The sailing yacht ''A'' is a

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 ...

that was launched in 2017. The vessel is a sail-assisted motor yacht designed by

Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. His most popular pieces ...

(exteriors and interiors) and built by Nobiskrug in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, Germany for the Russian

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 ...

Andrey Melnichenko.

Design and construction

The vessel was constructed by Nobiskrug at their shipyard in

, Germany with architecture by Nobiskrug & Dykstra Naval Architects and an interior/exterior design by

. ''A'' measures with a and . The vessel has a

length overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also ...

of , a

length between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ste ...

of , a beam of and a draught of . The yacht has a moulded depth of and seven decks. The vessel has accommodation for 20 guests and a crew of 54. Its propulsion consists of a variable-speed hybrid powerplant consisting of two MTU 20V 4000 M73L lineshaft

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s creating at 2,050

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

with a superimposable/clutched diesel-electric transmission controlled by systems turning two lineshaft controllable-pitch

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s that is sail-assisted by a three- mast fore-and-aft sailing rig. The freestanding, carbonfibre rotating masts were manufactured by Magma Structures at Trafalgar Wharf, Portsmouth, with the mainmast standing in height. Doyle Sailmakers USA manufactured the three fully automated carbonfibre/

taffeta Taffeta (archaically spelled taffety or taffata) is a crisp, smooth, plain woven fabric made from silk, nylon, cuprammonium rayons, acetate, or polyester. The word came into Middle English via Old French and Old Italian, which borrowed the Pers ...

full roach sails. The total sail area is . The furling booms were built in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

by Future Fibres. The rigging of the yacht was developed partially to be implemented on cargo ships and for commercial use. The vessel features an underwater observation pod in the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

with -thick glass. It is the largest private sail-assisted motor yacht in the world. Electricity is created by four 1,050–2,050rpm 2,800 kW hotel generators driving two

Vacon Vacon was a Finnish manufacturer of variable-speed AC drives for adjustable control of electric motors, and inverters for producing energy from renewable sources and was headquartered in Vaasa, Finland. Vacon stands for Vaasa Control Ltd. Vacon ...

4,300 kW lineshaft motors Emissions are treated by four Emigreen diesel particulate filters (soot filtration) on the diesel generators. ''A'' has a maximum speed of and a range of at a cruising speed of .

History

Russian

Andrey Melnichenko sought to move on from his previous yacht project, the motor yacht , to a new design. Working with Starck and project manager Dirk Kloosterman, development of the yacht began in March 2011 and the keel was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 17 August 2012. ''A'' was launched on 27 January 2017 and delivered by Nobiskrug on 3 February 2017. The vessel left Kiel on 5 February 2017 and exited the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

in light mode on near-empty fuel tanks so to clear the Drogden channel in the Danish straits with minimum draught. It underwent final

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s and the final fit-out at the

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding enterprise dedicated to civil and military naval construction, the design of deep-tech systems and the manufacture of structures for the renewable energy sector, such as offshore wind or hydrogen. ...

shipyard in

Cartagena, Spain Cartagena () is a Spanish city belonging to the Region of Murcia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants. The city lies in a natural harbor of the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Cartage ...

. ''Boat International'' called it "the boundary pushing

". The yacht is owned by Melnichenko through Valla Yachts Ltd. of Bermuda, and was initially registered there at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. In December 2021 the yacht was moved to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

flag and registered at Douglas. The yacht was seized by the Italian on 12 March 2022 in the port of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, due to the EU's sanctions imposed on a number of Russian businessmen as a consequence of

Russia's invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. A spokesperson for Melnichenko vowed to contest the seizure. While under seizure, the yacht was re-registered in June 2022 at

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, under the

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

flag. , the yacht was at an anchorage in the

Gulf of Trieste The Gulf of Trieste(, , , ) is a shallow bay of the Adriatic Sea, in the extreme northern part of the Adriatic Sea. It is part of the Gulf of Venice and is shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. It is closed to the south by the peninsula of Ist ...

Notes

References

{{reflist Individual sailing yachts Three-masted ships Ships built in Kiel Sailing yachts built in Germany 2017 ships

Design and construction

History

See also

Notes

References