M/Y Black Shark had her keel laying ceremony in Feb 2019, in December the next milestone was achieved, taking a swim to the final facility before completion.

Unlike fish, sharks generally need to keep swimming in order to breathe and that’s no less true for M/Y Black Shark. Progress on NOBISKRUG’s highly anticipated 77m Black Shark (Project 793) is not staying still, lurking forward past the next milestone, the arrival of the custom new build’s hull at the shipyard’s Rendsburg facility. The towing of a hull from Kiel to Rendsburg always marks a significant milestone in a new build project, and for Black Shark, whose construction has been meticulously charted by a few key media, the landmark event did not disappoint.

It took the power of two tugs to haul the hull from the Kiel facility on the shores of the Baltic Sea, setting off at 10am in the direction of Rendsburg. Black Shark’s hull passed through locks before entering the Kiel Canal where it spent three hours travelling at the maximum speed of 8 knots. It completed the landmark journey on the River Eider, arriving at the state-of-the-art facility in Rendsburg at 1:30pm.

It is here where the highly-anticipated hull will be painted matte black to mimic the texture of the skin of a black shark (Carcharhinus obscurus). In contrast, the superstructure will wear a sporty, metallic silver colour to complement the mast, which is cleverly designed to resemble a shark fin. The dark exterior colour will wrap three decks which have been specifically designed by British studio Winch Design to emphasise the yacht’s voluminous 2,080GT.

Fadi Pataq, of Nobiskrug, said “Following the keel laying in February this year, we are excited to see Black Shark entering the next phase of the build process, interior and exterior outfitting, which will commence at our facility in Rendsburg.”

The next time M/Y Black Shark will see daylight is when she is finished.

Sea Eagle II has just been launched by its maker, Royal Huisman the Netherlands based builder that prides itself in building dreams.

• World’s largest aluminium sailing yacht
• World’s 7th largest sailing yacht
• Royal Huisman’s largest yacht ever

It was called project 400, a project so big it required the Dutch shipyard of Royal Huisman to first extend its main construction shed just to contain the massive project. It also required the builder to adopt new methods of product development and construction.

A dramatic image was released in 2018 of the rotating of the 81m / 266ft contemporary schooner’s hull at the Royal Huisman. Its sheer size was amazing. The critical operation required two cranes on the hardstand at the build hall’s opening, and a further two cranes sitting out on the water on barges. At one point during the task, half of the aluminium hull could be seen hanging over the water while the other half of the hull was still over the hardstand and still inside the shed.

So who commissioned this project and how did it come about?

A prominent Taiwanese businessman and philanthropist, Dr Samuel Yin, was waiting for his first Royal Huisman, called Sea Eagle, to be built and was due for delivery in 2015. But even before its completion there was talk of desiring something larger, something that had more boat speed, something whereby more or the world could be seen under sail, his ultimate dream yacht!

It was eventually to be aptly named Sea Eagle II but first started life as project 400 for build purposes. A year was spent on the design, engineering and construction planning before the 6 metre fixed keel was laid in June 2017. That keel alone took 2 weeks to fill with lead!

So you can imagine the pride of Royal Huisman as the marques largest build to date rolled out of the hall in Vollenhove above the self-propelled modular trailers on schedule and in all its glory.

From here, Sea Eagle II’s three masted carbon composite Rondal Panamax rig will be installed upon launch at Royal Huisman Amsterdam to ready her for sea trials and on-board crew training.

What Royal Huisman says

“Together with Dykstra Naval Architects and designer Mark Whiteley, Royal Huisman made this grand aspiration into a striking reality, keeping their promise of “If you can dream it, we can build it.”

“The Royal Huisman team and Project 400: always a special and emotional moment to say farewell before a superyacht creation leaves her home in Vollenhove. In total, 21 yachts were either new constructions or refit projects for Royal Huisman and Huisfit in 2019. The team is now more flexible capacity-wise than ever before, working in close collaboration with selected and highly qualified co-makers for specific projects in Vollenhove, Amsterdam and flexible locations. These partnering companies work closely together with Royal Huisman’s in-house team. What continues to set Royal Huisman apart from others, however, is that the shipyard remains unique in advancing all essential superyacht skills and knowledge in-house (design, engineering and production).”

Sea Eagle II Specs

• Naval architect: Dykstra Naval Architects
• Exterior design: Dykstra Naval Architects
• Interior design: Mark Whiteley Design
• Number of guests: 12
• Number of crew: 13 Overall length: 81.0m (265’9″)
• Length on deck: 80.0m (262’6″)
• Length at waterline: 77.0m (252’7″)
• Beam: 12.0m (39’4″)
• Draught max: 6.0m (19’8″)
• Gross tonnage:  1150
• Full load displacement: 980
• Max. speed: 21.0 kn
• Sail area:  3050m2

The largest AMELS superyacht to date, a 78-metre Full Custom project by designer Espen Øino, has touched water for the first time.

December 4th, at the At the Damen Shipyards hull-building facility on the Danube, the hull of the latest AMELS 78m Full Custom superyacht was successfully launched.

The most recent AMELS delivery of this scale, the 83-metre HERE COMES THE SUN in 2017, was slightly longer, however, the new 78m Full Custom project has a larger Gross Tonnage, which will make her the largest AMELS superyacht to date when delivered.

The contract for the full custom AMELS yacht was signed during the Monaco Yacht Show in 2017. The Owner appointed Espen Øino and his team to develop the exterior design and General Arrangement, and Zuretti Interior Designers to create the interior.

The yacht will now be transported to the AMELS outfitting yard in the Netherlands where the 2,850 Gross Tonnage yacht is scheduled for completion in 2021.

What the superyacht designer says:

The project’s exterior designer and naval architect, Espen Øino, states “It’s definitely a unique project and it was an intense collaboration with AMELS and I think it’s been an amazing journey so far since signing the contract in 2017.”

Commenting on his favorite design features, Espen continues: “The layout with the big pool on the upper deck with the boats below either side, but they are all hidden so you don’t see it. And of course the balconies with the direct access from the cabins out which you can spot very easily and it’s actually looking pretty amazing. A lot of people don’t notice this because when you look at the profile view they’re not very visible, but when you draw the boat in 3D you can see these balconies coming out.”

What the Owner’s representative says:

At the launch, the Owner’s team, represented by Andrew Tree of Superyacht Technical Services commented “This truly custom yacht, with stunning design both inside and out, could only be achieved with the greatest collaboration, having the very best of European design and the highest quality of construction and management. It has been a pleasure to represent the Owner throughout this prestigious build process and we look forward to her completion and delivery in 2021.”

The in-house AMELS and DAMEN design and engineering team lead the yacht’s development from the Damen Shipyards Group’s yachting division headquarters in the Netherlands.