Termed the “ghost yacht” and “rust hole” by Norwegian media, the long-dormant, partially built PJ World megayacht has a new owner.
PJ World, a.k.a. PJ-801, started construction in 2008 at a former commercial shipyard in Norway. Palmer Johnson had acquired the yard the year prior, through bankruptcy proceedings. At 267 feet (81.4 meters), PJ World represented Palmer Johnson’s first step into ice-laden expedition cruising. The yard started her on spec, too. While a buyer came forward not long after the build began, the parties reportedly didn’t finalize a contract, due to the buyer’s sudden death. Nevertheless, construction continued, with Palmer Johnson promoting her for sale.
PJ World proceeded to the point where nearly all of her hull and superstructure met completion. When the global financial crisis hit, however, the Norwegian shipyard went bankrupt. Two different Norway-based yards ended up housing her following that. The photo above is at one of them, from 2012. Westcon, the second shipyard to take her over, towed her to its site in early 2013. She’s remained there ever since.
The Norwegian business website Sysla.no quotes Terje Totland, part of Westcon’s ship-repair division, as confirming the yacht has sold. “We are aware that there is an American who bought the boat,” he says. He adds that Westcon will remove the rust and paint the yacht, but may not complete her. In an email reply to our inquiry, Totland says, “We submitted an offer for completion of the ship, to the former owner, pending a buyer of the boat. We are in dialogue with the new owner and hope that our shipyard also this time will have the opportunity to offer a price for the conversion.”
In the meantime, PJ World, featuring styling by Nuvolari-Lenard, was to accommodate 14 guests, with a crew count of 27. An entire deck belongs to the owners, complete with a private spa area. When venturing to icy waters, or other sensitive areas, the megayacht would rely on a station-keeping system much like Dynamic Positioning. The eco-friendly PJ World was designed to meet Det Norske Veritas’ Clean classification standards. In brief, it’s a quite-strict notation governing emissions and sea discharges, including disposal of waste water and sewage.
ilia
Hello dear I want to know if this yacht still available or not then I can buy this if its available
Diane M. Byrne
The yacht is listed for €19,000,000 as is, or €105,000,000 completed, By IYC. Completion would be about 18 to 24 months from contract.
Poupou
J’ai un projet avec cette coque. En recherche d’investisseurs
Brian Bennett
I could swear I remember there being two of these being built simultaneously at one point. Is that correct? Is there any update on her situation? The design is one of the best I’ve ever seen, especially given her age. Nuvolari are simply in a class of their own. The ‘expedition’ label is thrown around these days for so many boats that will never fit the bill. Really frustrating to see brand new ‘expedition’ boats that have barely the range to cross the Atlantic on their own bottom.
Diane M. Byrne
There weren’t two of these, at least to my knowledge, but unfortunately this project is still not complete. She’s been listed for sale through IYC for nearly two years, available as is for €16.99 million, or completed for €105 million, with delivery up to two years after contract.