Patrick Coote of Fraser Yachts alerts me to the fact that the unique 55.75m expedition yacht/oceanographic research vessel Alucia is now finished, with sea trials complete and ready for sale.
A joint central agency with Tom Allen in the Seattle office and Burgess, she was originally built as the support ship for the French research submersible Nautile. She's now been completely stripped, rebuilt, rewired and re-equipped, while a thorough reworking of her superstructure has given Alucia a new submersible hangar, a sundeck and a helicopter pad.
Patrick says that: "She's the only ship in the world to carry three deep-diving manned submersibles and this, in conjunction with her decompression chamber, mixed-gas dive support, powerful sonar and tenders, make her one of the most sophisticated sub-sea exploration platforms ever built."
Her interior has been fitted out to superyacht standards and accommodates up to 16 guests in a master, double and four twins plus four Pullman berths. With a range of 10,000 nautical miles at 11 knots, Alucia is asking $42 million.