UPDATE, AUGUST 8, 2022: The massive masts for the sailing superyacht Koru/Oceanco Y721 are in place. Read on beneath the clip for our original article.
Well before dawn, one of the largest private yachts in the world began making a journey under tow from her build shed. Rumored as the sailing superyacht Koru, Oceanco Y721—bigger than all current sailing yachts, too—gradually made the journey from the yard’s Dutch headquarters for final outfitting.
Although the 417-foot (127-meter) project appeared outside her build shed last October, more of her features are finished now, of course, and therefore apparent. For instance, she has an elongated bowsprit, complementing a traditionally flared bow and stern. Additionally, she has what appears to be varnished wood topsides. Finally, the perennially popular combination of a navy blue hull and white superstructure further suit her overall traditional styling.
The design studio responsible for that styling, however, remains confidential at this point. The shipyard and subcontractors remain under confidentiality agreements. Regardless, a few facts are public, besides her length. For example, the sailing superyacht Koru/Oceanco Y721 is a three-masted schooner. In fact, the masts have been occupying part of a parking lot at Oceanco’s Alblasserdam facility for the past several weeks (below). Yet again, due to confidentiality clauses, their dimensions remain unknown.
Although they were still in build, the masts garnered the yacht some unwanted publicity earlier this year. The shipyard initially intended to step the masts while the yacht was still in Alblasserdam. Afterwards, as is tradition for its launches, she would head to Rotterdam for further outfitting. Word began spreading in Rotterdam that a bridge in the city would need temporary dismantling to allow her to pass through. The bridge dates to the 19th century and saw restoration after World War II as well. Citizens expressed outrage, creating and signing an online petition pledging to throw rotten eggs at the yacht. This summer, however, the shipyard and the city reportedly came to an agreement to avoid the dismantling. The masts therefore will travel by barge to the finishing site.
The sailing superyacht Koru/Oceanco Y721 should be complete and in her owner’s hands by the end of the year. That widely asserted owner is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com. Bloomberg Businessweek published an excerpt of a then-upcoming biography of Bezos that appeared to confirm the rumors, too. In part, it read, “There, outside Rotterdam, a new creation was secretly taking shape: a 127-meter-long, three-mast schooner about which practically nothing was known, even in the whispering confines of luxury boat builders—except that upon completion, it will be one of the finest sailing yachts in existence.” The excerpt further mentions a support yacht under construction at Oceanco for the project.
Oceanco oceancoyacht.com
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