After a successful series of sea trials on the Baltic Sea from Nobiskrug’s facilities in Rendsburg, the German builder this week delivered its new hybrid superyacht Artefact to her owner. Having left Germany yesterday, the 2,990 GT vessel is now en route with Gibraltar as her first port of call. SuperYacht Times rendezvoused with Artefact over the North Sea to bring you these first images. 
Commissioned by a visionary and technically-minded owner, steel cutting got underway in November 2016 after nearly two and a half years of research and development by Nobiskrug as naval architects of the project together with the yacht’s designers Gregory C. Marshall (exterior) and Reymond Langton (interior).
Artefact is characterised by a multifaceted exterior that combines sculptural shapes and hull cut-outs to create a multi-dimensional effect as the yacht is viewed in different light. Using composite materials to build the superstructure made this flexibility in the design possible and provided crucial weight savings needed from the huge amounts of glass (some 750 square metres of glass weighing in at 58 tonnes) around the yacht. 
Apart from her design, another stand-out feature of Artefact is her sophisticated hybrid propulsion system. Built to the latest IMO Tier III regulations, the system relies on power from various generators on board and an array of Lithium-ion batteries, making her up to 30% more efficient in the water than conventional diesel propulsion yachts in her class. These are coupled to the twin ABB compact azimuthing pods which also provide full Dynamic Positioning capabilities. In addition, 23 square metres of solar panels on the sundeck hardtop provide around 6kW of auxiliary power.
