Azzam
180 metres of private motor yacht. Azzam is a 180 metre motor yacht launched by Lürssen in 2013, the longest private motor yacht. Its size, speed, engines and record build time.
Azzam in harbour: |date=2014-11-29 14:23:58 |source=Own work |author=Farid mernissi, CC BY 4.0
The longest motor yacht
Azzam was launched by the German builder Lürssen on 5 April 2013 and delivered on 9 September that year. At 180 metres, longer than one and a half football pitches, it is listed as the longest private motor yacht in the world.
The exterior was designed by the Italian studio Nauta Yachts and the interior by the French designer Christophe Leoni. The beam is 20.8 metres, but the draft, the depth below the waterline, is only 4.3 metres, unusually shallow for a vessel of this size.
Built in record time
Projects of this scale normally take many years. For Azzam, a year of engineering was followed by about three years of construction, a record for a yacht of its size. Lürssen built the hull in sections and joined them before outfitting the interior.
One design challenge was the main salon, which is about 29 metres long and 18 metres wide, with an open plan and no supporting pillars. Achieving that meant careful structural engineering of the decks above.
Engines and speed
Azzam combines two gas turbines with two diesel engines, giving a total of about 47,000 horsepower. Instead of conventional propellers it uses four water jets, two of which can be steered to help the yacht manoeuvre.
The result is a top speed of more than 32 knots, very fast for a ship this large. The gas turbines are used for high-speed running, while the diesels handle cruising, which uses far less fuel.
Water jets work by drawing water in under the hull and pushing it out of the stern at high speed, which drives the yacht forward. They suit fast vessels and shallow water because there are no large propellers hanging below the hull. The trade-off is complexity, since jets, turbines and diesels must all be controlled together from the bridge.
What length really means
Superyacht lengths are measured from bow to stern, and the rankings change as new yachts are delivered. Some research and expedition vessels are longer than Azzam, but among private motor yachts it has held the top spot since 2013.
Building such a yacht involves naval architects, engineers, interior designers and hundreds of shipyard workers. Its size and speed show what the large German and Dutch yards can achieve when cost is not the main limit.
- Azzam in harbour: |date=2014-11-29 14:23:58 |source=Own work |author=Farid mernissi, CC BY 4.0
- Azzam at the Lürssen yard: ChrisKarsten, CC BY-SA 3.0
Text written by Greatest Prestige.
