The Classicist: The World's Greatest Luxury Yachts

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Mar 2nd 2009 at 9:04AM

In the rarefied world of mega yachts, the ultimate achievement is to have one designed by a certain Norwegian genius named Espen Oeino. The world's top star in naval architecture, Oeino's megabucks creations "combine the precision of fine machinery with indulgent finishes and the high-end amenities of a palace." When German luxury publisher teNeues opted to focus a volume in its amazing Luxury Toys series to the world's greatest yachts, it was quickly decided to dedicated the entire book to Oeino.

Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts showcases 20 of the Monaco-based Oeino's stellar creations accompanied by text from top yachting author Nick Jeffery, the most respected authority on luxury watercraft. Among the megayachts featured is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's 413-ft. Octopus, the 8th largest yacht in the world and the second largest superyacht that is not owned by a head of state. The nine deck ship cost $200 million to build and has an annual operating budget estimated at $20 million.

Designed for self-sufficient long range cruising, the Octopus contains a wet dock for a 59-ft. tender and an equally large remotely-operated submarine that can descend to 2500 meters, a twin helicopter hangar and two helipads, countless giant antennae and a telescopic sonar, a cinema and music studio. Another Oeino creation featured in the book is the military-looking 233-ft. SKAT, pictured above, built by Lürssen of Bremen, Germany for Charles Simonyi, a former Microsoft software engineer and pioneering space tourist. The yacht features an elevator serving all four decks, a gymnasium, matching helicopter, and motorcycles with a special lift.

Gallery: Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts

Each yacht designed by Oeino is a work of art, commissioned and custom built for an owner with a unique personality. "Oeino has attracted a handful of clients who want to do things very differently," Jeffrey writes, "highly intelligent and active entrepreneurs who question what has gone before and go back to the first principles [of yacht design] before stretching current thinking."

According to the owners' specifications, Oeino can incorporate such features such as ice-class certification, a drive-in tender dock, double helicopter hangar, hidden submarine base, underwater observation lounge, astronomical observatory, orchestral concert hall, and outdoor cinema into his designs. As for the next generation of mega yachts he currently has in the works, two major trends are emerging: pirate-proof ships featuring camouflage paintjobs, gun turrets and even Blackhawk helicopters; and new methods of propulsion including various biofuel and eco-efficient options. The full details, however, are of course top secret.

Tags: Charles Simonyi, CharlesSimonyi, Espen Oeino, EspenOeino, Lurssen, megayacht, Microsoft, Monaco, Octopus yacht, OctopusYacht, Paul Allen, PaulAllen, teNeues, yacht