Lürssen has announced the delivery of the largest yacht in the world, the 180m superyacht Azzam.
German superyacht builder Lürssen reports that Azzam was delivered about a month ago, on October 22, 2013. The world's largest motor yacht owes her timeless exterior styling and excellent proportions to Mario Pedol of Italian design house Nauta Yachts. Pedol told Boat International the superyacht's speed requirements led to the inspiration for her styling. Christophe Leoni is responsible for the interior styling, which is inspired by early 19th Century French Empire design and boasts an open-plan main salon measuring 29m by 18m.
Azzam is powered by four engines (two diesels and two gas turbines), linked to water-jets, producing 94,000hp. This September, Azzam was clocked at reaching speeds of more than 30 knots during sea trials, and now Lürssen confirms her tops speed is more than 30 knots.
She is impressive for her size as the biggest yacht in the world – eclipsing the previous record holder, the 162.5m Blohm & Voss-built Eclipse – and also for her record-breaking building time, which Lürssen cites as 'less than three years from steel cutting following one year of engineering.' This is much owed to the leadership of Engineer Mubarak Saad Al Ahbadi, who assembled and led the build team, which included technical project management by Burgess and technical engineering by Lürssen.