man of war yacht

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MAN OF WAR Yacht for Sale

66' oyster | 2008 | £900,000.

• Yachts for sale
• express cruisers

Last updated Feb 2, 2024

Man Of War Yacht | 66' Oyster 2008

An exclusive opportunity to invest in this beautiful Oyster 655 that has been meticulously upgraded and maintained since her build in 2008. She is a ‘turn-key’ yacht and is fully prepared, equipped, and ready to cruise.

With her taller carbon rig and fully battened mainsail, she has both superb light air performance and the ability to eat up those ocean miles. This means you will cross oceans quickly and efficiently. So if you are intending to enter the Oyster World Rally you will have more time in each cruising location to explore and relax! This makes her a superb proposition for her next owner. 

She is priced to sell and we are now inviting offers over £900,000 which is superb value for this stunning TAX PAID Oyster 655. So if you're a serious buyer then please do get in touch.

For more info please contact Paul AdamsonTel:  +44 (0) 747 970 2000 Email: [email protected] “Man of War has been impeccably maintained and she is a superb example of the 655. If you are looking for a pre-loved Oyster to sail in the Oyster World Rally 2024 then look no further, Man of War is your yacht”  Paul Adamson

Denison Yacht Sales is pleased to assist you in the purchase of this vessel. This boat is centrally listed by Adamson International.

Denison Yacht Sales offers the details of this yacht in good faith but can’t guarantee the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of this boat for sale. This yacht for sale is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal from that yacht market without notice. She is offered as a convenience by this yacht broker to its clients and is not intended to convey direct representation of a specific yacht for sale.

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Man Of War HIGHLIGHTS

• Yacht Details: 66' Oyster 2008
• Location: Barcelona, ES-B, Spain
• Engines: Perkins/Sabre
• Last Updated: Feb 2, 2024
• Asking Price: £900,000
• Max Draft: 9' 8''

Man Of War additional information

• Beam: 18' 5''
• Hull Material: Fiberglass
• Displacement: 85,980.28 lb
• Fuel Tank: 1 x 1900|liter
• Fresh Water: 2 x 1550|liter
• Single Berths: 4
• Double Berths: 2

Hull Number : Oyster 655/09

1. Hull Construction : Laid up GRP, single skin with structural stringers and floors to Lloyds approved design specification and incorporates a hi-tech, custom Carbon/Kevlar composite laminate.

Hull Finish: White hull with cove lines and double boot top in Awlgrip Metallic Jet Black

Deck Construction: Moulded in GRP with balsa core.

Deck Finish: Teak Laid Decks & Oyster Deck Saloon with G5 styling. 

Keel : High-performance bulb (HPB) external lead keel

Rudder: Fully protected skeg-hung rudder.

Transom : Large 'sugar scoop' with laid teak steps and fold-down bathing ladder.

EURCD : Built to comply with the EU's 'Recreational Craft Directive' to meet design Cat A - Ocean.

2. Deck Layout & Equipment

ANCHOR : CQR 48kg (1051b) anchor with 100m x 12mm chain. Spade 30kg (661b) Model 140 kedge anchor with chain plus 100m x 18mm Octoplait warp.

WINDLASS : Lewmar 3000 vertical gypsy/drum type electric anchor windlass.

DECK ACCESS : Midship gateway stanchions with stainless steel hinged boarding ladders, which close up to form the side-gates. Gate to pushpit. Stainless steel bathing ladder. Black Flag carbon fibre passerelle with stanchions, halyard and spreader bar; including padded bag.

HATCHES : Lewmar alloy-framed deck hatches. Foredeck hatch upgraded to flush Rondal hatch with teak deck covering. Gebo alloy-framed portlights in coaming. Gebo opening hullports.

CANVASWORK : Sprayhood to main companionway in WeatherMax - colour 'Silver'. Roll-up window in sprayhood and leather covering on aft edge.

Bimini in WeatherMax- colour 'Silver'. Clear windows under boom lights and over helm positions. (Additional brand new spare bimini in bag)

Foredeck Sun Awning complete with zip on sides for Sun Bathing Area on foredeck.

Cockpit table cover with access panels to fridge and stowage pockets at ends.

Covers for wheels, steering pedestals and all winches including windlass in WeatherMax

Padded cockpit table cover with access flaps to fridge and stowage pocket in WeatherMax

DECK PLUMBING : Hot and cold freshwater deck shower in transom step locker. Freshwater anchor/deck wash pump in bow locker with hose. Stern freshwater deck wash off aft deck shower.

COCKPIT  :  Oyster deck saloon profile with 'g5' styling.The cockpit is split into separate steering and guest/crew areas. The aft cockpit has a clear central walkway through between twin wheels, giving excellent access from the main companionway to the helm positions and to the aft deck.

COCKPIT TABLE : Cockpit table in teak and stainless steel - 6-leaf extending version. Teak top in natural finish teak with black caulking to mimic deck style. Top opening refrigerated, insulated GRP cool box. Frigomatic 24V DC, keel-cooled, refrigeration unit for cockpit table.

STEERING : Twin custom carbon black Y-spoke wheels on twin custom GRP steering pedestals. Whitlock 'Mamba' torque rod and gearbox steering systems.

GENERAL : Stainless steel pulpit and pushpit. GRP low profile 'rolled edge' bulwark with Nomen folding cleats in grey aluminium finish. 2 x additional cleats on transom cap rail.Stainless steel dorade vents. Stainless steel grabrails atop deck saloon. Low level stainless steel grabrails either side of mast area. Liferaft stowage incorporated into pushpit quarter seats to port and starboard.

Stern quarter pushpit seats in teak and stainless steel with cushions. Carbon sternpost for navigation/communications antennae. Stowage compartment with removable partition at forward end of anchor locker for kedge warp and chain stowage. Cockpit locker lids fitted with gas struts.

Lazarette locker with twin stainless steel gas struts. Warp bar and shelves for plastic stowage crates fitted. Locker for fuel container stowage.

3. Mast, Sails & Rigging

MAST and RIGGING : Sloop rig. Hall Spars 3-spreader carbon mast with clear coating and EZV boom. Internal boom preventer line in Spectra. Navtec solid rod boom vang. 2 x Navtec hydraulic backstay adjusters. Navtec Mk 8 hydraulic control panel for backstay, vang and outhaul. No strike' ion dissipater at masthead. Running rigging lines in custom colours.

PLEASE NOTE:  For those wishing to have push-button furling for the mainsail rather than slab reefing, we have an excellent, 'In Boom Furling' package that is a simple conversion package to a Furler Boom Solution which will give you push-button in-boom furling.

Standing rigging: discontinuous stainless steel rod rigging. (Full Sevice in 2021 with 6 montlhy checks and rig reports)

Status omni-directional aerial at masthead for JV/FM.

HEADSAIL FURLING : Reckmann EF90-3 electric headsail furling system. (Service by Reckman 2022)

WINCHES : Lewmar self-tailing winches in grey aluminium finish:

2 x 77 AEST three-speed electric primaries.

2 x 65 AST two-speed secondaries.

1 x 64 AEST two-speed electric mainsheet.

1 x 46 AST two-speed mainsheet traveller control line.

1 x 68 AEST three-speed electric deck-mounted mainsail halyard.

1 x 68 AEST three-speed electric deck-mounted genoa halyard.

SPINNAKER GEAR:Carbon single spinnaker pole stowed vertically on mast with butt hoist line driver. Carbon bowsprit with 2:1 tack line and block to allow setting of asymmetric spinnaker. Bowsprit is removable and integrated into the stemhead fitting with stowage for the bowsprit in bow sail locker.

STORM JIB PACKAGE : Removable storm jib inner forestay integrated into stemhead fitting with associated tackle.

SAILS : By Doyle Sails:

• Delivered early 2022 
• Full batten RBS E-Glass 
• Tri-Radial performance cruise construction 
• Harken switch track luff system - including Rudgerson batten boxes. 
• 3 re-enforced reefs 
• Dyneema webbing attachment points 
• Soft clew attachment 
• Pro-Radial 434 - Crimpless warp and coated in UVi to ensure the highest possible UV stability. 
• Manufactured by Doyle Sails Solent Ltd in the UK.
• Design in New Zealand
• Doyle Vectran/Carbon, with rugged taffeta - optimised for performance cruising. 
• Designed in New Zealand.
• Black UV strip 
• Re-enforced reef points 
• Soft Clew attachment
• Delivered late 2021
• Dacron construction
• Tri-Radial Construction 
• Soft clew construction

Cableless Furling Gennaker:

• Nylon construction 
• Includes Man of War branding 
• KF8 - 8T Karver Furling unit, head unit, furling line 
• Re-enforced canvas carry bag

Storm Jib : By Dolphin Sails:                                   

• Storm jib in hi-visibility orange with soft hanked luff for Aramid stay.

4. Interior

GENERAL :  Nine berths in four cabins, excluding the saloon. Interior joinery finished in Maple. Designed to be modern and coordinated, whilst remaining practical and durable at sea. Essential features include sculpted fiddles and grabrails, 'shadow-gap' joints between panels and Timage flush chrome knobs for lockers and drawers. Door handles in brushed stainless steel.

Aft bulkheads in owner's stateroom and forward starboard guest cabin painted in satinwood finish - colour ‘Linnet White'.

Cabin sole in Maple with strip plank effect with 'Unatural Flooring' covering the high wear areas.

Surfaces in galley and heads in satin finish Avonite - colour 'Foundation White'.Headlining in off-white vinyl. Upholstery in JMT Aquamarine leather - colour 'Pure White'. Crew covers in Kirby 'crushed' material for seating in saloon and owner's stateroom. Foam vinyl day cover for saloon table. Lee screens on sea berths.

Oceanair blinds to all windows with Oceanair Duette dropdown blinds in hullports. Oceanair Skyscreens to all deck hatches.12V fan in galley

FORWARD SAIL LOCKER : Access only via deck hatch with stainless steel ladder. Rail for rope stowage. Stainless steel tube and canvas sail rack to starboard. Watertight bulkhead to sail locker.

FORWARD PORT CREW CABIN : With upper and lower berths and insert for lower berth.

TWIN CABIN : Leather upholstered headboard and footboard to each berth. Lockers beneath lower berth, hanging locker and locker with shelves. Small fold down table fitted to centerline bulkhead and can be used for computer, etc., whilst seated on the lower bunk.

EN SUITE HEAD/DAY HEADS : With Jabsco electric Quiet Flush freshwater toilet, washbasin and separate shower stall with glazed door. Hansgrohe quality mixer taps and shower with matching accessories. Heated towel rail. Doubles as a day head with access either from the forward cabin or passageway.

STARBOARD FORWARD DOUBLE CABIN : With double berth and stowage crates below, lockers, drawers and a hanging locker.Leather upholstered headboard set into bulkhead. Mirror on hanging locker door.         

EN SUITE HEADS : With Jabsco electric Quiet Flush freshwater toilet; washbasin and separate shower stall with glazed door. Hansgrohe quality mixer taps and shower with matching accessories. Heated towel rail.   

GALLEY : Down two steps aft of the saloon to port, the U-shaped galley provides a spacious safe area to work in whilst at sea with good worktop space. Above the sinks an opening port light provides ventilation from the guest cockpit foot well. Plentiful stowage lockers including additional crockery stowage. Locker doors to cupboards above countertops in stainless steel finish Formica.              

SINKS : Twin stainless steel Franke sinks with integrated water filter system. Drainage grooves to worktop on either side of sink.                                

COOKER/HOB:Gimballed Neff B6774 stainless steel multifunction oven with microwave Stainless steel rod inserts by cooker as hot pan stand.

EXTRACTOR FAN : AEG stainless steel extractor hood with fan and light.

REFRIGERATOR : Front-opening refrigerator with brushed stainless steel door and second top-opening refrigerator. Frigomatic 24V DC system for two galley refrigerators.

FREEZER : Top-opening freezer. Frigomatic 24V DC 50F water-cooled twin compressors with twin plate for freezer box.

DISHWASHER : Fisher and Paykel Dish Drawer - single drawer dishwasher with a deep pan drawer below.

WASHER/DRYER : Miele washer/dryer.

SALOON :  The light and airy saloon features a large, L-shaped settee to starboard and a shorter settee to port.

Central to the L-shaped settee is a fixed maple table with fold over leaf to double its size for dining. Two loose folding director's chairs with white leather seats and backs allow for comfortable dining for eight.

At the aft end of the starboard settee is a 'coffee table' area with drawer under and brushed stainless steel grabrails.

Electric lift for 32" TV from behind settee.

Grab handles in brushed stainless steel to forward end of each settee.

Grab rail on centreline edge of table in brushed stainless steel.

Horizontal baize-lined bottle stowage in table pedestal, including layer for champagne bottles.

Drinks locker with stowage for bottles and glasses, plus additional lockers for stowage of crystal glasses and spirit bottles.

Raritan icemaker below forward end of port settee. Overhead handrail in brushed stainless steel.

Miele washer/dryer.

Access to the cockpit is via a set of companionway steps in clear-coated carbon fibre with timber surrounds and brushed stainless steel handrails.

NAVIGATION AREA : Comfortable forward/outboard facing navigation station to starboard with chart table, locker and bookshelf. Instruments set into timber fascia.Upholstered swivel seat with high backrest and brushed stainless steel arms. Circuit breaker panel in brushed stainless steel with black switches.

ENGINE ROOM : Accessed via hinged doors from the aft passageway.

Built of sound-insulating plywood with the entire area insulated with a foam and barrier insulation with exposed wooden surfaces coated in fireproof paint.24V lighting plus 2 extractor fans ducted to the exterior. Automatic fire extinguishers. Stowage racks on rear of engine room doors.

AFT STARBOARD BUNK CABIN : To starboard off passageway with upper and lower berths.Hanging locker, drawers and lockers. Lower berth lee cloth modified to create a 'cot side' in strong mesh with sprung stainless steel tube along top edge to fit into sockets. Leather upholstered headboard and footboards to each berth.

MASTER CABIN : Full width master cabin with double berth offset to port and under berth drawers. Sprung mattress. Leather upholstered headboard set into painted bulkhead. Settee/sea berth to starboard with desk and hanging locker, including additional drawers. Vanity desk with mirror and upholstered seat to port with second large hanging locker.

Full-length mirror on hanging locker door. Abundant drawer and locker space. Recessed bookshelves/stowage to port and starboard. 3-brick combination safe.

Access from the aft deck via sliding companionway hatch with maple and stainless steel ladder to starboard

EN SUITE HEAD :To port with Jabsco electric Quiet Flush freshwater toilet, washbasin and separate lit shower stall with glazed door. Locker doors below basin finished in maple. Brushed stainless steel bottle holders at hullport. Hansgrohe quality mixer taps and shower with matching accessories. Heated towel rail. Extractor fan.

5. Engineering

ENGINE : Perkins/Sabre M185C 6-cylinder, turbo-charged diesel engine - maximum 136kW (187HP) at 2/100rpm. Racor fuel filtration upgraded to Duplex system with vacuum gauge and stainless steel drip tray.

ENGINE HOURS  : 3142

PROPELLER : Bruntons Varifold 26" (660mm) 4-bladed folding propeller.

ROPE CUTTER : Ambassador AM20 rope cutter on shaft.

ALTERNATORS : 88A alternator for engine start battery charging. Mastervolt 150A/24V alternator for domestic battery charging controlled by Mastervolt Alpha Pro regulator. (Replaced 2021)

GENERATOR : Onan MDKBR 17.5kVA 50Hz/240V generator.

GENERATOR HOURS : 3759.4

BOWTHRUSTER : Max Power CT325 18Hp tunnel bowthruster

AIR CONDITIONING : 220V Cruisair reverse cycle system comprising the following units:

Owner's stateroom: 16,000 BTU with feed via closable duct to aft starboard cabin.

Saloon: 2 x 16,000 BTU stoway self-contained units.

Forward starboard cabin: 10,000 BTU.

Forward port cabin: 7,000 BTU.

ICEMAKER : Raritan model 84B505-2 icemaker with Seagull water purifying filter.

WATERMAKER : Seafresh H206A watermaker producing approximately 95 litres/hour with product flow gauge. Freshwater auto flush with dedicated freshwater pump and charcoal filter.

6. Tanks & Plumbing

FUEL : 1,900 litres approximately (418 Imp gallons/502 US gallons) in two GRP tanks.

WATER : 1,550 litres approximately (340 Imp gallons/410 US gallons) in two GRP tanks.

TANK TENDER GAUGES      

HOT WATER : From an insulated 73 litres approximately tank heated by the engine's heat exchanger, or by thermostatically controlled 220V, 1.25kW immersion heater elements powered by the generator or shore power.

PRESSURISED HOT & COLD WATER : Cleghorn Waring AQM6 freshwater pressure pump system with dry running protection relay.

HOLDING TANKS:  Polyethylene gravity discharge holding tank to each heads with deck pump out and Wema capacity gauges.

MANIFOLD SYSTEM : Stainless steel manifold for seawater inlets aft with twin Aquafax filters to reduce through-hull fittings.

7. Electrical Systems

SHIP'S SUPPLY : 24V

RINGMAIN : 230V AC ring main with Euro double, 3-pin Vimar outlet sockets, located as appropriate within the layout. All Vimar sockets in brushed stainless steel surrounds.

OTHER ELECTRICAL SOCKETS : 24V socket inside anchor locker for spotlight and anchor light. 24V socket in sail locker for dinghy inflator. 230V socket inside waterproof enclosure in lazarette. 230V socket inside waterproof enclosure in sail locker.

BATTERIES : Domestic: Master Volt Li-ion Bank - Capacity TBA - Fitted 2021

Engine start and generator start: single bank of 6 x Optima Red Top batteries, 24V. Also powers the bowthruster.

BATTERY MANAGMENT : Mastervolt Easy View System controlling, MASS 100A/24V battery charger with second 100A MASS charger.

'Emergency' link between domestic and engine start batteries.

INVERTER : Mastervolt 24V/5000W, 230V/50Hz inverter to supply cooker hood, 230V sockets, coffee maker, cooker and towel rails.

Mastervolt 24V/1500W, 230V/50Hz inverter to supply icemaker, computer equipment and AV/TV systems.

SHOREPOWER : 30A dockside power cable with Hubbell socket in transom step locker. Second 30A shore power cable and Hubbell socket for air conditioning loads.

INTERIOR LIGHTING : Overhead lights in white matt painted finish. LED lighting in hullports and under upper lockers in galley. LED white lights at underside of each saloon companionway step. LED white courtesy footlights at saloon steps (i.e. to forward passageway, by galley and by chart table).

Overhead swivel artwork lights in saloon, owner's stateroom, forward starboard cabin and aft starboard cabin. Reading lights to each berth by Savage Marine in brushed stainless steel. Automatic light to drinks locker. Automatic lights to hanging lockers in owner's stateroom and forward starboard cabin.

Dimmer switches to lights in all cabins, saloon and galley.

Red LED light at chart table.

Vimar light switches in brushed stainless steel.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING :  Boom lights x 2 over cockpit table. Pair of downlighters on lower spreaders. Pair of uplighters on each set of spreaders. Deck courtesy fights at bathing platform, transom steps and cockpit walkthrough.

Waterproof lights mounted in lazarette and sail locker. Aft deck light fitted to stern antenna post. Uplighters on bridge deck to illuminate underside of sprayhood. Lopolight LED bow and stern navigation lights. Lopolight LED steaming/deck floodlight. Lopolight LED tri-white anchor/navigation light at masthead.

COMPASSES : SIRS Marine Major 150m diameter compass flush mounted on each steering pedestal.

SAILING : Raymarine i70 instrument system with flush mounted displays as below (NEW 2022) :

INSTRUMENTS: Wind, speed, depth and close-hauled wind displays at companionway console.

i70 Graphic display, analogue wind display at port pedestal.

i70 Graphic display, analogue wind display, 5T90 MOB keypad at starboard pedestal.

i70 Graphic display at chart table.

BACK UP GPS :  Furuno GP32 GPS at chart table with protected antenna on stern rail. Plug and socket switch between both GPS outputs to computer to allow Furuno GPS to be used as a back-up system.

RADAR/GPS/CHARTPLOTTER : Raymarine AXIOM integrated radar, chart plotter and GPS at starboard pedestal, Raymarine AXIOM display at chart table with 4kW radome mounted on mast. Raystar 125 differential GPS antenna.

AIS : RaymarineAIS transponder/receiver. 

AUTOPILOT : Raymarine autopilot with ST6002 control head to port pedestal with second handset at port steering pedestal and mast mounted hailer/foghorn function. Raymarine Smart Controller handheld wireless pilot.

WINDEX : Windex at masthead.

VHF RADIO : Raymarine 240E, 25W/12V, VHF radio-telephone at chart table with second station at heim including speaker.

SATELLITE PHONE  : YES

SSB RADIO : YES

9. Safety Equipment

LIFERAFT:  2 x 8 -person Ocean Safety ISO liferafts in GRP canisters with float free hydrostatic release and Solas B grab bags. Next service date to be confirmed

EPIRB : YES                           

RADAR REFLECTOR : Ecoflex radar reflector. Sea-Me active radar transponder at masthead with display at chart table.

BILGE PUMPS : Jabsco engine driven bilge pump with approximately 11,700 litres/hour capacity and manually operated clutch and cable system. Jabsco Utility Puppy 3000 electric bilge pump.Henderson MkV manual bilge pump.

DECK SAFETY : Horseshoe lifebuoy with light. Emergency tiller.

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS : Various including automatic fire extinguisher in engine bay. Manual release cable on auto fire extinguisher.

ALARMS :  Smoke detectors in engine room with audible alarms in the saloon and at steering pedestal. Bilge high water alarm with audible alarm in saloon and at steering pedestal.

RIB/DINGHY : Highfield CL310 (New July 22) with Yamaha 25HP Tiller Steered Outboard

WARPS AND FENDERS : 5 x Large Inflatable Fenders, 5 Small Inflatable Fenders & Ample Warps

CROCKERY :  Complete Set of Villeroy & Boch Crockery (11 Places - inc Dinner & Side Plates, Bowls, Mugs etc) 

CUTLERY: 11 Sets of Oyster Branded Cutlery inc Forks / Knives / Spoons 

SAFE :  3 Brick Safe in Owners Stateroom.

SPARES AND MANUALS: Yacht iPAD fully loaded with all the yacht details/specs and manuals.

NB All personal belongings and all other items not expressly listed in the above inventory are excluded from the sale.

EXPLORE THIS YACHT

Schedule a tour of man of war.

Contact our team to schedule a private showing.

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Inside Octopus: Origin story of the 126m superyacht finally revealed

The barest of details have been revealed about the mysterious  Octopus  over the past 19 years. But with a new owner and on the charter market for the first time, the 126-metre  Lürssen  superyacht is finally ready to reveal her secrets past and present…

One of the best things about flying into the South of France is the view. The brilliant blue coastline is peppered with hundreds of yachts. On this flight, however, just one of the boats below us demands our attention: the 126-metre explorer  Octopus .

The following day, in the port of Marseille where her new owner’s team is wrapping up a refit before  Octopus  departs for the Galápagos, I finally see her up close. Her navy-blue hull and skyscraper decks are incredibly impressive, while on the inside she is welcoming and warm. Although she has been refitted, her history is palpable. There’s much to learn about  Octopus , and everyone involved in her story is finally ready to talk, after decades of silence.

Why was  Octopus  such a secret? In 1998, strict non-disclosure agreements were issued all around to protect the privacy of her original owner, the late American entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft. “It was the first time I was faced with an NDA,” says  Espen Øino , who has gone on to sign hundreds over the years. “NDAs are strict and long lasting and don’t necessarily pass when the client does,” notes  Jonathan Quinn Barnett , who created  Octopus ’s original interior. “I had deep respect and admiration for Mr Allen, so to be able to say even a few words about  Octopus  now is marvellous.”

For builder Lürssen, the story started with a bit of detective work. The German shipyard’s sales director, Michael Breman, heard about a mysterious box that was loaded onto Allen’s 60.6-metre Feadship  Méduse , which supposedly contained a scale model of a new vessel.

“I figured out that something was going on and we ought to be involved,” he says. “So I contacted Paul Allen’s broker, [ Fraser’s ] Stuart Larsen, to ask some questions.”

Some time after, during a trip to the South of France, Breman received the go-ahead to submit a bid and arranged for a fax containing the brief to be sent to Øino’s office in Monaco. “Put that into context, this is 1998!” Øino says with a laugh. “Michael was in our office as the fax came in and going through it, we just couldn’t believe the brief, we thought it was totally crazy.”

The brief called for an industrial-style yacht with the appearance and capability of the Finnish multipurpose icebreaker  Fennica , built in 1993. Luckily, Øino knew the vessel. “I had a photo of  Fennica  from a few years earlier when I visited her while cruising with another client in the fjords,” says the designer. What he went on to sketch in pencil and model for the presentation was a sturdy explorer with two interchangeable options for the bow and the wheelhouse. “What is remarkable is that the original sketches and ideas are so close to what it actually became,” Breman says.

Another key part of the brief was for all toys and tenders, including a helicopter, a submarine and a floatplane, to be carried in a concealed way. So Øino drew a methodical general arrangement that included a two-level 36-metre-long floodable garage opening at the stern. “Launching so many toys over the side of the boat wasn’t the optimum idea and would affect the stability; a lot of heeling would occur,” the designer says.

Instead, working with the rules that oversee subdivisions inside a ship’s hull – and deal with damage stability calculations – he created one very long and tall compartment on the yacht’s centreline with a floodable dock flanked by rows of smaller garages to store the entire toy inventory of what became known as Project Octopus.

“At Lürssen, we give everything a project name, and my daughter came up with  Octopus ,” says Breman. “Along with Paul’s love for diving, plus the fact that his previous yacht was  Méduse  [“jellyfish” in French], we thought  Octopus  was a perfect project name. Little did we know then that  Octopus  would be her name once completed and delivered.” Øino says. “She was our 15th project enquiry in 1998, and so in my office, she was known as 9815.”

The proposal Lürssen created with Øino was successful, but the German shipyard soon had to resolve its first quandary – it didn’t have a shed available. “We ended up having to build her with a partner in Kiel,” Breman says. It also had to solve the matter of the explorer’s floodable garage, which had to be approved by class. “After researching multiple alternatives, the first idea that Espen drew was the one that worked the best,” he adds. “Our in-house model department then built a scale model of the garage to demonstrate how it could work. We even tested it by driving a tender in and out.”

Octopus’ s interior, meanwhile, came from a young American designer who had recently relocated from London where he’d worked with  Jon Bannenberg , to Seattle. The owner’s team chose Barnett from a small pool of interior designers to embellish the complex GA of the largest and most advanced explorer yacht ever built at the time.

“Paul Allen’s team told me the safest route would be to follow the creative direction of the owner’s two previous  Feadship  designs,” the designer says. “I did the opposite!” And the result was what Barnett describes as a “floating laboratory”, a timeless design perfectly suited to a creative genius. Included in the layout were out-of-the-box features such as a fully equipped medical centre, a storm cabin made to keep those who needed it comfortable in bad weather and a professional recording studio. “Back then, no yacht was capable of non-stop circumnavigation, while cutting an album for U2,” he says. Mick Jagger, Usher and Joss Stone are also said to have spent time in the studio – a claim no other superyacht is ever likely to make.

Barnett took a simple approach to the interior decor. While some walls are painted a neutral colour, others are covered in bee’s wing-figured eucalyptus, and it’s this vast amount of wood panelling that gives the hardy explorer the warm, comfortable feeling of a home. For Allen and Barnett, the walls were just another fun puzzle to solve. “The geometry of the panels is elegant mathematics, something Mr Allen really appreciated,” Barnett says. “The handmade veneer arrived on custom-made grids, which fitted within the yacht’s own uniquely built steel frame spacing.” The walls do not just provide insulation and conceal cableways, but originally held the ever-changing art gallery on each deck. What’s on the walls today are snapshots of  Octopus ’s adventures over the years: panoramas of Patagonian icebergs, portraits of local tribe members in Tahiti and landscapes of Asia’s ancient golden temples.

An original feature that remains on the yacht to this day is an unusual timekeeping device. Braided stainless-steel shrouds from a sailing vessel are strung on either side of the grand staircase from lower to upper deck, and they function as a clock. “I combined the old tradition of having a central clock on board a ship with my client’s unique passions for modern sculpture, mathematics, art and music,” Barnett explains. “I subcontracted a 102-year-old German specialist clock company to make it, and – I’ll tell you a secret – I used digital audio software from Apple for the tunes. Sorry, Microsoft!” he says with a laugh. “I thought the clock might become a helpful visual cue to help guests find some critical orientation. Every 15 minutes, the strings could play anything from  The Bells of St Mary’s  to Jimi Hendrix!”

Octopus  was also fitted with an huge amount of onboard electronics. “Of course, the co-founder of Microsoft required more than 54 tonnes of AV and IT equipment on board,” Øino says with a smile. While the bulk of the wiring went to the studio, each cabin was assigned 60 cables for computers, entertainment systems and more, including touchscreens – which in 1998, was an exciting innovation. “They were amazing,” says Øino, “so far ahead of their time.” The touchscreens are still used today by the crew, who also use iPads as infotainment control panels for elements such as lighting and music in guest areas.

When  Octopus  launched in 2003, it was clear she had broken new ground. With diesel-electric propulsion consisting of two ABB electric motors and eight MTU 16V 4000 M50 diesel engines, she was perfectly equipped to travel anywhere in the world. “ Octopus  was always on the go,” Øino says. “Diesel-electric wasn’t commonplace in the early millennium,” he observes, and “ Octopus  was the first yacht with dynamic positioning.”

The project propelled Lürssen into the large-yacht segment and her designers had a huge career boost. “ Octopus  blew everyone away,” Breman says. “The idea and the design are something unprecedented.” What the first aerial photographs of the yacht could make out were her winged wheelhouse, long swimming pool, two helidecks and hangars and a basketball court. Whereas on the inside, areas such as the dive centre with hyperbaric chamber, 12 cabins and private owner’s deck with its own lift, terrace and spa pool were out of sight.

After a decade of extensive travelling,  Octopus ’s engines had to be overhauled. However, her interior had worn well. “There was nothing that required a major redesign or change,” Barnett says. “All the original architecture, spaces, surfaces and design details still performed exceptionally well. Seeing it made me immensely proud.”

Although she was well-maintained and in full working order, in 2019 she was sent for a refit at the Lürssen-owned  Blohm+Voss  shipyard to prepare her for the market several months after Allen passed in 2018. She had spent two decades playing host to many parties, concerts, discoveries and expeditions, and the legacy needed to continue.

In 2021, a new owner came along with plans to make her available for select charters. Transforming  Octopus  into the remarkable charter yacht that he envisioned required a few more changes. The owner’s team enlisted Adriana Monk of  Monk Design  to retouch several spaces. Top of the list was replacing the recording studio.

“Unless you’re really into music, a studio is a niche thing to have,” says Alan Pike, one of two rotational captains. Now in the studio’s prime position – aft on the bridge deck – is a modern bar/ lounge. On either side of the new bar, new guitars hang from the original wall mounts and the grand piano has stayed put. In keeping with the beach bar look Monk created, new bleached oak flooring matches the original weathered teak deck outside.

“The vocal booth is now a DJ booth,” says the captain. “We’ve kept the soundproofing, so this place is perfect for a party, or any kind of dining.” With a new sound system and outdoor lighting, “we can really go for it”. Outdoors, there’s a glass- bottom pool that, at the touch of a button, can be made into an on-water dance floor. There’s also a wood-fired pizza oven, a service bar with a beer tap and three barbecue cooking stations.

On the entertainment deck, the former formal dining room became a wine bar. On the ceiling are scenes from Allen’s 2015 shipwreck dive to the Second World War battleship  Musashi  in the Philippines. “I was granted exclusive access to the ROV footage of the  Musashi  expedition to select shipwreck stills for the backlit ceiling,” Monk says.

Nearby, the guest observation lounge was, and still is, a firm favourite. “To dine here while cruising is a joy that’s hard to describe,” says Barnett. “I like to think of this area’s design as a mid-century sunken living room.” The feeling is created by two large sofas that snake around the room looking out over the bow. The seats look low, but the view is perfect. The rest of the deck is fun and social, as there’s also a 12-seat 4D cinema, the owner’s chef ’s galley, a table-tennis table, gym, smoothie bar, hair and massage salons and a grand library, complete with an ethanol fireplace.

Soft beige and cream carpets with wave patterns have replaced patterned blue and green rugs, and in addition to the new custom-designed pieces, free-standing items of furniture selected by Monk have helped give the interior a feel that suits  Octopus ’s new charter lifestyle. But it’s nothing dramatic. “We have kept as much as possible true to the original,” the captain says. “I strove to respect the spirit of  Octopus  while capturing the new owner’s lifestyle and vision,” Monk adds. “It was an intense and challenging project.”

The yacht’s charter schedule was entrusted to  Camper & Nicholsons .  Octopus ’s range of 12,500 nautical miles and true explorer credentials offer a huge scope for charter, and as the ripples prove on the hull’s strong plating, she is more than capable of going the distance. “She can do anything!” says charter marketing manager Gayle Patterson, who has already booked the superyacht on two excursions to Antarctica. The demand has been equal to the yacht’s renown. “We’ve grown our yacht management team to give her the care she deserves,” she adds.

Since  Octopus  was delivered, many more superyachts have adopted technologically forward designs and groundbreaking engineering and have undertaken impressive expeditions. But none have achieved what  Octopus  has. As she continues to move around the world, more people will get the opportunity to step on board. And when they do, perhaps they will feel the undeniable magic that seems to linger. One thing is for sure: wherever  Octopus  carries her guests, it is a journey they will remember for the rest of their lives.

The Toy Chest

Built to explore,  Octopus  has an incredible fleet that revolves around the cavernous 36-metre internal wet dock where the two main tenders are stored and launched through a giant transom door. Today the main tender is an 18-metre Delta 54, built in carbon with an impressive range of 450nm at 30 knots; the original was  Man-of-War , an 18-metre custom Vikal, later replaced by a 13-metre Hinckley. Sharing that space was a yellow 10-person custom submarine, named  Pagoo . A new Triton 3300/6 will take that spot when it is delivered in early 2023. Most of the other tenders have dedicated garages on either side of the wet dock. They are a 9.3-metre custom Vikal limousine and two 8.7-metre custom Zodiacs, one for diving, the other for guests. Two 5.8-metre Zodiac Milpro MK-V are also available for watersports, as is an array of WaveRunners, jet skis, kayaks, surfboards, wakeboards, kitesurfers, windsurfers and electric foil Fliteboards, plus plenty of diving equipment, The icing on the cake is a remotely controlled submarine (ROV) able to dive to 2,700 metres. To conclude this impressive list,  Octopus  has two helipads and a helicopter hangar for two. Moving forward, helicopters will be chartered as needed.

The Voyages

Octopus  is one of the most active superyachts ever built. Multiple circumnavigations, the  Northwest Passage , the High Arctic,  Antarctica , Papua New Guinea and Challenger Deep were all on the menu. One of Paul Allen’s passions was naval history. A few missions that offered the opportunity for great discoveries were well publicised, like the discovery of the Japanese warship  Musashi  in the Sibuyan Sea in March 2015 after eight years of intense work. The largest battleship ever built (aside from her sistership) sank in October 1944, but the exact location was unknown.  OctoROV  took the first photos of this lost wreck in a depth of 1,000 metres. Later that year, in August, after two attempts, another expedition recovered the bell of HMS  Hood , sunk by the Germans off Greenland in 1941.

And it looks like the story will continue.  Octopus , according to BOAT Pro data, has already cruised 9,047 nautical miles since leaving Marseille after her refit in December. In less than three months, she had already crossed the Atlantic and visited Panama including Coiba, Costa Rica and Cocos Island and the Galápagos. This winter, Camper & Nicholsons has announced that she will be heading south to test her ice-class capabilities in the frozen landscapes of Antarctica once again.

For more information please visit: www.boatinternational.com

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11 crazy facts about Paul Allen's $200 million superyacht

With an estimated net worth of $17.5 billion, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen can afford some expensive toys.

His 414-foot yacht, "Octopus," has to be one of the best billionaire toys around. 

Fully equipped with a pool, two helicopters, a movie theater, basketball court, recording studio, and accommodations for 26 guests in 41 suites, Octopus makes for an extremely luxurious escape. 

We've rounded up some of the yacht's craziest features here.

1. It cost Allen about $200 million to build.

Octopus is said to have cost Allen up to $200 million . Custom-built by German shipbuilders  Lurssen  over several years, it was officially launched in 2003.

2. It costs an estimated $384,000 a week to operate.

Yacht owners are expected to  pay approximately 10% of the original purchase price each year to cover basic maintenance and operations.

By that logic, Allen pays about $384,000 a week to keep Octopus in tiptop shape. That adds up to approximately $20 million a year, according to New York Social Diary .

3. It weighs more than 9,000 tons. 

Measuring a whopping 414 feet, Octopus is  one of the biggest private yachts in the world. According to Boat International , it was the largest when it launched in 2003, though yachts belonging to David Geffen and Roman Abramovich have since surpassed it.

4. He employs a permanent staff of 60.

Keeping such a massive operation running requires a lot of helping hands: captains, first mate, engineers, deckhands, in addition to chefs and stewardesses.

The yacht has 28 cabins just for the crew, the Superyacht Times reports.  

5. The tender — a boat used to shuttle guests between the yacht and the shore — is 63 feet long.

In keeping with the sea creature theme, Octopus' tender is called "Man-of-War." At 63 feet long , it's a decently sized boat itself.

6. It has two submarines.

Allen  has said  that Octopus is "less a Bentley than a Range Rover" because of the state-of-the art exploration equipment onboard.

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According to Vulcan , one of the submarines, called Pagoo, can dive for up to eight hours and accommodate 10 people. It's stored in an interior dock on the bottom of the yacht.

A second submarine, called the Octo ROV, can be remotely controlled and dive up to 8,843 feet. The ROV has been loaned out  for Google Earth's " Explore the Ocean " project and for a documentary on the Discovery Science Channel. 

7. A crew discovered a Japanese battleship with one of them.

In March, Allen announced that a crew onboard Octopus had located a WWII-era battleship at the bottom of the ocean in the Philippines.

It wasn't the first time Octopus has been used for purposes beyond entertainment for Allen and his inner circle. In 2012, Allen loaned the yacht to the Royal Navy in an effort to find a bell from a British WWII-era battleship. The search was eventually called off due to bad weather.

Octopus is also a member of the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue, which means that it can be used to assist other boats in distress. 

8. It also has two helicopter landing pads.

There's one in the front and one in the back.

9. Mick Jagger has used the recording studio onboard.

A longtime fan of rock and roll — he built an entire museum dedicated to Jimi Hendrix memorabilia — Allen reportedly lent Octopus' recording studio to Mick Jagger when he was recording an album with SuperHeavy in 2011. 

Usher, Dave Stewart, U2, and Johnny Cash have all  reportedly performed onboard Octopus.

10. It has a glass-bottom pool. 

Other amenities include a basketball court, move theater, and a swimming pool with its own bar area. 

11. Parties Allen has hosted on the boat have drawn loads of A-list guests.

Octopus was built for a good time.  

Each year at the Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France, Allen throws an extravagant party  attended by actors, filmmakers, and supermodels.

Actors John C. Reilly, Jessica Lowndes, and Kelly Rutherford, as well as models Karlie Kloss and Melissa Bolona were all in attendance at this year's party .

Sharon Stone, Adrian Grenier, Russian actress Svetlana Metkina, and model Natasha Poly came last year .

Allen usually treats his guests to a live performance.

Watch: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

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Constructed by Lurssen shipyard and launched in 2003, luxury mega yacht OCTOPUS measures an impressive 126 metres (414 feet) in LOA and belongs the the fleet of the largest and most recognisable superyachts in the world. OCTOPUS superyacht is renowned not only for its ultra-luxurious amenities, but also for her involvement in numerous expedition projects and scientific researches or rescue operations. One of the research operations in 2015 included the discovery of the WW2 warship, Musashi.

Mega yacht OCTOPUS boasts of all the features one can expect of such an imposing vessel, including two helicopter landing pads, a movie theatre, a basketball court, a swimming pool, jacuzzis as well as a fully-equipped recording studio on board. OCTOPUS is completely custom built by the German shipyard Lurssen, who have taken several years to complete her, with immaculate attention to detail and craftsmanship. Her timeless exterior lines were designed by Espen Oeino International, whereas her striking interior was created by Jonathan Quinn Barnett.

A permanent crew of 57 members takes care of the yacht on daily basis, sleeping in 28 crew cabins. Twenty-six guests can be accommodated overnight aboard OCTOPUS yacht, in thirteen highly luxurious and elegant staterooms boasting the finest amenities, linens and furnishings. Guest receive exceptional and highly professional service from the yacht's crew twenty-four hours a day.

OCTOPUS Specifications

OCTOPUS is has a 63-foot long mega yacht tender, which is used to transport her owner and guests. This huge yacht tender is called 'Man-of-War'. There are also two submarines aboard, one of which is called Pagoo and is capable of diving up to eight hours, as well as take up to 10 guests ob board. Octo ROV is the second submarine, can be remotely controlled and dives to the depth of up to 8,843 feet.

Mega Yacht OCTOPUS is powered by eight Mercedes diesel engines of 2,400 hp (1,790 KW) each, totalling 19,200 hp or 14,317 KW. She is able to reach a maximum speed of 20 knots and cruise at 17 knots. Her cruising range is 8000 nautical miles.

Yacht Accommodation

Twelve ultra-deluxe staterooms offer overnight accommodation to twenty-four on board the mega yacht OCTOPUS.

Amenities and Extras

Tenders & Toys: Tenders: ~1 x 18.10m Delta 54' ~1 x Custom Vikal International Limousine Tender 9.34m, 2x260hp ~2 x Zodiac Milpro MK V Inflatable Heavy Duty 5.8m with Volvo Aquamatic Duoprop-drives 70hp ~1 x Zodiac Milpro Custom Dive Tender 8.7m “Dive Zodiac” ~1 x Zodiac Marine Custom Guest Tender 8.7m “Owners Zodiac” ~1 x Zodiac Marine RIB 4.7m Watersports: ~4 x Yamaha FX140 Waverunners ~2 x Yamaha Superjet 2021 Stand up Jet skis ~2 x Hobie Pursuit 2-man kayak ~2 x Hobie Pursuit 1-man kayak ~2 x Epic V5 1 man kayak ~3 x Surfboards ~2x wakeboards ~3 x Windsurf Beginner to intermediate ~1 x Windsurf Freeride advance, Windsurf sails 3,7/4,7/5,7/7,3 ~2 x SUP Cruiser ~2 x SUP Surf ~Large selection of Kite surfboards, harnesses and sails: ~1x Electric Foil Flightboard Air x 1 All Riders ( good for beginners) ~1x Electric Foil Flightboard Pro x 2 ~Inflatable assorted water toys ~Assorted fishing rods, reels, lures and accessories ~Fully equipped for diving with all sizes of regulators, tanks, BCD's, wetsuits, find and additional specialised equipment ( full dive inventory upon request) ~1 ROV

OCTOPUS Disclaimer:

The luxury yacht OCTOPUS displayed on this page is merely informational and she is not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor is she represented or marketed in anyway by CharterWorld. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and informations are displayed in good faith but CharterWorld does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

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"I once had a client who told me, “I will put your name on the side of my boat if it’s good, but if the boat is not good, your name will appear three times as big.” We were brought up with the sense that it is a very personal obligation for the family when we sign a contract to deliver a yacht that the client expects. I cannot go to a client and say “One of my guys made a mistake.” He would say “Is he Mr. Lürssen, or are you Mr. Lürssen?” But a successful delivery is also a great reward. I take the relationships of my clients very personally." - Peter Lürssen of Lürssen Yachts (courtesy SuperYachtTimes)

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You Can Buy Paul Allen’s Octopus, Arguably The World’s Most Incredible Yacht

Allen accurately described the Octopus, a ship that’s capable of exploration and entertainment, as being “less a Bentley than a Range Rover.”

Aviation_Intel

If you are a fighting ship aficionado, you probably also have at least a tangential interest in big yachts. Sometimes the line between the two categories of vessels blurs to the point of near indistinguishability . All my life I have been fascinated with the world's ultimate private ships, both old and new. Today, even in a competitive era of ever-larger mega yachts that can rival cruise ships in size, it's not just about mass, it's also about quality and creative ship design, which can border on downright genius. Maybe the smartest mega yacht of them all design-wise is the late Paul Allen's Octopus , an iconic vessel in the yachting universe and one that you can now own for $325,000,000—roughly the price of five G650 Gulfstream jets. 

The Microsoft co-founder and legendary entrepreneur's death has led to the liquidation of many of his most prized, but eccentric belongings. From the world's largest aircraft that was built to put satellites into orbit, to his mint and very flyable MiG-29UB Fulcrum jet fighter, much of the contents of Allen's incredible toy chest are being sold off to the highest bidder. His beloved Octopus is now part of what is something of the world's most outlandish estate sale.

Built by Lurrsen and delivered in 2003, at that time she was the world's largest yacht, but she quickly lost that crown as part of an ongoing competition among the world's yachting billionaires to have the biggest boat. Today she doesn't even make the top ten list in terms of length (414 feet), but she certainly does in terms of displacement, which sits just shy of 10,000 tons—eclipsing the displacement of a Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser . 

Octopus can accommodate 26 guests in 13 cabins, many of which are suites. Her crew of 63 is spread out in 30 cabins. Just as a reference here, at full load, she has a crew to guest ratio of nearly 2.5 crewmen  per guest. For comparison, the crew to guest ratio on Royal Caribbean's Anthem Of The Seas has a ratio of .31 crewmen to each guest. The Seaborne cruise line's super up-market and small-sized ship fleet, like the Seaborne Odyssey , has about a .73 crewmen per guest ratio. Of course, during parties, the vessel can accommodate hundreds of people temporarily. 

Octopus has an incredibly classy exterior design that is somewhat timeless when compared to more exotic and bland looking yachts that sail the high seas these days. This is in part due to its purpose—it is both a pleasure yacht and an exploration vessel. 

The utilitarian half of Octopus's personality shows through in her overall design. Case in point, her large floodable well-deck in her stern that holds a yellow submarine named Pagoo. Pagoo can embark ten people on up to eight-hour-long underwater adventures. The sub can dive as deep as 1,000 feet .

ISE Ltd. built the submarine , which has huge glass portholes for its occupants to gawk out of, for Allen.

An unmanned remotely operated vehicle that can dive far deeper—thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean—is also stored and deployed from here along with the ship's primary tender, Man Of War.

Allen's obsession with aviation also injected some warship-like qualities into Octopus . She has two landing pads—one on the bow and a very large one on the stern. The stern pad is co-located with a huge helicopter hangar capable of easily storing two helicopters— Allen's Sikorsky S-76C and his MD-902 NOTAR Explorer. Such a large hangar bay—or just any hangar bay at all—is quite unique even in the mega yacht universe.

The ship's hull opens up in multiple places to deploy beach clubs and water toys, along with Octopus's myriad tenders—seven are embarked including Man Of War. Octopus also has missionized spaces that can be reconfigured for different exploration voyages. Its well-deck can also accommodate specialized gear depending on what the goal of the mission is and what partners are embarked aboard, or on nearby on support and scientific vessels, to accomplish it. And it has accomplished some very high-profile missions indeed.

It found the USS Lexington   at the bottom of the Coral Sea and the USS Indianapolis as well as the Japanese battleship Musashi near the Philippines. It even recovered the ship's bell from the sunken HMS Hood . She has also executed Arctic and Antarctic expeditions with the help of her hardy steel hull that is Ice Class 1A rated , including traversing the Northwest Passage.  

But it's not as if Octopus is all business and no play, far from it in fact. The primary purpose of the vessel is still to entertain its guests like nothing else can. Seattle's Jonathan Quinn Barnett designed its interior, which carries over its exterior's blending of classical nautical design cues with a modern flare. The vessel is equipped with a large pool that can be converted into a dancefloor via a retractable glass system and is replete with a top-of-the-line lighting system. You can see Octopus in party mode in this photo and this series of photos.  

She also features an absolutely top-notch recording studio—another one of Allen's great loves was music. Many hitmakers have recorded in the sea-borne studio , such as Mickjagger, Usher, Johnny Cash, Bono, and god knows who else, but rest assured the secret list is extremely impressive. Of her eight decks, one is entirely dedicated to the owner alone. It features a private entertaining lounge with a full bar, its own jacuzzi, and dining area, as well as its own dedicated elevator, one of two on the entire ship.

A library, bar, movie theater, gym, observation lounge, and a complete dive center—with its own hyperbaric chamber —are all available to guests. The rear landing pad doubles as a basketball court, which makes sense as Allen owned the Portland Trailblazers. The list of accouterments goes on and on. It even has a glass-bottom viewing area!

The best collection of photos showing off Octopus's  endless features are in the videos posted below:

When it comes to its powerplant, Allen spared no expense. The ship runs off a diesel-electric arrangement with eight diesel generators powering two electric motors that provide six megawatts of juice to drive her screws. It's supposed to be remarkably efficient, giving the ship the ability to cruise a whopping 12,500 miles at 12.5 knots on a single tank of gas and hit a top speed of 19 knots. 

Paul Allen described his passion and amazement for the project in his 2011 autobiography, according to Bloomberg , stating:

“When I first stood on the bridge, I felt as though I was on a spaceship,” he wrote, adding that with features including a pool, basketball court, movie theater, a recording studio with ocean views, “all my passions come together in one moveable feast.”

“It’s less a Bentley than a Range Rover,” Allen said in the memoir, adding that “Octopus has realized every mission I had in mind for her.”

Overall, even though Octopus is 16 years old, it remains one of, if not the top yacht in the world. Not in size, but in quality, thoughtfulness of its design, timelessness, features, quality of construction, and especially versatility. In fact, from what I can tell, its selling price is substantially more than what Allen paid for the vessel in 2003. This is a very rare reality in the world of large vessels where depreciation driven by a tiny customer base can be absolutely brutal. 

You need extremely deep pockets not just to buy Octopus , but to keep it running. The rule of thumb is that a yacht costs roughly ten percent of its total cost to operate annually. So in this case, at least according to the sale price, we are talking $32.5M every year. But that number is probably even higher considering all the unique toys embarked aboard her and the specialized crew needed to maintain and operate them. 

Security is a big part of this. A mega yacht is a huge and slow target literally floating on the water. Considering the wealth and notoriety of the owners of these types of vessels and their guests, enemies and nefarious opportunists are not hard to come by. With this in mind, a highly-trained security team is needed to stand round-the-clock vigil. There have been many reports that Allen had a team of ex-Navy SEALs onboard to protect Octopus . I have no idea how accurate that often repeated rumor is, but would you be surprised if he didn't seek the most talented operators with vast experience in the maritime operating environment to protect his pride and joy? I mean, when you own something this expensive already, why not?

So, for the richest human beings on the planet, a 'for sale' Octopus represents a very rare opportunity to snap up a vessel that has stood the test of time when it comes to the hardest to impress community in the world. And a ship that is uniquely capable of grand discoveries and adventure, as well as throwing unrivaled parties on the French Riviera. In fact, Octopus is still arguably the best design that can actually wear both hats, with other exploration-capable yachts looking far less glamorous and luxurious. 

While other yachts may be far larger, like Azzam for instance, or a bit more flashy and entertainment-focused, like Serene , Octopus still seems to have its tentacles wrapped tightly around the "best overall yacht in the world" mantle, and that my friends comes at a very high price to whoever will call her theirs next. 

Octopus is currently co-listed for sale by Fraser and Burgess . 

Contact the author: [email protected]

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Video: Paul Allen and crew of superyacht Octopus discover long-lost WWII shipwreck

Microsoft co-founder and yacht owner Paul Allen and his team on board superyacht Octopus have discovered what is believed to be the wreck of one of the biggest warships of the Second World War, the Japanese ship Musashi , which sunk in 1944.

Paul Allen has been looking for the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Yamato class battleship Musashi for eight years, using the largest expedition superyacht in the world, 126 metre Lürssen Octopus as his lead search platform. The billionaire philanthropist broke the news on Twitter after the wreck was found on 2 March lying on the seabed 1,000 metres down, in the Sibuyan Sea off the coast of the Philippines.

She was lost on 24 October 1944, and Paul Allen’s team have shared video footage (above) showing the boat for the first time since her disappearance. Shot remotely via Octopus ’ unmanned submersible vehicle, the footage shows details on the warship such as a valve wheel from a lower engineering area, Musashi ’s catapult system which launched its Mitsubishi planes, a 12.7cm gun turret, its two 15-ton anchors and the bow of the Musashi , which would have had on it a large teak chrysanthemum which was the imperial seal of Japan.

The director of Japan's Kure Maritime Museum Kazushige Todaka has told CNN after viewing the footage that it appeared that the vessel was the Musashi and that given the location and the depth at which the wreck was found, he was "90 per cent sure" it was her.

In an interview with CNN , he says, "The location of the sunken ship has never been identified since it went down. I have heard countless stories in the past that the ship was discovered, but they all turned out not to be true. It's a wonderful discovery, if it's true, as we have long been looking for the battleship." Todaka said it was “a meaningful discovery and a good chance for us to remind ourselves about the war and its tragedy”.

Paul Allen told CNN that he had been fascinated with World War II history all his life, inspired by his father's service in the U.S. Army, saying, "The Musashi is truly an engineering marvel and, as an engineer at heart, I have a deep appreciation for the technology and effort that went into its construction. I am honoured to play a part in finding this key vessel in naval history and honouring the memory of the incredible bravery of the men who served aboard her."

The warship  Musashi  was launched on 1 November 1940 after a top secret build operation in which she was entirely covered, for fear of giving the big secret away to the Allies. At the time she was the largest class of warship ever constructed, displacing more than 69,000 tons. She was one of two Yamato-class battleships constructed by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Four years later she had become a primary target for the Allied forces engaged in the war in Japan and after a fierce four-hour battle on October 24, 1944, during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the warship was eventually sunk by what the US Navy reported as 10 hits from torpedo planes. Navy dive bombers also hit the ship 16 times.

"She went down by the bow, capsizing when the forward deck was submerged," said the Navy report, based on survivor accounts. In all 1023of the  Musashi 's crew were lost in the battle and the sinking, with more than 1,300 survivors saved by other Japanese warships.

A statement released by Vulcan, Allen's company, said that the team combined historical data with advanced technology to narrow the search area, and that Allen had "commissioned a hypsometric bathymetric survey of the ocean floor to determine the terrain" before searching the area with a Bluefin autonomous underwater vehicle. The Vulcan statement added that the team is "mindful of the responsibility related to the wreckage of the  Musashi  as a war grave and intend to work with the Japanese government to ensure the site is treated respectfully and in accordance with Japanese traditions”.

Octopus  was fitted out for serious expedition work, featuring a helicopter pad and garage aft and a second helicopter pad on the bows. A novel facility of her design is her internal dock, which, opening from her transom, runs forward through the yacht, allowing a 20 metre submarine and a tender of similar size to float into their storage positions. Once secured, the water is pumped out, leaving them resting on chocks.

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Who is Guo Wengui, the Chinese billionaire who owns the boat Steve Bannon was arrested on?

WASHINGTON — Earlier this month, a sunburned Steve Bannon , holding a lit cigar and wearing a blue polo shirt with the collar turned up, stood in front of a camera on a yacht owned by his friend Guo Wengui, a Chinese billionaire.

A YouTube video shows Wengui putting his arm around Bannon as the former Trump campaign chairman denounces the Chinese government and extols the alleged benefits of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. The vessel's lavish interior gleams in the background.

On Thursday, Bannon was arrested by federal agents on that same yacht off Westbrook, Connecticut, and booked into jail on fraud charges. Though the charges appear to have nothing to do with the Chinese businessman, the arrest puts a new spotlight on Bannon's relationship with Guo, a controversial figure with his own history of legal entanglements.

Multiple people familiar with the matter tell NBC News there is a separate federal inquiry involving a company linked to both men, GTV Media Group. As The Wall Street Journal first reported Wednesday, the FBI, the New York state attorney general and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining whether securities laws were violated during a $300 million private offering by the company this spring, the sources say. In a memo to potential investors, according to The Journal, the company identified Bannon as one of several prominent directors.

News Bannon and 3 others charged in scheme stemming from 'We Build The Wall' campaign

Last month, investigators with the Mercer Island Police Department in Washington state took an incident report from an unidentified victim who had become an investor in GTV Media Group Inc., with the promise it was launching a video-sharing platform, similar to YouTube, "that was supposed to go huge," according to an official familiar with the matter. The investor wired $500,000 to receive shares in the company by the end of May, but never received shares and wasn't able to get in contact with the reported suspect, the report stated. As of July 10, local authorities noted that no crime had been charged, and the FBI was investigating the matter.

The Mercer Island PD incident report identified the suspect as Guo Wengui, describing him as a "billionaire" based out of New York, and noted there were other victims. When Mercer Island police contacted the FBI, local investigators learned that Wengui appeared "to be a target of a large investigation personally and pertaining to his business," according to an official familiar with the matter.

When they followed up, investigators in Washington learned FBI agents had been investigating the case for about a month. "The victims that have been calling the FBI, FTC, and local police agencies have been reporting fraud for a failure to return on promised investments," the official said.

Guo's lawyer declined to comment, and Guo himself could not be reached.

Guo, who sometimes goes by Miles Kwok, is a mysterious and polarizing figure — a self-styled crusader against Chinese Communist corruption who has drawn the ire of the Chinese government but has also been sued by other Chinese dissidents. A former female employee alleges in an ongoing lawsuit that he repeatedly raped her, a charge he disputes. And a former Trump aide, Sam Nunberg, is among many who have sued Guo alleging defamation; he denies the allegations.

"Utilizing his world-wide publicity, high profile, social media accounts, and seemingly endless financial means, Defendant Guo regularly uses his public platform and power to defame and harass his enemies," Nunberg's suit says. "In this case, Guo set his sights on destroying Plaintiff Samuel Nunberg's reputation and livelihood by filing baseless litigation against him and slandering Nunberg with malicious, false lies which discredit Nunberg both personally and professionally." Nunberg's suit is ongoing.

Guo, who by all accounts made his money in real estate and securities, portrays himself in interviews and court records as an exiled whistleblower, proving an inside account of breathtaking corruption at the heart of the Chinese system.

"Guo is a pioneer of using YouTube and Twitter to fight for the rule of law, human rights, freedom and democracy in China," his lawyers wrote in court papers in a federal lawsuit in Maryland against a self-described Chinese democracy activist. "Guo has exposed widespread corruption in the Chinese Communist Party ('CCP'), multiple senior officials of the Chinese Government, and their family members."

That lawsuit itself offers an illustration of the divisions of opinion about Guo: The defendant, Hongkuan Li, a well known dissident who says he participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, accused Guo on social media of being a "gangster," a "communist spy puppy," "a rapist" and of "suffering from schizophrenia," Guo's lawyers wrote, charges they say are all false.

That lawsuit purports to recount Guo's history, which includes a 1989 incident he says turned him against the Chinese government.

As police sought to arrest him for supporting the Tiananmen protests, the suit says, "Two drunken policemen raided Guo's office and fired their weapons directly at his young wife, who was holding his three-month-old baby daughter. His younger brother…tried to protect Guo's wife and daughter and was shot twice in the altercation," the suit says.

Guo's brother was sent to the hospital, the suit says, but "the policemen who shot him instructed the doctors to refuse him any medical care and locked the door." As a result, he died, and Guo "vowed to become a persistent and brave advocate against the Chinese kleptocracy," the suit says.

As a New York Times magazine profile pointed out in 2018, that timeline doesn't appear to explain why Guo spent the next two decades growing rich in China through real estate development, a business that typically requires close cooperation with government officials even in democracies, let alone an authoritarian state like China. In nearly three decades after his brother's death, there is no record of Guo taking a public stand against the party he says caused it, the Times wrote.

There are darker allegations against Guo than hypocrisy, however. A lawsuit filed in New York state by a 28-year-old Chinese woman says Guo lured her to the U.S. from China to work as his assistant and then kept her prisoner for three years, repeatedly assaulting and raping her. The suit says she escaped while in London and went to the Chinese embassy, and that she filed a criminal complaint with Chinese authorities.

Guo's lawyers have denied the allegations in court papers. A lawyer for Guo told NBC News that Guo reiterated his denial of the allegations.

In a statement, the lawyer for Guo also said, “Mr. Guo is aware of the situation involving Mr. Bannon who has been a strong ally in fighting for freedom and democracy in China. Mr. Guo’s past efforts with Mr. Bannon in fighting for democracy in China had nothing to do with the We Build the Wall organization or Mr. Bannon’s activities with that organization. Mr. Guo appreciates that unlike the Chinese Communist Party, the United States of America affords all individuals accused in the United States, including Mr. Bannon, the presumption of innocence and the right for a fair trial before an impartial judge.”

In 2017, as Guo's public profile in the U.S. began to grow, a journalist from the Voice of America, a government-funded news service, arranged to interview him. The plan was to broadcast a live interview for three hours on social media, but top officials at Voice of America ordered it stopped after an hour and 20 minutes, according to documents and interviews, because they were concerned he was making unverified allegations.

Guo accused the VOA of having been infiltrated by Chinese intelligence, a serious charge that threw the agency into turmoil. But an investigation by independent journalism experts—and a separate State Department inspector general's inquiry — concluded that the decision was based solely on journalistic principles, VOA officials said. The journalist who arranged the interview, the chief of VOA's Mandarin Service, was fired.

In a 2019 tweet, the journalist, Sasha Gong, quoted Bannon as saying, "Voice of America tried to clear out all truth-tellers about China in Mandarin Service. VOA executives betrayed American people, Chinese people."

Earlier this year, a Bannon ally, Michael Pack, became the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which includes the VOA, after a long confirmation delay in his Senate confirmation.

The veteran journalists in charge of the VOA, Amanda Bennett and Sandra Sugawara — both of whom were involved in the decision to stop the Guo interview — immediately resigned.

Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington.

Andrew Blankstein is an investigative reporter for NBC News. He covers the Western U.S., specializing in crime, courts and homeland security. 

Tom Winter is a New York-based correspondent covering crime, courts, terrorism and financial fraud on the East Coast for the NBC News Investigative Unit.

Katy Tur is the host of "MSNBC Live" at 2 p.m. and a correspondent for NBC News. She is the author of the New York Times best seller "Unbelievable," about her time covering Donald Trump during the 2016 election, for which she also won a Cronkite Award.

Coolest Luxury Yacht Amenities on Superyachts That You Didn’t Know Existed

By Adrian Prisca

Published on July 31, 2019

Once upon a time in the early days of luxury charter yachts , having a Jacuzzi on the sundeck was considered the height of opulence. Since then the superyacht industry has evolved to offer even bigger – and sometimes outrageous – comforts that fit seamlessly into the design of the vessel while providing those on board with plenty of entertainment options for distant, uninhabited shores.

Here we have a list of some of the most practical and unusual amenities it’s possible to find today aboard motor yachts and sailing yachts privately owned and those available for charter.

• Underwater Observatory/Nemo Lounge – Sailing Yacht A

Known alternatively as underwater observatories, Nemo lounges or Neptune lounges, these rare interiors give guests a view of life below the water as they cruise past fish-filled coral reefs in Australia and the Caribbean or deep canyons in the crystal clear waters of the South Pacific. Luxury yachts SAVANNAH and ELANDESS both have semi-submerged lounges but luxury sailing yacht A goes one step further by having a completely submerged lounge that lets you see through the bottom as well as on both sides while guests enjoy conversation over drinks.

During the design process glass producers GL Yachtverglasung managed to reduce the thickness and weight by up to 50%, although images of the Nemo Lounge show reassuringly dense and durable panes.

If the thought of having glass below the water is an unnerving prospect there is no need to worry: To meet strict Lloyds building standards the observation windows had to withstand 10 times the pressure that they would be up against in constant everyday conditions.

• Drive-in Tender Bay – M/Y Octopus

When stepping out of a tender and onto a swim platform the procedure can be trickier than it appears, especially in choppy sea conditions or sudden downpours. The drive-in tender bay solves this issue and while it has been around for some years now, the feature is usually to be found on larger custom-built superyachts such as OCTOPUS from German shipyard Lürssen.

The drive-in tender bay is capable of storing two tenders, and the current arrangement is for one Vikal-brand tender called MAN OF WAR as well as a mini-submarine. Water can be drained from within in minutes, and some luxury yachts launched in recent years turn the tender garage into a saltwater swimming pool while the tenders are out on the sea.

• Tennis Court – Aviva

The tennis court aboard 98.4m/332.8ft superyacht AVIVA from Abeking & Rasmussen is one of the most ambitious luxury amenities to ever be installed within a luxury yacht – it was a marvel at the time she was launched in 2017 and is still regarded as an amazing feat of engineering today.

Two tons of sand were required to produce the bounce, while soundproofing was also installed so that guests sleeping in could do so without interruption. At 20m/65.6ft long and 10m/32.8ft wide and 6.5m/21.3ft of headroom, the proportions of a mega yacht come in handy for creating this impressive padel tennis court, which put her above and beyond her competition to win a Boat International Design and Innovation Award .

• Swimming Pools with waterfalls – Galactica Supernova

Swimming pools with waterfalls are becoming more desirable than ever not just as a place to cool off in hotter climes but also for the ambiance they produce for daytime gatherings or evening soirees. As guests ascend the stairs of 70m/229.8ft Heesen motor yacht GALACTICA SUPERNOVA they are greeted by an extensive glass-sided swimming pool with a waterfall feeding down from the upper deck aft above.

Glass-bottomed inserts in the swimming pool allow light to filter down into the beach club below, making space naturally lit even while cruising between destinations, when the transom door cannot be opened.

• Outdoor Cinemas – Maltese Falcon

Motor yachts tend to take most of the credit for innovative features but sailing yachts have been challenging that assumption in recent years with on board Jacuzzis, extensive storage for water toys and massive outdoor party areas that often have wet bars, large alfresco dining areas… and outdoor cinemas that use the sails for a screen.

Nowhere is this feature more impressive than aboard sailing yacht MALTESE FALCON, which captured the world’s attention at her launch in 2016 with her unusual cutting-edge sails when mono-hulled sailing yachts seemed relegated to be little more than nostalgic indulgences. She has a capacity for over 50 guests when hosting a dockside event and everything from home movies to the latest blockbusters can be projected using her top-of-the-line AV equipment.

• Golf Tee – Lucky Lady

Golf is a favourite sport for many Owners and luxury yacht charter guests to the point where golf courses are easy to come by close marinas across the globe. Those heading off on an expedition to deserted shores don’t have to wait a whole week or even months to pick up their favourite sport again should they choose 62.6m/205.5ft Oceanco motor yacht LUCKY LADY.

Last refitted in 2017, she boasts the world’s first retractable golf tee and since it is located on the spacious swim platform, the rest of the group can watch on from shaded sun loungers until it’s their turn to putt.

Biodegradable golf balls disappear entirely within 96 hours of touching down in the saline seawater, so guests on board don’t need to worry about harming the environment they’ve come to appreciate.

LUCKY LADY also shares some of her features with other superyachts mentioned on this list, including a tender garage that doubles as a beach club, a spa pool with a two-tier waterfall and an outdoor cinema for family films together under the stars.

The Mediterranean luxury yacht charter season is now in full swing, but it’s still possible to grab a last-minute deal. Contact CharterWorld for more information on how to find a luxury yacht to suit the interests of your group in your desired location.

About Adrian Prisca

Founder of Luxatic and countless other projects, Adrian has shaped this website into a go-to source for discerning readers looking for the latest in luxury products and experiences. He has over 15 years of experience in creating, managing and publishing lifestyle content across numerous platforms and he’s considered a leading voice in the luxury industry. Learn more about Luxatic's Editorial Process .

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WHAT WE SAY

With the 655, performance was an established criterion from the outset. Designer, Rob Humphreys, created a set of hull lines with a relatively fine entry forward and a clean run aft. Add a low centre of gravity keel, a modern high aspect rudder and powerful sail plan and the result is a fast yacht that is a pleasure to sail. The twin helm configuration puts the helmsman in exactly the right place and means that the spacious forward cockpit is safe and uncluttered. It is also much easier to get on and off the working deck since there is virtually flat deck access from the stern into the cockpit. The saloon makes best use of the yacht’s 18' 5" (5.62m) beam and, with the U-shaped galley to port, creates a spacious and contemporary open-plan living environment, with plenty of counter surfaces and stowage space. The 655 has a spacious owner’s suite aft, with its own private access to deck, and three guest cabins.

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OYSTER 655 - 2009

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Man-O-War Cay

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Beach - bahamas

Beautiful cay with rich maritime heritage

Nestled between Great Abaco Island and the Atlantic, this little slice of Bahamian paradise offers everything from pristine beaches to local artisan crafts, providing a unique blend of nature and culture. So, drop your anchor and let us explore what Man-O-War Cay has in store for you.  

A Haven for Anchoring

One of the standout features of Man-O-War Cay is its naturally protected harbor. Its sheltered waters make it a favorite anchoring spot and offer a tranquil charter experience. 

The Nautical Legacy

The island has a rich maritime history, famously known for boat building. The Albury family has been crafting ships on Man-O-War Cay for generations, making it a haven for those interested in maritime history and craftsmanship. Visiting yachters often take the opportunity to tour the boat-building workshops to learn about this age-old tradition.

Man-O-War Cay rich maritime heritage is evident in the Albury Brothers' boat-building shop. Even if you’re not in the market for a boat, touring the workshops and meeting the skilled craftsmen is an experience in itself.

Accessibility to Supplies

Though small and peaceful, Man-O-War Cay is well-equipped to meet the needs of yachters. From fuel to fresh water and basic provisions, the island's marinas and shops provide essential supplies that make it a convenient pitstop for those on longer journeys.

Man-O-War Cay's location within the Abacos Islands chain makes it an ideal starting or stopping point for those looking to explore nearby islands like Great Abaco, Elbow Cay, or Green Turtle Cay.

Blissful Beaches

You can’t talk about Man-O-War Cay without mentioning its beaches. Dotted with palm trees and lapped by crystal-clear waters, the beaches are ideal for sunbathing, beachcombing, and picnics.  No superyacht charter in the Abacos is complete without some sand between your toes!

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving

The coral reefs and underwater caves near Man-O-War Cay are teeming with marine life. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, don your fins and mask and plunge into an underwater world of colorful corals, tropical fish, and maybe even a turtle or two.

Sailing Tours

If you wish to explore the surrounding areas, various operators offer sailing tours that include fishing, snorkeling, and even island hopping. 

Relax and Unwind

For those who just want to relax, the island’s laid-back atmosphere is perfect for reading a book on your luxury yacht charter's sundeck, or taking a leisurely kayak trip around the shoreline.

Wining and Dining on Man-O-War Cay

When you drop anchor at Man-O-War Cay, you're not just signing up for stunning beaches and nautical adventures; you're also diving into a gastronomic experience that captures the essence of Bahamian culture. Though the island is small, its dining options pack a flavorful punch. Here’s a guide to making the most out of your culinary journey on Man-O-War Cay.

Local Eateries and Island Specialties

Hibiscus Cafe:  This cozy, family-run spot is perfect for those looking for authentic local flavors. Offering freshly caught seafood and local produce, you can't go wrong with their grilled snapper or the Bahamian-style chicken.

Dock and Dine:  Situated by the water, Dock and Dine offers an atmosphere as delightful as its food. This is a great place to try the island's famed conch fritters or a savory lobster salad, all while enjoying a panoramic view of the marina and sparkling ocean beyond.

Man-O-War Pub and Grill:  If you're craving some American comforts or bar-style food, then this pub should be on your radar. It's also a fantastic place to catch some live music during the weekends.

Fresh from the Sea

Fishing is not just a pastime here; it's a way of life. For the freshest catch, you can either reel it in yourself on a fishing excursion or buy directly from local fishermen. Many of the island’s eateries will even cook your catch for you, making for an unbeatable farm-to-table—or, in this case, ocean-to-table—experience.

Tropical Cocktails

It wouldn't be a charter vacation without sipping on some tropical cocktails. From Bahama Mamas to Rum Runners, local bars serve a plethora of exotic drinks that you can enjoy while watching the sunset over the ocean. Most establishments offer classics like Piña Coladas and Mojitos too, each with their own Bahamian twist.

Beach Picnics

If you'd rather dine on board or on the beach, many local eateries offer takeaway options. Imagine digging into a delectable seafood pasta or biting into a fresh, tangy ceviche while you're sitting on a blanket, the sand between your toes, and the sound of waves in your ears.

Wining and dining on Man-O-War Cay offers a delightful mix of local flavors, fresh seafood, and tropical drinks that capture the spirit of the Bahamas. So, whether you're in the mood for a romantic dinner by the water or a quick, tasty snack between snorkeling sessions, Man-O-War Cay has got you covered during your yacht charter .

Final Thoughts

Man-O-War Cay offers a little bit of everything: history, culture, natural beauty, and all the aquatic activities you could dream of. If you would like to visit during your next  Bahamas charter , then speak to your preferred charter broker.

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Man-O-War Cay, Bahamas

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A Brief History of Superyachts

And how they explain the world..

Tim Murphy January+February 2024 Issue

James Clapham

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When the US targeted Russia’s oligarchs after the invasion of Ukraine, the trail of assets kept leading to our own backyard. Not only had our nation become a haven for shady foreign money, but we were also incubating a familiar class of yacht-owning, industry-dominating, resource-extracting billionaires. In the  January + February 2024  issue of our magazine, we investigate the rise of American Oligarchy—and what it means for the rest of us. You can read all the pieces  here .

The luxury yacht may be the world’s most exclusive form of transportation. But there are only a hundred-some that meet the definition of a gigayacht—a pleasure craft 295 feet or longer. Their opaque ownership records offer a glimpse of modern wealth and power: Over two dozen are linked to Gulf royals, businessmen, or states, and 20 to citizens (past or current) of the former Soviet Union. At least 23 have reportedly belonged to Americans, including founders of Microsoft, Netscape, Amazon, WhatsApp, and Snapchat. The widow of a German retailer who thrived under Hitler owned one; a UK tax exile and a Formula 1 dad still do. Yugoslav strongman Tito’s old yacht makes the list; Dominican dictator Trujillo’s does too. Take a cruise through the history of the vessels and their—somewhat—more modest sister ships.

1895: Nineteen years before World War I, the future King Edward VII of England punches his nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II, in the face, after the German’s 121-foot yacht, Meteor II , defeats the royal Britannia in a race off the Isle of Wight.

1954: Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis ushers in an era of postwar one-upmanship with his 325-foot Christina O . It features a pool that converts into a dance floor, furniture made from whale foreskin, and pornographic carvings.

1963: During his final birthday party aboard the presidential yacht Sequoia , JFK chases future Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee’s wife, Antoinette, into the bathroom and gropes her. “I guess I was pretty surprised, but I was kind of flattered, and appalled, too,” she says later. The ship’s visitor logs are destroyed after Kennedy’s assassination.

1984: King Fahd of Saudi Arabia builds the record-breaking 482-foot Prince Abdulaziz .

1987: Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.) drops out of the presidential race just before photos emerge of him with model Donna Rice aboard the yacht Monkey Business .

1988: Donald Trump acquires Nabila , which previously belonged to the Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and was featured in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again . He renames it Trump Princess , adds a disco, and changes the helipad’s “H” to a “T.”

1991: After one of Trump’s casinos files for bankruptcy, he sells Trump Princess to his bank—which flips it to a Saudi prince. A new yacht, the Trump Princess II , which he boasted would be “something in excess of 400 feet long, closer to 500 feet,” is never built.

British publisher Robert Maxwell’s body is found in the Atlantic Ocean, where he had been cruising on a 180-footer named for his daughter—the Lady Ghislaine . The vessel is eventually resold to Anna Murdoch, Rupert’s second wife.

1994: At a cocktail party on the oligarch Petr Aven’s yacht in the Caribbean, Boris Berezovsky meets Roman Abramovich, calling him a “nice boy who wanted to discuss commercial projects.” He and Abramovich begin working together to acquire Sibneft, a Russian state oil company.

1997: Construction ends on The Limited and Victoria’s Secret owner Les Wexner’s ­316-foot Limitless . The project was overseen by his good friend Jeffrey Epstein.

1999: Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison buys the 191-foot Izanami from a Japanese seller. He changes the name to Ronin , he said later , after “the local newspapers started pointing out that Izanami was ‘I’m a Nazi’ spelled backwards.”

2001: Months before Enron files for bankruptcy, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling asks a company executive for advice on finding a yacht broker. “This industry is known for crooks and thieves,” he warns Skilling.

2002: House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) promises to strip “corporate kingpins of their ill-gotten gains,” after scandals rock Enron and WorldCom. “We’re coming after the yacht.”

2003: DeLay charges donors $500,000 a pop for tickets to a yacht cruise.

2005: Ellison shoots down rumors he issued orders midconstruction to have his newest yacht, the 454-foot Rising Sun , extended to outdo Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s recently launched 414-foot Octopus .

Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) pleads guilty to federal bribery charges after being caught living rent-free on a yacht, called the Duke-Stir , that was moored in Washington, DC, and owned by a defense contractor.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s 531-foot Dubai surpasses Prince Abdulaziz as the world’s longest yacht.

2006: Media mogul Barry Diller reveals the world’s longest sailing yacht, the 305-foot Eos , whose prow features a 9-foot-tall sculpture of his wife, Diane von Furstenberg.

2007: Diller opens a Manhattan corporate headquarters­­ at a Frank Gehry­–designed building that itself has been likened to a sailboat . It’s across the street from where Eos ties up.

2008: George Osborne, the No. 2 official in the UK’s Conservative Party, relaxes on Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska’s yacht while vacationing with his family in Greece. He denies an accusation that he solicited funds, explaining in a statement that they discussed “Russian history” and drank tea.

2009: As his marriage falls apart, Tiger Woods retreats to a 155-foot yacht called Privacy .

2010: Abramovich’s new ship, Eclipse , surpasses Dubai as the world’s longest yacht. The 533-foot vessel features a submarine, anti-missile systems, and lasers to thwart paparazzi .

2011: During an unsuccessful suit seeking $5 billion he believed Abramovich owed him from the sale of Sibneft, an exiled Berezovsky claims that his former partner helped purchase the yacht Olympia for Vladimir Putin. When the BBC publishes a supporting account from another Russian businessman five years later, Abramovich’s lawyers dismiss the allegation as “a rehash of speculation and rumours.”

2012: As GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney faces criticism for holding investment funds in the Cayman Islands, his campaign invites donors to party on Cracker Bay . The ship, owned by the founder of The Villages retirement community, flies the Cayman Islands’ flag.

2013: UAE leader Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan launches the 593-foot Azzam , surpassing the Eclipse .

2014: The Wall Street Journal reports that Ellison has basketball hoops on “at least two of his yachts” and had someone follow in a smaller boat “to retrieve balls that go overboard.”

2016: Allen’s Tatoosh drags its anchor through a protected zone in the Cayman Islands, destroying 14,000 square feet of coral.

2017: After leaving office, Barack and Michelle Obama retreat to the South Pacific aboard David Geffen’s yacht, where they’re joined by Oprah, Tom Hanks, and Bruce Springsteen.

Abramovich’s business partner, Eugene Shvidler, blocks views of the Statue of Liberty while anchoring his 370-foot Le Grand Bleu in New York Harbor for a month.

Addressing the national Boy Scout Jamboree, Trump tells an anecdote widely assumed to allude to sex parties on a yacht belonging to the developer of the Levittown suburbs. “You’re Boy Scouts, so I’m not going to tell you what he did,” he said. “But you know life.”

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) buys a yacht and on the same day votes to cut taxes on yachts.

2018: Rupert Murdoch is airlifted to UCLA after collapsing on a yacht trip with his fourth wife, Jerry Hall. “He kept almost dying,” a source tells Vanity Fair .

Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott designates a billionaire donor’s marina as a special anti-­poverty opportunity zone.

Someone unties Seaquest , a superyacht belonging to Trump administration Secretary of Education (and billionaire) Betsy DeVos, causing it to crash into a dock on Lake Erie.

Businessman Jho Low, who financed The Wolf of Wall Street , is accused of taking part in a $4.5 billion scheme to siphon Malaysian state development funds and using some to purchase a $250 million yacht.

2019: Actress Lori Loughlin is arrested in a college admissions bribery scheme . Her daughter, USC student Olivia Jade, is vacationing in the Bahamas— on a yacht belonging to USC board of trustees chair Rick Caruso.

Following an investigation into corruption in the Nigerian oil industry, the US government auctions off businessman Kolawole Aluko’s Galactica Star , six years after Jay-Z rented out the vessel for Beyoncé’s 32nd birthday. A former Enron unit attempts to claim a portion of the proceeds.

Clarence Thomas visits an Indonesian preserve for Komodo dragons with billionaire Harlan Crow on the conservative megadonor’s Michaela Rose .

ArtNet reports that a $450 million (reputed) da Vinci that was supposed to be in an Abu Dhabi museum has been spotted hanging in Mohammed bin Salman’s personal yacht, Serene .

Kylie Jenner holds her 22nd birthday party on Low’s yacht, now under new ownership.

2020: “[I]solated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus,” Geffen writes on Instagram from Rising Sun , which he purchased in 2010. “I’m hoping everybody is staying safe.”

Steve Bannon is arrested off the coast of Connecticut by US Postal Police while aboard the fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui’s 150-foot Lady May .

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. dresses up as a character from the TV show Trailer Park Boys for a costume party aboard a NASCAR mogul’s yacht. He later posts a photo of himself to Instagram with his fly unzipped and his arms around his wife’s assistant.

2021: NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre testifies that he took refuge on Illusions , a Hollywood producer’s yacht, after the Newtown and Parkland mass shootings. “I remember getting there going, ‘Thank God I’m safe, nobody can get me here.’”

During a bitter divorce, the Daily Mail reports that Tatiana Akhmedova, wife of the Russian Azerbaijani billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, hired a team of British special forces veterans to seize his yacht, Luna , in an effort to enforce a Marshall Islands court ruling. They settle instead, and he keeps the boat.

Port Azure , dubbed the world’s first harbor designed exclusively for megayachts, opens in Gocek, Turkey. It bills itself as a place where “problems big and small go away.”

2022: Amid reports a historic bridge will be dismantled so Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ newly built Koru can leave Rotterdam’s shipyards, residents threaten to pelt the sailboat with eggs . The city changes plans.

A Ukrainian mechanic is arrested in Mallorca for attempting to sink a vessel owned by his boss, a Russian arms dealer.

Biden promises oligarchs he’s going to “take their ill-begotten gains” after the invasion of Ukraine. “We’re going to seize their yachts.”

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder avoids a congressional subpoena on the team’s misogynistic culture while cruising the Mediterranean on his yacht, Lady S .

Missing Russian superyachts are spotted waiting out sanctions at Port Azure.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) criticizes Joe Biden for vacationing in Delaware while vacationing on a luxury yacht in Italy.

After sailing through Fiji on his yacht Aquarius , briefly retired Disney CEO Bob Iger tells friends he misses his wife and is bored with life.

New York Republican congressional candidate George Santos brokers a $19 million deal to sell a superyacht called Namaste to a Long Island car dealer.

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX reveals in court filings that founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund once spent $2.5 million on a yacht, which a top executive named Soak My Deck .

2023: Bezos takes possession of Koru . The $500 million, 417-foot sailboat comes with a bust that resembles his fiancée Lauren Sánchez—and its own second, 246-foot “shadow” support yacht with crew quarters and a hangar for the helicopter she pilots.

After divorcing Jerry Hall, Rupert Murdoch vacations on the Christina O with Abramovich’s ex-mother-in-law.

As TV and movie writers and actors strike, the Wall Street Journal reports that Iger, now back at work, has been regaling visitors to his Burbank office about the new, longer yacht he’s building.

Measuring Contest

Iconic gigayachts through the years

1931: Sea Cloud , Marjorie Post: 359 ft.

1981: Atlantis II , Stavros Niarchos: 380 ft.

2003: Octopus , Paul Allen: 414 ft.

2005: Rising Sun , Larry Ellison: 454 ft.

2010: Eclipse , Roman Abramovich: 533 ft.

2013: Azzam , Sheikh Khalifa: 593 ft.

Illustrations by Anthony Calvert

The Few, The Loud

Some famous faces aboard gigayachts

Steven Spielberg reeled out his anchor off Cannes.

A part of Katy Perry got stuck exiting a dinghy on her way to Barry Diller’s yacht.

Mohammed bin Salman purchased his yacht, Serene , just hours after he saw it.

Jerry Jones made a draft pick aboard his Bravo Eugenia to deepen the Cowboys’ bench.

Mariah Carey was engaged to a gigayacht owner, before the fantasy ended.

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Another nyc woman sucker-punched on street in attack that left her with broken jaw.

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Shocking video captured the moment a Brooklyn school bus aide was sucker-punched by a serial attacker with multiple busts – knocking out her teeth and leaving her with a broken jaw that had to be wired shut.

Dulche Pichardo, 57, said she was commuting home from work at about 5 p.m. Tuesday when a stranger took a swing at her on the sidewalk of Grand Avenue near Dean Street in Crown Heights.

“He just punched me on the right side here, very strong,” Pichardo told  PIX11 , adding that the brute never said a word.

The disturbing surveillance footage shows her stumbling backward after the blow.

“I was surprised. I said, ‘What’s going on? Why did you hit me? Why did you do it?’ I didn’t do anything. No reason to hit me,” she said.

Pichardo said she lost three teeth, suffered facial fractures and a broken jaw, which has been wired shut, as well as nerve damage from the brutal assault.

She will have to drink food out of a straw for several weeks.

Her brother, who owns a nearby restaurant, and an employee chased down the suspect, who was identified by police as 33-year-old Franz Jeudy.

Jeudy was emotionless when confronted and denied hitting her, Yohan Flores  told WABC .

Jeudy was charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor — meaning he’s not bail-eligible. He was released despite two previous arrests, including one in 2018, when he was charged with second-degree assault in the attack on a cop, police said. He also was charged with assault in 2019.

The Brooklyn man also was charged with harassment in the attack on Pichardo.

Pichardo said the terrifying experience has left her fearful.

“Every time I see a man, I cross,” she told WABC. “I’m not going to be close to nobody. I’m very afraid. I tell my son where I’m going, I want you to walk with me.”

She said she hopes the city will do more to make sure residents are safe just walking down a street. “I don’t want this happening again. I want New York to do something about this. They have to stop this. It’s not fair,” Pichardo told PIX11.

Also on Tuesday, an unidentified male approached a 24-year-old woman in Flatiron and punched her in the head with a closed fist just before 1 p.m., police said.

He fled on foot and the victim refused medical attention.

The suspect was described as a roughly 35-year-old man with a dark complexion, about 5-foot-10, and weighing 180 pounds with a slim build.

He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black hooded sweatshirt, and white and orange sneakers, cops said.

The two attacks come on the heels of a series of other cases of women being randomly  punched by strangers while walking in the Big Apple in broad daylight .

Halley Kate, an influencer with 1.1 million followers on TikTok, posted a video Monday, saying she was randomly attacked and blacked out.

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“You guys, I was literally just walking, and a man came up and punched me in the face,” Kate said through tears in a post.

On Wednesday, police said investigators arrested 40-year-old Skiroky Story, a criminal recidivist with an extensive criminal record, in connection with the assault on West 16 th  Street in Chelsea.

“Detectives were able to identify the man after he was previously arrested for similar attacks, only to be released back onto our streets. This incident will be his third arrest in the past six months,” the NYPD said.

Another woman, Mikayla Toninato, whose bio said she attends Greenwich Village’s Parsons School of Design, tagged Kate in a post later Monday and recounted a similar ordeal.

“I just got punched in the face, walking home,” the TikToker claimed. “I was literally like leaving class, I turned the corner and I was looking down and I was looking at my phone, and like texting, and then, out of nowhere, this man just came up and hit me in the face.”

She later said the attack happened at West 14th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

On March 17, another woman named Oliva Brand took to the platform to report a similar experience in a clip captured on Mulberry Street in Nolita.

“I literally got punched in the head on the sidewalk. He goes, ‘Sorry,’ and then punches me — in the head,” Brand said in the video. “Holy crap, what the hell just happened? Oh my God.”

It is unclear if the incidents are related.

On Feb. 8, a fourth young female TikToker, Jill Burke, also said she was attacked near Union Square and that the suspect was arrested and released on his own recognizance.

The shocking attacks appear similar to the  “knockout game,”  where young people encourage each other to randomly sucker-punch people.

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Ukraine war briefing: two ships and base hit in Russian-occupied Crimea

Outcry after Russian missile breaches Polish airspace; Ukraine grapples with attacks on gas and electricity networks. What we know on day 761

• See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage

Ukraine hit two Russian military ships stationed at the illegally occupied peninsula of Crimea, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday. The targets were the landing ships Yamal and Azov, a communications centre and other Black Sea fleet infrastructure . “It was the most massive attack in recent times,” said the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev. He said a 65-year-old man was killed and four people injured. Footage shared on social media showed a large blast in the city, sending a fireball and black smoke into the air.

Poland said it would demand an explanation from Moscow after a Russian missile breached Polish airspace during a missile attack on Ukraine , Ashifa Kassam writes . Nato member Poland put its forces on heightened alert as a consequence. “Above all, we call on the Russian Federation to stop the terrorist air attacks on the inhabitants and territory of Ukraine, end the war and address the country’s internal problems,” said a Polish foreign ministry statement.

After the Polish airspace breach, the US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, said Russia “continues to indiscriminately launch drones and missiles with no regard for millions of civilians, violating international law” .

An underground gas storage site in Ukraine was attacked on Sunday as Russian missile strikes on power facilities continued and rolling blackouts were occurring. Ukraine’s state-run Naftogaz energy firm reported the attack on the gas storage site, but added that gas supplies to consumers had not been affected. Most of Ukraine ’s gas storage capacity is in the western part of the country and it is able to store around 30bn cubic metres of gas.

Ukraine’s energy ministry and distributors said Ukraine had ramped up imports of electricity and halted exports after the recent Russian attacks in which the biggest energy producer, DTEK, lost 50% of its capacity . Russia attacked Ukrainian generating and transmission facilities on Friday, causing significant blackouts in many regions, and energy facilities in three Ukrainian regions were also attacked early on Sunday.

Volodymy Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address on Sunday, said more than 200,000 residents of Kharkiv, a frequent target of Russian attacks, were without reliable power . The network had been restored elsewhere, the Ukrainian president said. “Strict schedules” for power use were in force in Kharkiv, he said. DTEK said rolling blackouts had been imposed in the port of Odesa.

Serhiy Kovalenko, the head of distribution firm Yasno, said Russia had attacked two parts of the energy system – generation and distribution – hitting both thermal and hydropower plants . “The enemy hit hard at grid nodes and transformers,” he said. The energy ministry said Russia attempted on Sunday to destroy a critical energy infrastructure facility in the Lviv region in western Ukraine. Equipment caught fire and the facility lost power. Power lines in the Kyiv region were damaged and 1,400 households in two settlements lost power.

Russia on Sunday said air defences responded to 22 Vampire missiles launched by Ukraine at Russia’s Belgorod region .

• Russia-Ukraine war at a glance

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From Russia, Elaborate Tales of Fake Journalists

As the Ukraine war grinds on, the Kremlin has created increasingly complex fabrications online to discredit Ukraine’s leader and undercut aid. Some have a Hollywood-style plot twist.

Credit... Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times

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By Steven Lee Myers

• Published March 18, 2024 Updated March 21, 2024

A young man calling himself Mohamed al-Alawi appeared in a YouTube video in August. He described himself as an investigative journalist in Egypt with a big scoop: The mother-in-law of Ukraine’s president had purchased a villa near Angelina Jolie’s in El Gouna, a resort town on the Red Sea.

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The story, it turned out, was not true. Ukraine denied it, and the owner of the villa refuted it. Also disconnected from reality: Alawi’s claim to being a journalist.

Still, his story caromed through social media and news outlets from Egypt to Nigeria and ultimately to Russia — which, according to researchers, is where the story all began.

The story seemed to fade, but not for long. Four months later, two new videos appeared on YouTube. They said Mohamed al-Alawi had been beaten to death in Hurghada, a town about 20 miles south of El Gouna. The suspected killers, according to the videos: Ukraine’s secret service agents.

These claims were no more factual than the first, but they gave new life to the old lie. Another round of posts and news reports ultimately reached millions of internet users around the world, elevating the narrative so much that it was even echoed by members of the U.S. Congress while debating continued military assistance to Ukraine.

Ever since its forces invaded two years ago , Russia has unleashed a torrent of disinformation to try to discredit Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and undermine the country’s support in the West.

This saga, though, introduced a new gambit: a protracted and elaborately constructed narrative built online around a fictitious character and embellished with seemingly realistic detail and a plot twist worthy of Netflix.

“They never brought back a character before,” said Darren Linvill, a professor and director of the Media Forensics Hub at Clemson University, who has extensively studied Russian disinformation.

The campaign shows how deftly Russia’s information warriors have shifted to new tactics and targets as the war in Ukraine has dragged on, just as Russian forces on the ground in Ukraine have adjusted tactics after devastating battlefield losses.

Groups with ties to the Kremlin continue to float new narratives when old ones fail to stick or grow stale, using fake or altered videos or recordings and finding or creating new outlets to spread disinformation, including ones purporting to be American news sites .

A video appeared on TikTok last month claiming to show a Ukrainian doctor working for Pfizer accusing the company of conducting unlawful tests on children. On the social network X, a man claiming to be an associate producer for Paramount Pictures spun a tale about a Hollywood biopic on Mr. Zelensky’s life.

The tale attributed to Mohamed al-Alawi is not even the only baseless allegation that Mr. Zelensky had secretly purchased properties abroad using Western financial assistance. Other versions — each seemingly tailored for a specific geographic audience — have detailed a mansion in Vero Beach, Fla., and a retreat in Germany once used by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda.

The Russians have “demonstrated adaptability through the war on Ukraine,” Microsoft wrote in a recent report that disclosed Russia’s fraudulent use of recorded messages by famous actors and celebrities on the Cameo app to try to smear Mr. Zelensky as a drug addict.

Even when debunked, fabrications like these have proved exceedingly difficult to extinguish entirely.

YouTube took down the initial video of the character Mohamed al-Alawi, linking it to two other accounts that had previously violated the company’s policies. The accusation still circulates, however, especially on platforms, like X and Telegram, that experts say do little to block accounts generating inauthentic or automated activity. Some of the posts about the video appear to have used text or audio created with artificial intelligence tools; many are amplified by networks of bots intended to create the impression that the content is popular.

What links the narratives to Russia is not only the content disparaging Ukraine but also the networks that circulate them. They include news outlets and social media accounts that private and government researchers have linked to previous Kremlin campaigns.

“They’re trolling for a susceptible (and seemingly abundant) slice of citizens who amplify their garbage enough to muddy the waters of our discourse, and from there our policies,” said Rita Katz, the director of the SITE Intelligence Group, an American company that tracks extremist activity online and investigated the false claims about the villa.

The Making of a Fake Journalist

The video first appeared on Aug. 20 on a newly created YouTube account that had no previous activity and almost no followers, according to the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, a global nonprofit research organization in London, which traced the video’s spread.

The man appeared in a poorly lit room reading from his computer screen, which was reflected in his thick glasses. He appeared to be a real person, but it has not been possible to verify his actual identity. No one by the name of Mohamed al-Alawi appears to have produced any previous articles or videos, as would be expected of a journalist. According to ActiveFence, an internet security company, the character has no educational or work history, and no network of friends or social connections online.

The video, though, showed what purported to be photographs of a purchase contract and of the villa itself, creating a veneer of authenticity for credulous viewers. The property is, in fact, part of a resort owned by Orascom Development, whose website highlights El Gouna’s “year-round sunshine, shimmering lagoons, sandy beaches and azure waters.”

An article about the video’s claim appeared two days later as a paid advertisement, or branded content, on Punch, a news outlet in Nigeria, as well as three other Nigerian websites that aggregate news and entertainment content.

The article had the byline of Arthur Nkono, who according to internet searches does not appear to have written any other articles. The article quoted a political scientist, Abdrulrahman Alabassy, who likewise appears not to exist except in accounts linking the villa to the corrupt use of Western financial aid to Ukraine. (Punch, which later removed the post, did not respond to requests for comment.)

A day later, the claim made its first appearance on X in a post by Sonja van den Ende, an activist in the Netherlands, whose articles have previously appeared on propaganda outlets linked to the Russian government, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. (She also served as an election observer in an occupied territory of Ukraine during Russian parliamentary elections in September.)

Within days, reports about the villa appeared on X in French and Romanian, and in English on three different Reddit forums.

According to Roberta Duffield, director of intelligence for Blackbird.AI, an internet security company, nearly 29 percent of the accounts amplifying the reports appeared to be inauthentic bots, an unusually high number that would normally indicate a coordinated campaign.

Eight days after the video appeared, Russia state television networks like Channel One, Rossiya 24 and RT (in Arabic and German) reported it as a major revelation uncovered by a renowned Egyptian investigative journalist.

The story seemed to stall there. Naguib Sawiris, the scion of the Egyptian family that owned the development, curtly denied the sale in a reply on X.

And no more was heard from or about the character called Mohamed al-Alawi — until late December.

That was when two new videos emerged on a YouTube channel called “Egypt News,” claiming that he was dead.

The channel had been created the day before. One video showed a man identified as Alawi’s brother, Ahmed, answering questions from another man.

The police, he said, told him that they suspected his brother had been beaten to death by “Ukrainian special forces who acted on behalf of President Zelensky or another high-ranking official.”

He spoke with his hand cupped over his face to obscure his identity. The other video showed what was said to be the site of an attack, though the images were indistinct. “I can’t tell you anything else,” he said in the video, which YouTube later removed. “I’m afraid for my family.”

The video also tried to explain away some of the obvious holes in the initial story, including why there was no evidence online of Alawi’s previous work. “It was his first big assignment,” the man said.

The new episode spread as the first video had. A day later, an article about the death appeared on an obscure website created last year called El Mostaqbal, a name similar to but unrelated to the actual news organization in Lebanon.

“A reporter who announced that Zelensky’s mother-in-law brought a luxury villa has died under mysterious circumstances,” the headline read. Other reports that followed dropped any uncertainty and began referring to his “murder.”

In fact, Egypt’s Ministry of the Interior said there were no reports or evidence that anyone resembling the man in the video had been “subjected to harm.” The statement went on to note that the property itself had not been sold.

Still, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, posts about the supposed killing were viewed a million times on X on Dec. 25.

It also appeared on the website of the Middle East Monitor, or MEMO, operated by a well-known nonprofit organization in London and financed by the government of Qatar. A journalist who once reported from Moscow for The Telegraph of London, Ben Aris, cited it at length on the platform, though, when challenged, he said he had just made note of the rumor. “I don’t have time to check all this stuff myself,” he wrote.

It appeared in English on a site, Clear Story News, that Mr. Linvill of Clemson’s Media Forensics Hub had previously linked to Russia’s disinformation efforts. (The site lists no contact information)

Mr. Linvill described the process as a form of “narrative laundering” — moving false claims from unknown or not credible sources to ones that, to the unwitting at least, seem more legitimate.

More Elaborate Narratives

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue studied three other complex narratives about Ukraine, as well.

One featured a French journalist who claimed that the son of George Soros — a regular target of Russian and far-right political attacks — had secretly acquired land for a toxic waste dump in Ukraine. An unnamed doctor in Africa said in another that an American medical charity, the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group, was harvesting the organs of wounded Ukrainian soldiers for transplants for NATO officers.

Then there was the case of a man calling himself Shahzad Nasir, whose profile on X identifies him as a journalist with Emirates 24/7, an English-language news outlet in Dubai, though he has no apparent bylines on the site.

In November, he claimed that cronies of Mr. Zelensky bought two yachts — Lucky Me and My Legacy — for $75 million. His evidence, like Mohamed al-Alawi’s, includes photographs of the vessels and purported purchase agreements.

In fact, as the BBC documented in December, the yachts had not been purchased and remained for sale. Despite numerous efforts by fact checkers to dispel it as rumor, the claim circulated extensively.

Last month, the character Nasir reappeared in another video. This time he had a new version of the tale, claiming that the purchases had been scuttled after he exposed the secret deal.

The ramifications of these campaigns are difficult to measure precisely. There are signs, though, that they resonate even when proved false.

Senator J.D. Vance, a Republican of Ohio and an outspoken critic of Ukraine aid, seemed to embrace the claim in December during an interview on “War Room,” the podcast hosted by Stephen K. Bannon, the onetime adviser to former President Donald J. Trump.

“There are people who would cut Social Security — throw our grandparents into poverty — why?” Mr. Vance said. “So that one of Zelensky’s ministers can buy a bigger yacht?”

That prompted a public rebuke this month from a Republican colleague, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who ridiculed those who repeat unproven allegations.

“They’ve heard somebody say that if we pass this bill, that we’re all going to go ride to Kyiv with buckets full of money and let oligarchs buy yachts!” he said of critics of the assistance to Ukraine, in what he later called a reference to Mr. Vance’s comments. “I wonder how the spouses of the estimated 25,000 soldiers in Ukraine who have died feel about that? I mean, really, guys?”

Karoun Demirjian contributed reporting.

Audio produced by Parin Behrooz .

An earlier version of this article misstated, in one reference, the name of a group at Clemson University that studies disinformation. It is the Media Forensics Hub, not the Digital Media Hub.

How we handle corrections

Steven Lee Myers covers misinformation for The Times. He has worked in Washington, Moscow, Baghdad and Beijing, where he contributed to the articles that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2021. He is also the author of “The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin.” More about Steven Lee Myers

Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine

News and Analysis

Ahead of the U.S. elections, Russia is intensifying efforts to elevate candidates  who oppose aid for Ukraine and support isolationism, disinformation experts say.

President Vladimir Putin said that claims Russia planned to invade other countries were “nonsense,” but warned them against hosting  warplanes meant for Ukraine.

A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack damaged power plants  and caused blackouts for more than a million Ukrainians in what Ukrainian officials said was one of the war’s largest assaults on energy infrastructure.

Symbolism or Strategy?: Ukrainians say that defending places with little strategic value is worth the cost in casualties and weapons , because the attacking Russians pay an even higher price. American officials aren’t so sure.

Elaborate Tales: As the Ukraine war grinds on, the Kremlin has created increasingly complex fabrications online  to discredit Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and undermine the country’s support in the West.

Targeting Russia’s Oil Industry: With its army short of ammunition and troops to break the deadlock on the battlefield, Kyiv has increasingly taken the fight beyond the Ukrainian border, attacking oil infrastructure deep in Russian territory .

How We Verify Our Reporting

Our team of visual journalists analyzes satellite images, photographs , videos and radio transmissions  to independently confirm troop movements and other details.

We monitor and authenticate reports on social media, corroborating these with eyewitness accounts and interviews. Read more about our reporting efforts .

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Ian Fleming's Time on Seychelles Inspired His Eighth Novel, 'For Your Eyes Only'

W hen James Bond author Ian Fleming experienced a period of writer's block, he left his home in London, United Kingdom and traveled to the Republic of Seychelles. There, he relaxed and enjoyed the warmth of the Indian Ocean, while working on a story for a national newspaper.

Staying at what's now the Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa in 1958, on the island of Mahé, Fleming began work on his eight novel in the James Bond series, a collection of short stories released under the title, For Your Eyes Only . One particular tale, The Hildebrand Rarity , takes place at the holiday destination.

The story is set entirely on Seychelles. In it, James Bond is tasked with surveying the area for the British Royal Navy , which wants to construct a base there. During the trip, he meets local man Fidèle Barbey, who hires the MI6 agent to aid in the search for a rare fish.

The Hildebrand Rarity 's villain, the sadistic American millionaire Milton Krest, lives onboard a luxury yacht, The Wavekrest , and is the one interested in finding the rare fish. He cares not if they catch one dead or alive - his ultimate aim to sell it to the Smithsonian Institution for a high and tax-free price.

Bond helps Barbey pilot The Wavekrest and, in the end, Krest manages to catch one. However, he's only able to do so by pouring poison into the water, killing hundreds of fish in the process. Bond finds this abhorrent, and also becomes upset after learning the millionaire verbally and physically abuses his wife, Elizabeth.

Krest goes on to celebrate his success with Bond, Barbey and Elizabeth, but after many drinks begins to insult the trio. Before coming to blows, everyone turns in for the night, only for Bond to be awoken by loud noises.

Investigating the source of the sound, the MI6 agent discovers Krest has been murdered, with the Hildebrand Rarity stuffed down his throat. Fearing an inquest could put him in the frame, Bond cleans up the scene and dumps the millionaire's body overboard, hoping it'll appear as though he fell after a rope holding up his hammock snapped.

Returning to port, Bond is invited to sail on with Elizabeth to Mombasa. Despite believing she may be the killer, he agrees. As a way of getting back at her late husband, Elizabeth opts to send the Hildebrand Rarity to The British Museum , instead of the Smithsonian.

The Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa is located on a rocky outcrop at Beau Vallon Bay, Mahé. In the mid-1950s, it was one of the first hotels to set up shop on the island. It's blessed with extensive views of the coral reefs and azure blue seas the Indian Ocean is so famous for. With a number of cozy private beaches, the holiday destination offers a delightful place where Bond himself would feel at home. Plus, the bar still serves up 007-style cocktails.

Today, it's possible to check into the room Fleming stayed in, Room 114. However, due to copyright reasons, it's not called the "Ian Fleming Suite," despite it carrying the name for a period of time. The famed author's memory is recorded on the menu of the Ocean View Bar, with such items as Bond Tempura, a vegetable snack; Fleming Fish and Chips; and a sweet treat known as "La Bombe Surprise."

It was in April 1958 that Fleming flew to the Seychelles for an assignment for the Sunday Times . He was to report on a treasure hunt, which turned out to be a bit of a flop. However, the famed author used his time wisely, noting many of the details of the island and including them in his new James Bond story.

Fleming also added in what he witnessed during a visit to Pedro Cays, a series of islands off the coast of Jamaica. There, he saw two scientists use poison in a similar manner while collecting samples.

Grabbing names from past and present, Fleming used "Milton Krest" for his villain. "Milton" was the codename for a Greek captain who, at personal risk, ferried British soldiers and agents past German patrol boats during the Second World War . He went on to receive the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), plus an Order of the British Empire (MBE).

A further Seychelles link came from "Krest," the name of the tonic and ginger beer Fleming drank while staying at Northolme.

Fleming was well-connected in the British upper classes. During World War II, he served with the Royal Navy as the personal assistant to Rear Adm. John Godfrey, Director of Naval Intelligence. James Bond's "M" is said to be based on Godfrey, who had Fleming serve as his liaison to numerous government agencies. This led the author to cross paths with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the precursor to the CIA.

In 1942, Fleming formed the No. 30 Commando, a unit made up of special intelligence troops. Based on a German group headed by SS- Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny, which he called "one of the most outstanding innovations in German intelligence," they were tasked with positioning themselves near the frontline and seizing enemy documents.

More from us: Norman Lear Flew 52 Combat Missions with the US Army Air Forces During WWII

Following the success of the No. 30 Commando, the Target Force - better known as "T-Force" - was formed. Its infantry section consisted, in part, of the 5th Battalion, King's Regiment, and Fleming sat on the committee tasked with selecting targets. Given all he was involved in, it's certainly possible that his service gave him the inspiration for the James Bonds series.

Frank L. Hope, lead architect of San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium, dies at 93

His firm designed many of San Diego’s office towers, hotels and hospitals, but its crowning achievement was the $28 million, all-concrete San Diego Stadium in Mission Valley, later renamed San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium and SDCCU (San Diego Credit Union) Stadium.

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Frank L. Hope, one of San Diego’s postwar architects who helped reshape the city and is best known for his role in developing the San Diego Stadium in Mission Valley, died earlier this month. He was 93.

Hope headed the city’s largest architectural firm, Hope Design Group, focusing on civic, commercial and institutional projects.

By the time he retired in the early 1990s, the firm with a staff of 150 designed hospitals, office towers, hotels and pursued international work in Asia, Europe and the Mideast.

Its crowning achievement was the $28 million, all-concrete San Diego Stadium in Mission Valley. It was later renamed San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium and SDCCU (San Diego Credit Union) Stadium.

Hope also served on numerous civic boards and commissions but also made time to sail his yacht to Catalina, pilot his Cessna across the country and ski in Mammoth. He died at Scripps Mercy Hospital on March 18, three weeks shy of his 94th birthday.

Kevin deFreitas, past president of the local American Institute of Architects chapter and current president of the San Diego Architectural Foundation, said Hope was a player in the “golden era” of California “when regulation was certainly minimal, growth was explosive and there was all that post-war optimism and resources.”

Bill Lawrence, president and CEO of the San Diego History Center, called Hope’s design group one of the “major firms in our region that helped define the look of San Diego.”

Malin Burnham, one of the last surviving civic leaders of that era, said Hope typified those who built San Diego without expecting favoritism in return.

“It’s more than just business we’re looking for — it’s building the community,” Burnham said.

In 2015, Hope joined a group of architects to take stock of the stadium as debate swirled around replacing it to keep the Chargers in San Diego.

“It looks fine to me,” he said. “After reading what I’ve read in the paper by sports writers, I expected the whole thing to be a junk heap. It looks as nice as almost any athletic facility looks.”

Of course, the Chargers left, the stadium was demolished, and San Diego State University built the smaller and less architecturally dominating Snapdragon Stadium.

Born April 10, 1930, in San Diego, Frank Lewis Hope III was the son of Frank L. Hope Sr. (1901-1994), who founded the family architectural firm in 1928. The elder Hope left behind several architectural landmarks, including the Carmelite Monastery in Normal Heights (1930), Home Tower (Chase Bank, 707 Broadway, 1963) and Timken Museum of Art, Balboa Park (1965).

To meet the needs of a rapidly growing city’s needs, Hope and his father produced a “fantastic” number of buildings, said Keith York, curator of the modernsandiego.org website focused on local architects.

The younger Hope graduated from San Diego High School and UC Berkeley, served in the Army in Germany and joined his father’s firm in 1956, followed by his brother Charles, a civil engineer.

After the Los Angeles Chargers moved to San Diego in 1961 and settled into Balboa Stadium while civic leaders considered building a larger facility, Hope toured the country studying stadiums before winning the commission to oversee the stadium project, designed by Gary Allen.

Opened in 1967, it was known for its monumental circular access ramps and lighting system mounted into 28-ton precast concrete rings.

“Coming in here to see the whole thing full of people, it was an incredible feeling to me,” he recalled during the 2015 tour.

Hope was named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1972 and a decade later, the stadium received a national AIA honor award.

The firm soon won ever more commissions and grew the staff to meet the growing demand: McGill Hall at UC San Diego’s Muir College (1969); the former Union-Tribune building in Mission Valley (1973); numerous hospitals and their expansions, including Pomerado Hospital (1977); Columbia Center office tower, (now 1 Columbia Place at 401 W. A St., 1982); and the east tower of the Inter-Continental Hotel, (now Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, 1984).

Douglas F. Manchester, developer of both Columbia Center and the twin-towers Marriott, called Hope “an incredible architect and a man for all seasons.”

“He was a deal-maker, a man whose handshake was as good as gold, a person who loved deeply his city, state and country,” Manchester said. “His family was to him all important. He was a friend, a patriot and extremely important contributor to San Diego, America’s Finest City.”

Hope also had a hand in designing Horton Plaza shopping center, considering underground parking at Seaport Village and competing to redevelop the parking lots flanking the County Administration Center.

Hope opened offices in Santa Ana and San Francisco and won a contract to design a $75 million U.S. Navy airfield in the Philippines. In the 1970s, his firm designed 25 vocational education colleges in Saudi Arabia, worth upward of $1 billion.

Meanwhile, Hope served as president of the local and state chapters of the American Institute of Architect, commodore of the San Diego Yacht Club, chairman of both the San Diego Chamber of Commerce and San Diego Unified Port District board and member of the University of California Board of Regents.

Hope met with architect Gordon Carrier to review plans by Gunnar Birkerts for an underground addition to UC San Diego’s Geisel Library, completed in 1993.

“He wasn’t really one prone to wax poetic about design,” said Carrier, who heads the Carrier Johnson + Culture architectural firm.

Hope got right to the point: “So you’re telling me this building is below grade and is not going to leak.”

Carrier thought, “Well, it’s a good question.”

Like the heads of most large firms, Hope spent more time on business than design. But he insisted on excellence at his office and championed quality in public and private. He didn’t wait for edicts from government authorities.

“I think that by educating the people on the need for good design and having the public make its feelings known are the ways you should get design in a democratic system,” he told the Evening Tribune in 1983.

For all its success, Hope’s firm fell victim to the 1990s real estate recession. His son, Leland, closed the company’s doors in 1993 and went on to found his own sole-proprietorship firm.

But as he and his sisters said in a biographical sketch of their father, “Work was important to Frank, yet his passion for adventure and fun was primary.”

Hope and his wife Barbara sold their Point Loma family house and moved into their yacht Verve at the Bay Club Hotel and Marina, where he was a partner. They summered in Avalon Bay in Catalina, and in winter, skied Mammoth Mountain slopes. Hope took flying lessons and bought a single-engine Cessna to take trips across the country.

Hope is survived by his wife of 71 years; son; four daughters, Gretchen Robinson of San Diego, Gail Metzger of Goldhill, Ore., Carolyn Hoffos of Ramona, and Jacqui Tejedas of Kaiser, Ore.; nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

No memorial service is planned. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his name be made to Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, a Mammoth nonprofit that helps people with physical or intellectual disabilities experience winter and summer sports.

Roger Showley is a freelance writer for the U-T.

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