More than a year after she was floated out of Blohm & Voss’ shed, and about half a year after she was at first thought to be delivered, the massive megayacht Eclipse has finally been handed over.
At least that seems to be the case, given the eyewitness reports of her departing the dock in Hamburg, Germany yesterday. If you speak German, you’ll get a full rundown in this video. Even if you don’t speak the language, you’ll get a great sense for her sheer scale. In fact, in one or two shots, you can see people standing on deck, looking incredibly small.
If you’ve been following the saga, then you’ll recall that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has long been said to be the owner. You’ll also recall that construction ran longer than anticipated. While the builder has never been permitted to publicly discuss Eclipse, some news reports and rumors alike held that there were disputes over the interior.
Much was made of those supposed disputes, perhaps because of Abramovich’s high profile, perhaps because of the size of the superyacht (163 meters, or about 535 feet). Whatever the reason, it’s pretty silly, since it wouldn’t be the first time that a builder and client had differences. And really, does it matter at this point? If the yacht was delivered, likely not.
Enjoy the views of Eclipse. I definitely did.
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