St Kilda Boat Sales - M/Y Eclipse - world's largest private yacht
17 August 2011
M/Y Eclipse - world's largest private yacht
M/Y Eclipse is a luxury motor yacht constructed by Blohm + Voss in Hamburg, Germany. Its exterior and interior are designed by Terence Disdale Design and its naval architect is Francis design. The yacht is owned by Roman Abramovich, and is 163.5 m (536 ft) long, and it was delivered to Abramovich on 9 December 2010.
This made Eclipse the world's largest private yacht, 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) longer than the Dubai, which belongs to Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai. The yacht's initial cost was estimated at € 340 million (circa $485 million US), but a September 2009 report indicated that final costs could approach € 800 million ($1.2 billion US).
Eclipse has two helicopter pads, 24 guest cabins, two swimming pools, several hot tubs and a disco hall. It also comes equipped with three launch boats, and a mini-submarine that is capable of submerging to 50 metres. Approximately 70 crew members are needed to operate the yacht.
For security, Eclipse is fitted with intruder detection systems and a German-built missile defence system. The windows in Abramovich's master suite and the yacht's bridge are also fitted with bullet-proof glass and both are armour plated. The yacht is also reportedly equipped with an anti-paparazzi shield in the form of lasers that sweep the surroundings, and when they detect a CCD, they shine a light right at the camera to prevent the photograph. According to The Times, these don’t run all the time, so friends and guests should still be able to take pictures. Instead, they will be activated when guards spot likely professional photographers nearby. How such a device would actually function is unclear, and there is no evidence that this device even exists beyond rumours.[citation needed]
Eclipse was launched on 12 June 2009. It arrived in Frederikshavn, Denmark on September 18, 2009 for tests, and finally delivered to Abramovich on December 9, 2010. First pictures of the completed yacht were taken at Kristiansand, Norway during its refuelling.
In February 2011 Eclipse was made available for charter through SuperYachtsMonaco, a yacht brokerage company with the headoffice in Monaco.
Abramovich's private fleet consists of four motor yachts: Eclipse, Pelorus, Sussurro, and Luna.
All of the photos shown were proudly taken by St Kilda Boat Sales Dealer Principals, Darren Finkelstein and Andrew Rose as they circled both vessels in a famous Wally 47, off Beaulieu-sur-Mer Côte d'Azur. Located halfway between Monaco and Nice, during their recent visit to Monaco in August 2011.
It is reported, Roman Abramovich gave his previously-owned Le Grand Bleu (pictured below) to his associate and friend Eugene Shvidler in June 2006. He also sold Ecstasea, in June 2009, to an unknown Egyptian.
Some information used on this page was reprinted from Wikipedia.