Italian shipyard Benetti has shared a construction update on its full-custom 80-metre superyacht project known as hull FB291 and codenamed Project Iron Man. The bare new build has now arrived at the yard's Livorno facilities for outfitting, where she will remain until her scheduled launch date of 2028.
Construction on the custom yacht began in May last year, less than a year after the contract was signed in July 2024. FB291 was commissioned by a repeat Benetti owner represented by Northrop & Johnson.
Italian studio Cassetta Yacht Designers is the driving force behind both the exterior and interior design, with FB291 set to push "the frontiers of design, technology and seakeeping" according to the shipyard, while accommodating the owner's specific requests.
Details remain scarce, though the yard previously noted that the yacht's six decks will feature large outdoor entertaining areas able to accommodate the owner's multi-generational family.
"We are honoured to create a new, beautiful design for a client that showed us his love from our very first meeting five years ago, and continuously supported our vision through his first and now second build with us," Cassetta said of the project in May 2025. "The great attention that he and his family dedicated to the definition of the design will be instrumental to the creation of a new masterpiece."
The yard highlighted its Livorno facilities – the Group's hub for large steel construction – as a key industrial asset, managing the outfitting of complex vessels while ensuring synergy between Benetti's various sites.
According to BOATPro, Benetti has an impressive 42 yachts currently in build or on order, with FB291 the largest under construction, closely followed by two yachts from its 72-metre flagship B.Now model.
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