''REV Ocean'' is a privately funded research and expedition vessel (REV) under construction by VARD shipyards. Some sources describe her as a

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

, but unlike a yacht, her main purpose is not recreation or sports. She is in length and her

gross tonnage Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...

is 19,235.

Design and construction

''REV Ocean'' was designed by Espen Øino with an interior by H2 Yacht Design. It was initially intended to be a 140 m

superyacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...

with some research facilities, but during the design process she grew in size and was turned into a research and expedition vessel with a yacht-like exterior and high standards of comfort and design, including a luxury accommodation. Contracts for construction and outfitting were signed in 2017, with an expected delivery in 2021. On June 17, 2021 it was announced that delivery was moved back to 2024. In 2025 a contract was signed with Damen Shiprepair and to outfit the vessel. Currect delivery of the vessel is expected to be late 2026. The hull was built and equipped with the diesel-electric propulsion system in

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by #Names, alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 65,624 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. It is one ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and initially launched on 24 August 2019. She was then towed to

Brattvåg Brattvåg is the administrative centre of Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the Norwegian mainland, along the west side of the Samfjorden. It is located about northwest of the villages of Vatne/ E ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

to be fitted out with more technology. However, the ship was moved to Fosen Yard near Trondheim and fitted with a 12 metre midsection for a final length of 195 m. Final interior and exterior outfit is planned to happen at Vlissingen-Oost,

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Owner and operation

''REV Ocean'' is the flagship of Norwegian

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman

Kjell Inge Røkke Kjell Inge Røkke (born October 25, 1958) is a Norwegian billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of the Norwegian-based company Aker ASA, and holds directorships in Aker BP, Kværner, Ocean Yield, Aker BioMarine and Aker Energy. As of De ...

's REV Ocean initiative. In an interview with the Norwegian newspaper ''

Aftenposten (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...

'' (published 1 May 2017) Røkke said he planned to give away most of his fortune. As a further step in this plan he joined the

Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority (i.e. more than 50%) of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 ...

in 2017, and founded the ''REV Ocean initiative''. Led by former WWF Norway CEO Nina Jensen, REV Ocean is working to improve understanding of the ocean and foster concrete solutions through three initiatives: the world's largest research and expedition vessel (REV), the World Ocean Headquarters and an open, global data platform. She is purpose-built for scientific charter and environmental research missions. Her TIER III hybrid propulsion allows a full-electric mode at eleven knots when the yacht collects samples. Her total operating range is 21,000 nautical miles.

References

{{Reflist Motor yachts Research vessels of Norway