Who Built What: The 100-Meter-Plus Megayachts Completed in 2023

Every year in yachting, thousands of owners eagerly take delivery of their new projects. Most of these deliveries never make headlines. The larger the yacht, though, the more it attracts attention. That’s also why most magazines and websites recap the 10 largest deliveries year after year. We, however, decided to take a different approach as the end of 2023 draws near. In reviewing the biggest deliveries, we couldn’t help but notice most of the top 10 exceeded 100 meters (328 feet) LOA. So, here are all of the 100-meter-plus megayachts completed in 2023, along with who built them.

Without question, Lürssen builds the most 100-meter-plus megayachts out of any shipyard in the world. It should come as no surprise, then, to find the German shipyard on this list. In fact, it may not even surprise you to find it tops the list, with the 479-foot Opera. Fun fact #1 about the yacht: She’s the sixth-largest superyacht in Lürssen’s history. Although most of the details about this delivery have remained confidential, styling and interior design are both by Terence Disdale. Additionally, she has two helipads and two swimming pools out on her decks. Fun fact #2: The American opera singer Elizabeth Winn serenaded Opera on her launch day in late 2022. (Hand over took place in March of this year.)

Just shy of 476 feet LOA, Luminance sprang from the vision of a Ukrainian businessman, Rinat Akhmetov. Interestingly, his identity became public in an interview in The New York Times, with one of his representatives. That same representative hinted that the war in his home country could keep him from taking delivery. This very well may have happened, too, since the yacht remains at the shipyard. Regardless, the representative, the shipyard, and others involved in the development of Luminance have remained tight-lipped about her features. Therefore, the number of staterooms and other creature comforts remain confidential. The only confirmed details are that styling is from Espen Øino International and that volume exceeds 9,000 gross tons.

Arguably, among the 100-meter-plus megayachts completed in 2023—and even among all ever delivered—Koru has gotten the most publicity. A sailing yacht from Oceanco, she belongs to Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, who has been cruising aboard with Lauren Sanchez, his fiancé who’s also a TV reporter, since delivery. His ownership has led to all sorts of speculation, including, for instance, that the figurehead at the bow replicates Sanchez’s features. They don’t, according to her—but she occasionally reveals peeks at places onboard in her Instagram account. Currently in the Caribbean, Koru is a three-masted schooner with a deep-blue hull. If you look closely in photos or get to see her in person, look for a chair on her bowsprit. Talk about a perfect vantage point!

So, where does the name Jag come from, you ask? Simple: Her owner also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars football team. Shad Khan is further a repeat Lürssen customer, having commissioned the 315-foot (96-meter) Kismet several years ago, Just like Kismet, Jag has a gleaming metal sculpture of a jaguar as her bowsprit, despite being a motoryacht. The new yacht features a dramatically flared bow and other styling elements from Nuvolari-Lenard. Inside, meanwhile, Reymond Langton Design collaborated with Khan on an atmosphere ideal for lavish living and corporate entertaining, something Kismet did a lot of over the years, including through charter. While sea trials occurred several weeks ago, the yacht has not yet crossed the Atlantic for the winter season.

The 388-foot LivaO is the largest delivery to date from Abeking & Rasmussen. Since global cruising is on the agenda of the owner, several areas onboard stand out. For example, a so-called Neptune Lounge straddles the waterline, with an 11- by 4-foot (3.4- by 1.3-meter) window. That’s perfect for viewing coral and colorful fish when LivaO ventures to the South Pacific, among other regions. Then there’s a marble fireplace amid a seating area on the sundeck, ideal for staying warm when cruising in Arctic waters. Best of all, perhaps, is a crow’s nest. When the owner and guests want to head ashore, they have a 52-foot (16-meter) dayboat, which launches from a dedicated garage. All of these amenities combined set the black-hulled LivaO apart among 100-meter-plus megayachts constructed not just this year, but also in recent years.  

Renaissance is the largest private vessel ever built in Spain. The 367-footer accommodates 36 guests in 19 staterooms. Although she has an ice-classed hull, too, so far she hasn’t traveled to cold-weather climes. Instead, she spent the summer chartering in the Mediterranean, and is doing the same this winter in the Caribbean. Nevertheless, guests have quite the ambience in which to delight. Nineteen-foot-high (5.7-meter-high) ceilings throughout her decks make every room look and feel even more spacious than it is. An entire deck is dedicated to a spa, including a steam room, massage room, a sauna, plunge pools, and a hair salon. While these all feed the soul, literal feeding comes from a custom pizza oven, in addition to the galley of course.

If this yacht’s name is familiar, surely you’re thinking of another Oceanco project from a few years ago. Her delivery took place in 2010, in fact, on behalf of Hollywood heavyweight Steven Spielberg. LOA was 282 feet (86 meters, above), dwarfed by this newer 358-footer (top of page), also belonging to Spielberg. The new Seven Seas so far hasn’t appeared in any magazine features, so her interior remains out of the public eye. (The same was true of Spielberg’s prior yacht.) However, according to Oceanco and Molly Isaksen Interiors, the interior-design studio, a lot of glass and an equally high amount of natural materials are the major highlights. With a beam of 59 feet (16 meters), the megayacht should look and feel voluminous as well.

Abeking & Rasmussen abeking.com

Freire Shipyard freireshipyard.com

Lürssen lurssen.com

Oceanco oceancoyacht.com