Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) - Royal Yacht
The world’s largest yacht and probably the most expensive, the £400 million mega-yacht known initially as Project Azzam, would measure 590 feet (180 meters) when it is completed, around 54ft (17.5m) longer than the Eclipse owned by Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. The Project Azzam yacht is longer than some cruise ships. It is rumored to have been commissioned by the Saudi Royal Family.
The Kingdom owned two of the world's largest yachts - Prince Abdul Aziz and Al Yamamah - in the state-owned category; another 13 of the top 100 super-yachts are owned by residents of Saudi Arabia. A megayacht is a motoryacht over 30 meters in length, built to the highest standards of luxury. Strict rules of protocol dictate who in the royal family can own a megayacht, and of what size. Many members of the Saudi Royal Family own such yachts, but most are not government commissioned vessels for state functions.
Mega yacht Abdul Aziz is one of the largest mega yachts in the world, and the largest built in the 20th century. Abdul Aziz boasts a length of 482’3". She was commissioned at a cost of $185 million in 1983 in Denmark. King Abdullah inherited Prince Abdulaziz, a Royal Yacht with Jeddah as its base, from the late King Fahd. It boasts a hospital, a mosque and cinema, and now is estimated to have a value of 50 million Euros.
The royal crest was removed from the twin funnel of Prince Abd al-Aziz after the death of King Fahd in August 2005, as the title of Royal Yacht passed to Abdallah's much smaller al-Yamamah. Over 82 meters long, she was built by Helsingor in 1981 for Saddam Hussein, and named al-Qadissiyat Saddam, but never delivered. The royals acquired her in 1988.
The royally owned 200 million Euro Al Salamah is another in the Saudi Arabian yacht fleet, in the care of Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, son of the late Fahd. The 110 million Euro Sarafsa is owned by the Saudi Royal family, probably Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud, and named after his daughter. Formerly in Royal ownership, Issham Al Baher was handed down the line of relatives, and is reputedly Greek now [said to be valued ay 50 million Euros].
Al Yamamah was originally build as Qadissiyat Saddam for the Iraqi government, but due to the political situation the yacht was never delivered to Iraq, but instead went to Saudi Arabia. She was built in 1981 in Denmark at the Helsingor Vaerft, who also build the 147 meter Prince Abdulaziz. Since her launch she had undergone several refits, one of the most notable changes is the color of her funnel which changed from yellow to the same color blue as is used on the funnel of Prince Abdulaziz.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince, was said to be on holiday in the south of France in 2014 when the 134-metre luxury boat - Serene - took his fancy. Russian billionaire, Yuri Shefler who sold the megayacht to the crown prince in the summer of 2014. the deal was supposedly done within hours at a price of near €500 million with Mr Shefler moving out of the yacht on the same day.
The yacht was once among the world's three biggest, according to Forbes, behind Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovitch's 162.5m Eclipse and iron and steel tycoon Viktor Rashikov's 140-metre Ocean Victory. Two years ago, it was hired by Bill Gates and his family, who reportedly paid $5million a week to stay on board.
The Serene boasts 15 rooms, a nightclub, cinema, climbing wall, seawater swimming pool, library, health spa, underwater viewing room, gym and two hot tubs. It also comes equipped with two helipads, a helicopter hangar, a submarine hangar and multiple swimming pools. It was custom built in 2011 by Fincantieri with design by Espen Oeino and the yacht's interior designed by Reymond Langton Design.
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