MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich can no longer claim to be the owner of the world's largest yacht as the Emirati royal family has purchased the recently-built Azzam, which is 57-feet longer than his Eclipse, according to Yacht France magazine.
The magazine puts Azzam, built by premier German shipbuilding company Lürssen for the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in the top spot of its annual World’s Top-100 Largest Yachts rating, followed by Abramovich’s Eclipse.
The 590-feet (180-meter)-long super-yacht was floated out in April after three years in construction kept under wraps.
With a top speed of over 30 knots (about 34 mph), provided by a combination of two gas turbines and two diesel engines with a total power output of 70 MW (94,000 hp), the Azzam is also considered to be one of the fastest yachts on the sea.
The construction cost of the “floating palace,” which features luxuriously decorated six bridges and a 6,000-square-foot (550-square-meter) lounge, is estimated at 468 million euros (around $620 million).
Abramovich’s Eclipse, built by Blohm + Voss of Hamburg, held the top spot in the trendy race to own the world's biggest yacht for the past three years.
Of the 100 top super-yachts included in the Yachts France rating, 19 are owned by Russians.
