If it seems odd that a yacht that was commissioned all the way back in 2005 is being featured in our 2012 Ultimates Issue that’s because the Eclipse was only delivered to its owner, Russian oligarch and Chelsea Football club owner Roman Abramovich, in December 2010. Though it was originally slated for delivery a year earlier, the yacht’s completion was delayed by a series of mishaps and spiralling costs. Arriving just too late to feature in last year’s awards, here it is at last.
Abramovich’s 164-metre pleasure vessel is aptly named, as it eclipses every other boat ever built. It is so long in fact, that it wouldn’t even fit on the pitch at the Chelsea FC stadium, Stamford Bridge.
According to Bespoke’s inside source Abramovich “chose German shipyard Blohm+Voss over the builders of his previous yacht, German rivals Lürssen, after they agreed to build an almost identical superyacht for another Russian oligarch.”
Not that B+V necessarily got the better end of the deal. Abramovich allegedly signed a fixed lump sum contract for Eclipse that pegged costs at 485 million USD. Unfortunately for the shipyard, actual costs came in closer to 785 million USD – meaning that B+V had to suck up losses of some 300 million USD. To make matters worse (for B+V, anyway), Lürssen subsequently landed a contract to build an even bigger yacht rumoured to be for Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Can anyone say ‘ouch’ ?
Still, none of this takes away from B+V’s achievement. The Eclipse is an absolute marvel. Amongst the incredible features she boasts are two helicopter pads, a couple of swimming pools (the one on the main deck is 16 metres long), intruder detection systems and a German-built missile defence system. One is, after all, an oligarch. Additionally, the windows in Abramovich’s master suite and on the bridge are fitted with both armour plating and bulletproof glass, there’s an anti-paparazzi laser shield that can be switched on to stymie nosy photographers and, in a final Bond-like touch, Eclipse even comes with a submarine escape pod.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of all is the fact that Abramovich is willing to allow those with the interest (and the cash to spare) to charter the Eclipse. If the fact that refuelling costs alone will set you back a cool 825,000 USD causes no concern, the lovely folk at SuperYachtsMonaco, charter agents for the Eclipse, are waiting to take your call. Prices, naturally, are available upon request.
What Eclipse by Blohm+Voss
Cost 785 million USD
Specs Cruising speed is 22 knots, top speed is 25 knots. She has a weight of 13,000 gross tons. There’s a 500m² owners’ suite, 11 guest rooms and 70 crewmembers
Why Not only is it currently the largest privately owned yacht in the world, it’s also tastefully finished with stunning interiors by Britain’s Terence Disdale.
