World's largest yacht announced

Project Triple Deuce, when completed, will be the world's biggest mega yacht – by a long way. With a length of 222 metres (728.4ft) it will eclipse the current title holder of largest yacht, Azzam (590m) by a whopping 138ft.

At a projected cost of between USD$1.1 and $1.3 billion it will also be the most expensive.

According to the website of brokers 4Yacht, inc of Florida, Project Triple Deuce will also be larger than many cruise ships and the comparisons are mind boggling. Costa Cruises has a ship named Costa Classic that is 722ft long and carries 1308 passengers and 590 crewmembers. But Triple Deuce is a private yacht, and is designed to carry only 36 guests in opulent luxury with a crew complement of 90-100.

Craig Timm of 4Yacht says construction of the mega yacht will begin in six to 12 months time at a shipyard in Europe which is yet to be named, and the yacht should be launched in 2018.

The yacht will be powered by triple gas-turbine engines developing in the region of 100,000hp and it will be capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots.

But why would someone build such a huge yacht? "What our client was concerned about is that if we built the yacht to 200 metres, then someone would come along like Roman Abramovich when he built Eclipse at 163.5 meters, to barely 'eclipse' Sheikh Maktoum's yacht, the 162-meter Dubai, by only 1.5 metres," said Timm. "By building the yacht to 222 metres, he wants to make it difficult, if not impossible, to be 'eclipsed' himself."

Timm said that aside from the astronomical cost of Project Triple Deuce, the annual operating costs of a yacht this size would run to between USD$20-35 million per year.

Specifications:
Length: 222m (728.4ft)
Beam: 24.9m (81.69ft
Draft: 4.8m (15.78ft)

Accommodation:
1 Owners suite 275sqm
4 VIP suites 90sqm
12 Guest suites 60sqm

Power:
100,000hp triple gas turbines
Range: 4000nm