel he apparently purchased for around $300 million, after the Russian-commissioned megayacht was seized. Longer than an NFL football field, it’s still slightly smaller than Jeff Bezos’ own midlife crisis. 

The super-secretive yachting community makes all this difficult to confirm but the video below from March gives an expert account of Zuck’s fancy birthday boat.

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Beyoncé and Jay-Z are reportedly chartering an Italian superyacht that costs more than $2 million a week to rent — take a look inside

• Beyonce spent her birthday vacationing on a high-end ship in Croatia with Jay-Z and their three kids, the Daily Mail and Total Croatia News reported earlier this week. 
• Imperial , a luxury yacht broker, is chartering the new superyacht called Lana, which can hold up to 12 guests and 31 crew members and will be available for private reservations, starting in the spring. 
• More than 300 feet long, the vessel comes with a spa and a beach club and costs more than $2 million a week to vacation on.
• It typically costs around $150,000 a week to charter a luxurious superyacht for a week, per CNBC .
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

Beyonce and Jay-Z are exploring European waters with their family aboard a new superyacht, according to multiple reports in TMZ, Daily Mail, and Total Croatia News.

It's the largest and most expensive yacht the couple has ever chartered,  Forbes reported  based on information from  superyachtfan.com

Source: Daily Mail , TMZ , Total Croatia News

Lana, the Benetti-built yacht, is more than 300 feet long.

Source: Imperial Yachts

While there are no official criteria to categorize a yacht as a superyacht, Bill Springer, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Ocean Home, wrote for Forbes that "all superyachts are opulent enough to be equipped with an object that represents the epitome of luxury."

Source: Imperial Yachts , Forbes

This particular superyacht, known as Lana, will be available for charter for about $2 million a week beginning in the spring.

This is more than the cost of a typical week-long superyacht rental, which can come to about $150,000, per CNBC. Kismet, the 312-foot superyacht that Beyonce and Jay-Z traveled on in 2018, costs about $1.3 million per week.

Source: CNBC

It features amenities like a gym, a spa, and a helicopter landing pad.

Clusters of couches and chairs are spread out on Lana's decks for groups to hang out.

The sun deck comes with a heated pool that's about nine yards long.

The same deck has a dining room that seats about 12 people.

Sculptures that decorate the yacht's interior mimic the flow of the ocean, according to the company website.

Lana holds 12 total guests per trip who can stay in one of the eight suites aboard the ship.

Seven of them are referred to as VIP guest rooms, and each room has its own color scheme.

The eighth room is a master suite.

This is the ship's beach club, which is an entertainment area with a waterfront.

Source: Imperial Yachts , Boat International Media

Lana also features a cinema room with a movie screen and a sound system.

The spa includes multiple treatment spaces like a steam room and massage area.

Source: Imperial Yacht

On the main deck, there's another large dining room ...

... and more lounging space.

Lana is a motor yacht and can cruise at 16 knots with a maximum speed of 18.5 knots.

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Questions for Investigators Trying to Unravel Mystery of Luxury Yacht’s Sinking

The investigators searching for answers about the shipwreck, leaving seven dead, face questions about extreme weather and possible human error or problems with the yacht itself.

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By Alan Yuhas

More than 180 feet long, with a mast towering about 240 feet and a keel that could be lowered for greater stability, the Bayesian luxury yacht did not, in the eyes of its maker, have the vulnerabilities of a ship that would easily sink.

“It drives me insane,” Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company that made the ship, said after its wreck last week. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

But the $40 million sailing yacht sank within minutes and with fatal results: seven dead, including the British technology billionaire Michael Lynch, his teenage daughter, four of Mr. Lynch’s friends and a member of the crew. Fifteen people, including the captain, escaped on a lifeboat.

Mr. Lynch had invited family, friends and part of his legal team on a cruise in the Mediterranean to celebrate his acquittal in June of fraud charges tied to the sale of his company to the tech giant Hewlett-Packard.

The Italian authorities have opened a manslaughter investigation, searching for answers from the survivors, the manufacturer and the wreck itself. They face a range of questions and possible factors.

An ‘earthquake’ in the sky?

When the Bayesian sank around 4 a.m. on Aug. 19, the waters in its area, about half a mile off the Sicilian port of Porticello, were transformed by an extremely sudden and violent storm, according to fishermen, a captain in the area and meteorologists.

But what kind of storm is still a mystery, compounded by the fact that a sailing schooner anchored nearby did not have its own disaster. Also unclear is whether the crew was aware that the Italian authorities had issued general warnings about bad weather the night before.

Karsten Börner, the captain of the nearby passenger ship, said he’d had to steady his ship during “really violent” winds . During the storm, he said, the Bayesian seemed to disappear behind his ship.

Severe lightning and strong gusts were registered by the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, according to Attilio Di Diodato, its director. “It was very intense and brief in duration,” he said.

The yacht, he said, had most likely been hit by a fierce downburst — a blast of powerful wind surging down during a thunderstorm. His agency put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about possible storms.

Locals have said the winds “felt like an earthquake.” A fisherman in Porticello said that he had seen a flare go off in the early-morning hours. His brother ventured to the site once the weather had calmed about 20 minutes later, he said, finding only floating cushions.

The Italian authorities have so far declined to say whether investigators had seen any structural damage to the hull or other parts of the ship.

Open hatches or doors?

The boat executive, Mr. Costantino, has argued that the Bayesian was an extremely safe vessel that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing. His company, the Italian Sea Group, in 2022 bought the yacht’s manufacturer, Perini Navi, which launched the ship in 2008.

Mr. Costantino said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, would be to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

At a news conference on Saturday, almost a week after the sinking, investigators said the yacht had sunk at an angle , with its stern — where the heavy engine was — having gone down first. The wreck was found lying on its right side at the bottom of a bay, about 165 feet deep.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

Water pouring into open hatches or doors could have contributed to the sinking, experts say, but that on its own may not account for the speed at which such a large boat vanished underwater.

Asked about the hatches at the news conference, the authorities declined to comment on whether they had been found open at the wreck.

The authorities have also not specified whether the boat had been anchored, whether it was under power at the time or whether its sails had been unfurled.

A retracted keel?

The Bayesian had a keel — the fin-like structure beneath a boat that can help stabilize it — that could be retracted or extended, according to its manufacturer. On some yachts, keels can be raised to let the large vessel dock in shallower water, and extended downward to help keep a boat level.

But like the hatches, the status of the keel alone may not explain why a large ship sank with such precipitous speed. Investigators have not disclosed what divers may have seen at the wreck, aside from saying divers had faced obstacles like furnishings and electrical wiring in tight quarters. Officials want to raise the wreck to better examine it, a process that may take weeks.

Human error?

Ambrogio Cartosio, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said at the news conference that it was “plausible” crimes had been committed, but that investigators had not zeroed in on any potential suspects.

“There could be responsibilities of the captain only,” he said. “There could be responsibilities of the whole crew. There could be responsibilities of the boat makers. Or there could be responsibilities of those who were in charge of surveilling the boat.”

It remains unclear what kind of emergency training or preparation took place before the disaster, or what kind of coordination there was during it. So far, none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened the night the ship sank.

Prosecutors said they want to ask more questions of the captain and crew, who have been in a Sicilian hotel with other survivors. They said that neither alcohol nor drug tests had been performed on crew members, and that they have been allowed to leave Italy.

Prosecutors also said they were also investigating why the captain, an experienced sailor, left the sinking boat while some passengers were still on board.

Besides possible manslaughter charges, the authorities are investigating the possibility of a negligently caused shipwreck.

The bodies of five passengers were found in one cabin, on the left side of the yacht, the authorities said. The five were most likely trying to flee to the higher side of the boat and were probably sleeping when the boat started to sink, they said.

Watch CBS News

Italian officials open shipwreck and manslaughter investigation in superyacht sinking that killed 7

Updated on: August 24, 2024 / 9:01 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Prosecutors in Italy said Saturday they have opened an investigation into shipwreck and manslaughter after a superyacht capsized during a storm off the coast of Sicily, killing seven people onboard.

Termini Imerese prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio confirmed the investigation but said no suspect is currently identified. Investigators are hoping to salvage the ship, which is lying on the seabed 164 feet underwater , but that may take months. 

"We are only in the initial phase of the investigation. We can't exclude any sort of development at present," he told reporters at a news conference. 

The main question investigators are focusing on is how a sailing vessel deemed "unsinkable" by its manufacturer, Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.

Civil protection officials said they believe the yacht, which featured a distinctive 246-feet aluminum mast, was struck by a tornado over the water , known as a waterspout, and sank quickly. 

Rescuers on Friday brought ashore the last of seven bodies from the sinking of The Bayesian, an 184-foot British-flagged luxury yacht that went down in a storm while docked near the small Sicilian village of Porticello early Monday. The sailboat was carrying a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers.

The body was believed to be that of Hannah Lynch, 18, the daughter of British tech magnate Mike Lynch . His body was recovered on Thursday. He had been celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with his family and the people who had defended him at trial in the United States. His wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors who escaped in a lifeboat.  

"The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends. Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy," a spokesperson for the family said in a statement issued Friday.

The other five victims are Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch's U.S. lawyers, and his wife, Neda; Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley's London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife, Judy; and Recaldo Thomas, the yacht's chef.

Rescuers struggled for four days to find all the bodies, making only slow headway through the interior of the wreck because of how far below the surface it is. Searchers used an underwater drone as part of the recovery efforts. 

Area resident Maria Vizzo told CBS News that the region has "never seen something like this." 

"Sunday night here we saw the end of the world in Porticello," Vizzo said in Italian. "The town of Porticello is mourning these people who died. Everyone is talking about it on the radio, and in the news. We are here. We pray to the Lord, and we ask for a blessing for those who died." 

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Tech magnate missing after luxury superyacht sinks off Sicily in 'violent storm'

A British tech magnate and several other people are missing after a luxury superyacht sank near Sicily’s main city, Palermo, during a violent storm, Italian officials and sources familiar with the matter told CNBC . At least one person was killed.

Mike Lynch, who was regularly described in U.K. media as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” was not among those rescued, said the sources, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation. They added that Angela Bacares, Lynch’s wife, had been plucked from the waters off the Italian island.

Lynch was among six people who were unaccounted for, The Associated Press quoted Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency as saying. “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. Cocina also confirmed that Bacares had survived.

Italy's coast guard said in a statement that the 184-foot sailboat, named the Bayesian, sank “due to a violent storm” off Palermo at around 5 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET) with 22 people on board. Fifteen people were rescued, and six passengers were missing, it said.

American, British and Canadian citizens were among the missing, the statement said. The coast guard said in later statement that the ship’s cook had died. It did not give the cook's nationality.  

Karsten Borner, the captain of a ship that rescued the survivors, told reporters that there was a “strong hurricane gust, and we had to start the engine to keep the ship in an angled position,” according to Reuters.

He added that they had “watched the ship behind us not to touch them and we managed to keep the ship in position.” After the storm was over, he said, “we noticed that the ship behind us was gone.”

“Fifteen people inside. Four people were injured, three heavily injured, and we brought them to our ship, he said. “Then we communicated with the coast guard, and after some time, the coast guard came and later picked up injured people.”

One of the survivors, identified as Charlotte Emsley, 35, told the Italian news agency ANSA that she had momentarily lost hold of her 1-year-old daughter, Sofia, in the water but managed to retrieve her and hold her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were pulled to safety.

“I immediately hugged her again amid the fury of the waves. I held her tight, close to me, while the sea was stormy,” she said. “Many were screaming. Luckily, the lifeboat inflated, and 11 of us managed to get on it.”

The City Council of Bagheria said in a statement that a child of that age was being treated at a children’s hospital. It said that seven adults were taken to the emergency room but that “it seems that none are in serious conditions.” 

Lynch, 59, the missing tech entrepreneur, founded the enterprise software firm Autonomy and became the target of a protracted legal battle with Hewlett-Packard after the U.S. tech giant accused him of inflating the company’s value in an $11 billion sale. Extradited from Britain to the U.S. last year to stand trial, he was acquitted of fraud after a three-month trial.

Italy’s national fire department said in a statement that “divers, a motorboat and a helicopter” had been deployed to help with the search. The wreck was at a depth of around 165 feet, the statement said.  

Divers from the Sicilian city of Sassri and Naples, a city on the Italian mainland , were “arriving on site to search inside the sunken vessel,” it said. 

Built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008, the U.K.-registered Bayesian has an aluminum hull and can carry 12 guests and a crew of up to 10, according to online specialist yacht sites. Online sites list the luxury vessel for charter for up to 195,000 euros (about $215,000) a week, the AP reported.

The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on Wednesday and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, with a navigation status of “at anchor,” according to the vessel tracking app Vesselfinder.

Fabio La Bianca, 40, took a picture of the boat at around 10 p.m. local time Sunday shortly after he closed his bar in nearby Santa Flavia. “Absurd tragedy tonight. I am lost for words,” he said Monday on Facebook.

Matteo Moschella is a London-based reporter for NBC News' Social Newsgathering team.

Henry Austin is a senior editor for NBC News Digital based in London.