On Friday 9 March, at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano-La Spezia, the keel was laid for the first megayacht of the company which was ordered in May last year.
Present at the ceremony were the Undersecretary for Defence, the Rt. Hon. Giovanni Lorenzo Forcieri, Rt. Hon. Senators Luigi Grillo and Egidio Banti, Rt. Hon. Andrea Orlando, the Prefect, Vincenzo Santoro, the Mayor, Giorgio Pagano, the President of the Province, Giuseppe Ricciardi, the representative of the owner, Nicholas Baker and the Chief Executive Officer of Fincantieri, Giuseppe Bono.
When she is delivered in 2010, this 134-metre yacht will be one of the largest in the world and in all probability the most technologically advanced.
The project was developed by Fincantieri Yachts team, departing from a revolutionary, concept design by Espen Oeino for the owner – the creator of some of the world’s most famous, outstanding yachts.
The yacht, designed in accordance with the highest class of international merchant shipping regulations for the safety of passengers, will have seven decks, a hangar and two helicopter landing platforms in addition to a huge sea water pool that can also be used for tender docking. She will also have a submarine for immersions of up to 100 metres and 4,500 square metres of interior space, including 2,700 square metres of luxury space designed by Studio Pascale Reymond Langton Design, one of the most trend-setting interior designers of large pleasure craft.
For Fincantieri, this event marks a further step forward in this exclusive, strategic market confirming that the management is highly determined to build a successful future also in the high prestige mega yacht business area. Indeed, Fincantieri is increasingly dedicating substantial management and financial resources to this market with the aim of becoming, in a brief time frame, the market reference point for reliability and excellence, i.e. to achieve the same position the company has already attained in cruise, merchant and naval shipbuilding.
In building these vessels Fincantieri draws on the experience gained in the construction of complex, innovative ships with a high design and technological content such as cruise ships and fast ferries. The company has construction facilities which meet the specific requirements of this type of production and exploits knowledge, methodologies and technologies from the design and construction of naval vessels, from which key solutions have been developed in order to excel in the field of large pleasure craft. Fincantieri has already built over 400 ships at Muggiano shipyard, including the world famous Destriero, a yacht designed and constructed in record time, which, in 1992, won the prestigious “Blue Riband”, setting the record for crossing the Atlantic without refuelling at an average speed of over 53 knots, with peaks of 70 knots.