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Motor Yacht

Ilona is a custom motor yacht launched in 2004 by Amels in Makkum, Netherlands and most recently refitted in 2006.

AMELS are masters in the art of modern Dutch high-value yacht building. The yard is the largest superyacht facility in the Netherlands and one of the top superyacht builders in the world. In 2005 AMELS launched the successful LIMITED EDITIONS and delivered the first yacht of the series in 2007. The shipyard also specialises in the build of full-custom superyachts, with the in-construction Project Signature due to become the largest superyacht ever built in the Netherlands upon her scheduled launch in 2025.

Ilona measures 73.69 metres in length, with a max draft of 3.60 metres and a beam of 12.10 metres. She has a gross tonnage of 1,836 tonnes. She has a deck material of teak.

Ilona has a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure.

Ilona also features naval architecture by Amels.

Performance and Capabilities

Ilona has a top speed of 16.00 knots and a cruising speed of 15.00 knots. She is powered by a twin screw propulsion system.

She also has a range of 6,000 nautical miles.

Accommodation

Ilona accommodates up to 16 guests in 6 cabins. She also houses room for up to 28 crew members.

Other Specifications

Ilona is MCA compliant, her hull NB is 442.

Ilona is a LR class yacht. She flies the flag of the UK.

• Yacht Builder Amels View profile
• Naval Architect Amels View profile
• Exterior Designer RWD No profile available
• Interior Designer RWD No profile available

Yacht Specs

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NOT FOR CHARTER *

This Yacht is not for Charter*

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ILONA yacht NOT for charter*

82m  /  269' | amels | 2004 / 2019.

Owner & Guests

• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• Guest elevator
• Impressive 3,500nm range
• State-of-the-art cinema
• Generous pool
• Lloyds Register ✠ 100A1 SSC Yacht (P) Mono G6 + LMC UMS classification

The award winning 82m/269' motor yacht 'Ilona' was built by Amels in the Netherlands at their Makkum shipyard. Her interior is styled by British designer design house RWD and she was completed in 2004. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of RWD and she was last refitted in 2019.

Guest Accommodation

Ilona has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 18 guests in 6 suites. She is also capable of carrying up to 28 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Onboard Comfort & Entertainment

Her features include a movie theatre, beauty salon, elevator, underwater lights and air conditioning.

Range & Performance

Ilona is built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, with teak decks. Powered by twin diesel Caterpillar (3516 B HI-T) 2,633hp engines, she comfortably cruises at 15 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 16 knots with a range of up to 3,500 nautical miles from her 170,000 litre fuel tanks at 13 knots. She was built to Lloyds Register ✠ 100A1 SSC Yacht (P) Mono G6 + LMC UMS classification society rules, and is MCA Compliant.

*Charter Ilona Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Ilona is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Ilona Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

Ilona Photos

Ilona Awards & Nominations

• International Superyacht Society Awards 2005 Best Power 43m+ Winner
• The World Superyacht Awards 2013 Best Refitted Yacht Finalist

NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

M/Y Ilona

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Major refit on 73.7m superyacht Ilona completed by Amels

Reported to be at the Amels yard last August for a major refit, the 73.7m motor yacht Ilona was recently spotted on the Côte d'Azur, showing her new face.

Ilona was launched by Amels in 2004 to a design by Redman Whiteley Dixon and turned many heads with her special helicopter garage in the aft deck. But after cruising her extensively around the world, her owner decided it was time to make some changes. 'The owner wanted to have a large swimming pool and a helipad large enough to take his Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter,' says David McQueen, the owner's representative.

The plan swung into action with pre-engineering and manufacturing works done in advance so that the refit could be completed in record time once the yacht arrived at the yard.

In place of the helicopter garage a large 10m by 3m swimming pool was created with a movable floor and a maximum depth of 1.5m. The 40,000 litres of sea water necessary to fill it are purified and 'can be heated to up to 6 degrees higher than the original sea temperature in just one hour,' adds McQueen.

The addition of the new helipad posed a real challenge to preserve the sleek original design of Redman Whiteley Dixon. As Justin Redman explains, 'Adding the additional superstructure to accommodate the helipad would have affected the lines of the yacht, so we extended the owner’s deck and the bridge deck by 2 metres in order to bring the aesthetic appearance back into balance. We also used metallic grey paint to reduce the visual impact of the helideck, and the overall result is that the yacht, despite all the changes, looks every bit as streamlined and well-proportioned as before.'

The 37th refit by the dedicated Amels Refit Department was a real success, as confirmed by Ilona 's captain, Kenan Seginer: 'I really like Amels , they’re very friendly and great to work with. They’ve done a wonderful job with Ilona , and the after-sales team is excellent. The boss is very happy, and any work we need doing in the future, for sure we’ll be coming back to Amels again.'

The refit was completed ahead of schedule on 16 May 2012, and the yacht arrived in Antibes few weeks later, ready in time for the coming season.

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Timeless class

Designed by RWD, ILONA is a technical and aesthetic marvel. In her first 10 years at sea, this 74-metre covered almost 150,000 nautical miles, taking her to all corners of the globe. For her extensive refit by Amels Refit in 2012, the previous below-decks helipad hangar was replaced by a large swimming pool with movable floor, while a new helipad was created on the top deck aft. With plenty of accommodation and a 30-metre Owners Deck, ILONA is built for luxury as well as adventure.

Justin Redman

‘This was a wonderful, challenging project for us all. To be lucky enough to get a brief for something so different is a truly great joy. It’s also an added pleasure that the 73-metre ILONA was delivered to the owner on his 73rd birthday, as a sort of present to himself and his wife.’

Full Custom builds

ILONA yacht is an Amels Full Custom yacht, a one-off built to the Owner’s unique requirements. Learn about our custom-building heritage and our Full Custom builds.

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ILONA Yacht – Luxury on Water $100M Superyacht

The ILONA YACHT is an 82 meter superyacht built by Amels in the Netherlands in 2003 with Redmand Whitely Dixon doing both the exterior and interior design of the yacht.

Ilona Yacht Interior

Inside the ILONA yacht, you’ll find five decks connected by an elevator for easy access throughout this elegant vessel.

With a beautiful mahogany interior designed by Redman Whiteley Dixon there is room for 20 guests in 6 spacious cabins and a stunning cinema that can hold 14 people.

With a crew of 28 in 14 cabins, guests will always feel at home with world-class service and never a shortage of things to do. What was once a helicopter hanger has been turned into a large swimming pool and a helipad was added.

Ilona Yacht Exterior

The exterior of ILONA yacht, also by Redman Whiteley Dixon, features a brilliant white hull, aluminum superstructure, and beige-brown wooden teak decks.

In 2016 she was sent back to Amels for a refit, where the swimming pool was added, among other features. She was refitted again in 2018 by Abeking & Rasmussen.

Redman Whiteley Dixon has a large portfolio, designing 21 yachts and 59 yacht exteriors throughout their career.

Specifications

The ILONA Yacht is powered by twin diesel Caterpillar Engines, reaching top speeds of 19 knots while her cruising speed sits at a comfortable 15 knots with a maximum range of 6000 nautical miles.

She has a length of 82 meters (269 ft), a beam of 21.1 meters, and a gross tonnage of 1836 tons.

She is in the top 5% of yachts by overall length, and one of only 60 yachts within the 80-90m range and faster compared to other yachts her size.

Currently sailing under the Cayman Islands flag, the ILONA yacht has recently been spotted around Italy and the Mediterranean.

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By SuperyachtNews 03 May 2016

74m 'Ilona' back on the water after service

Icon yachts has announced that 74m 'ilona' is back on the water after a successful service at the dutch facility….

Icon Yachts has announced that 74m Ilona is back on the water after a successful service at the Dutch facility. Built by Amels in 2004, the 74m superyacht has now arrived in the Mediterranean after a fast Gibraltar crossing and is ready for charter.

The scope of work included an extensive overhaul of the four-fin Naiad stabiliser system, technical services and upgrades as well as the application of new antifouling after touching up the anticorrosive system. All was completed within a tight schedule of less than nine weeks.

Carel Meijers, the senior project manager at Icon Yachts said, “During the yard period, the cooperation with the crew was extraordinary. We had mutual understanding that the jobs that were to be performed should be finalised allowing time for testing and crew preparation prior to departure.”

According to Icon Yachts, refit activity in The Netherlands is increasing, this claim is supported by a successful first quarter of 2016 and new leads are filing up slots fast.

Illona , now 12 years old was the 28th superyacht delivered by Amels and is still the third largest superyacht in the Amels fleet. The Dutch shipyard has now delivered 55 superyachts since 1974 and ranked as the 9th most active shipyard in the 2016 Superyacht Intelligence Annual Report.

Icon yachts has also recently completed the refit of 52m superyacht Seahorse , also built by Amels in 1999.

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• Superyacht Ilona spotted in London
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Latest News

Ilona Amels 73.81 m Superyacht

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Ilona has 7 Photos

THE MEDITERRANEAN

Amels announces build of 78-metre Espen ...

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LADY VERA | From EUR€ 700,000/wk

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If you have any questions about the Ilona information page below please contact us .

Motor Yacht Ilona was a milestone launch by Amels Shipyard of Holland in 2004, being a truly custom yacht measuring 73.81 metres (or 242 ft) in length overall. Yacht Ilona was launched by Amels in Makkum, the Netherlands and she has also refitted in 2006, and subsequently in 2012. Redman Whiteley Dixon designed the yacht's flowing exterior and was also employed to create the yacht's interior design. Yacht Ilona was built with a steel hull and an aluminium superstructure. She has a beam of 12.10m (39.70ft) and a 3.60m (11.81ft) draft and she is built to comply to MCA and LR standards. She sails with an Australian flag and Ilona can accommodate a maximum of up 16 guests, in 6 cabins, whilst cruising overnight and she also accommodates up to 28 crewmembers. Each of her twin engines Caterpillar Inc Model 3516B DITA diesel engines produce 2,635 horse power or 1,965 KW giving her cruise speed of 16 knots.

Ilona Specifications

Superyacht ILONA is the forth yacht called ILONA which was built and launched for the same owner who is an Australian citizen. M/Y ILONA is the largest of the four yachts built, so far, and was the inspiration of Amels shipyard in-house team, Redman Whitely Dixon and also the yacht's owner(s). Her exterior design is unique with her flowing, balanced and naturally inspired lines and she stands out as being able to be easily identifiable due to her one of a kind good looks and also her formidable size (being one of the the world's top 100 largest private yachts). In addition to numerous luxury yacht amenities, this boat also boasts a cinema, a massage room and a gymnasium. ILONA has been awarded as the Most Innovative Motor Yacht and The Best Motoryachts Over 43 Meters awards.

Another interesting feature of motor yacht Ilona, and indeed one of the greatest design and building challenges, was how and where to incorporate the yachts large helipad and helicopter hangar. The was eventually successfully achieved through innovative design and creativity and without compromising her structure, lines, look or functionality. ILONA IV has the full retractable system of opening doors, on her aft deck, which has been installed to allow a helicopter to land and be stowed in a fire-proof hangar below deck. Overall, superyacht ILONA is a very successful and exceptional motor yacht which combines excellent sea going capabilities with superb design features.

Yacht Accommodation

Ilona can accommodate a maximum of up 16 guests, in 6 cabins, whilst cruising overnight and up to 28 crew.

Amenities and Extras

We do have available further amenity, owner and price information for the 73.81 yacht Ilona, so please enquire for more information.

Ilona Disclaimer:

The luxury yacht Ilona 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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"One of the most important elements for us at RWD is the personal relationships that we forge with our clients. It is also critical to us to ensure that designing and creating with that RWD partnership is a very, very enjoyable journey. So when visiting our unique studio, this might mean helicoptering in to stay in one of England's very best Country house spa hotels, the nearby Lime Wood, and perhaps enjoying riding in the New Forest, fly-fishing on one of the best chalk streams in the South, all things frankly which have nothing to do with yacht design, but add to the memories of the creation of that yacht. The more pleasurable we can make the whole design experience, the more valuable the journey is." - British superyacht designers Redman Whiteley Dixon.

74m CRN 131 | From EUR€ 870,000/wk

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This Is Where Superyacht Owners Live In Greece

W hile the ultra-rich might favour townhouses and dazzling city apartments, where do they go for some sunshine? Check out Elounda Hills, a breathtaking resort in Crete .

Are These The Most Luxurious Homes In Greece?

Head to the northeast coast of Crete and you’ll find Elounda Hills, a spectacular 138-acre resort. As Crete’s very first branded residential offering, it’s set to offer 257 homes, a boutique waterside hotel , a separate five-star hotel courtesy of 1 Hotels , and twelve restaurants and bars – plus two beach clubs, a watersports centre, a retail piazza and a 2,000 square-metre Bamford spa & wellness village.

If it sounds like paradise, there’s more – just take a stroll along the marina, which has been specially designed to accommodate visiting boats, residents’ yachts and even superyachts measuring up to a whopping 90 metres. 

Each of the villas enjoys glorious ocean views as well as elegant interiors combining contemporary features with traditional Cretan architecture. Think sprawling open plan spaces, full-height windows and grand outdoor terraces, with many residences also boasting landscaped gardens and infinity pools. Biophilic design elements bring the outside in, while dramatic arches provide shade during the hotter months.

There is, of course, plenty on offer at Elounda Hills, whether residents and guests want to get stuck into some sport, treat themselves to a meal, or do a spot of shopping. Plus, whatever they get up to, they’ll be encouraged to consider their water, plastic and carbon output – and they can participate in activities including tree planting and wine making using produce grown onsite.

At the hilltop 1 Hotel, meanwhile – the eco-conscious brand’s first resort hotel in Europe – there’s an array of incredible services on offer, including in-house private chef and juicing specialists and even a ‘saging’ service to cleanse your home prior and promote healing. Now that’s luxury.

Mirabello Villas at Elounda Hills start at €3.85 million. For more information, visit eloundahills.gr

Yacht, IMO 1007964

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• Miscellaneous

The current position of MY ILONA is at West Mediterranean reported 1 min ago by AIS. The vessel is en route to FR - CANNES , sailing at a speed of 14.1 knots and expected to arrive there on Jul 15, 07:00 . The vessel MY ILONA (IMO 1007964, MMSI 319149800) is a Yacht built in 2003 (21 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Cayman Islands .

Position & Voyage Data

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Recent port calls, vessel particulars.

MY ILONA current position and history of port calls are received by AIS. Technical specifications, tonnages and management details are derived from VesselFinder database. The data is for informational purposes only and VesselFinder is not responsible for the accuracy and reliability of MY ILONA data.

More From Forbes

Inside the luxury hotel yacht race with marriott luxury president and ritz-carlton yachts ceo.

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Ilma launches in September 2024

The ‘hotel yacht’ is one of the most competitive and exciting new areas of luxury travel. The Ritz-Carlton was the first to market with the launch of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection ’s first yacht Evrima in 2022, with other leading luxury hospitality brands including Four Seasons and Aman quickly announcing plans to follow suit. Now, Ritz-Carlton is gearing up for the inaugural voyage of its second yacht Ilma in September 2024, a move that it hopes will further solidify its place as the leader of the luxury hotel yacht race.

Ahead of the launch, two of the project’s leading lights, Tina Edmundson, President, Luxury at Marriott International, and Jim Murren, CEO, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, reveal everything we need to know about the new launch. They also reveal exclusive insights on why Marriott chose to branch into the yachting sector in the first place, their learnings from their first years on the water, and what differentiates their yachts from a cruise ship – and indeed a private superyacht.

Tony Capuano, Toto Wolff and Tina Edmundson onboard Evrima

Why did Marriott decide to enter the yachting space – and why now?

Tina Edmundson: We have actually been talking about this space for a decade. It’s interesting because I've had many people ask, ‘is this a post Covid thing?’, when actually, it's not. Covid has not caused new behavior, it's accelerated behavior. What we’re seeing with our customers is that people have changed their mindsets. They want experiences over things and the yachting experience is coveted because it’s about removing friction from people's stays and having this all-inclusive, amazing experience. We know that they are looking for these experiences outside of hotels so our goal is to keep them in our ecosystem. We want to be able to provide all of those types of experiences for our customers.

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How does the experience you’re offering stand aside from a traditional cruise and what influences have you taken from the superyacht industry?

Jim Murren: There’s a distinct difference between a cruise ship and a yacht. Cruise ships cater to a vast array of people who love that type of experience; they love having segmented times to eat, casinos, entertainment and theme park-like experiences all in one inclusive environment. That's not us. We took our inspiration from private yachts and, working closely with Ritz-Carlton, we created a hospitality experience that’s very different than what you would get on a cruise. Look at the variety of restaurants that we have, the quality levels that we deliver, the type of entertainment that we bring to bear and the amount of service that we bring – we have a one-of-a-kind crew-to -passenger ratio that no-one else has in our space.

And with size of our yacht, we get to go into ports that most cruise ships can't go into, so we can create much more interesting, educationally and culturally motivated itineraries that the discerning guest is really looking for.

What can Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection offer that a private yacht cannot?

JM: One of our owners, who's a billionaire, has a yacht. He said that a lot of his friends can certainly charter a yacht for $250,000 to $1 million a week, but they don't get the social experience that you can get here on Evrima . If guests are coming with a group of people, or they’re multi-generational family, they want to meet like-minded folks who also have that adventurous ‘can do’ spirit, and you can't do that on a private yacht. It's not so much a value proposition for them, it's more of a lifestyle decision that they've made.

How have you avoided falling into the cruise ship trap?

TE: I think it starts with the size of the vessel. We only have 149 suites so the highest number of people we can have 300 people. The space-to-guess ratio is very generous, so even when we're full, it never feels dense. The facilities are really different, too; there are hundreds of quiet spots where you can tuck away with a book or your computer anywhere on the boat. The service and culture of Ritz-Carlton is critically important and, in my mind, quite a differentiating factor. And then there’s all the other amenities on top, from the quality of food to the wine. It feels different.

Evrima has been sailing for a year now and Ilma is preparing for her maiden voyage. What have you learnt in the first year of sailings and what’s new on the second yacht?

TE: We’ve learnt that people are looking for some form of entertainment in the evening. We don’t have casinos or an auditorium, but we still have to provide entertainment, and so we’ve started hosting different types of musicians and magicians. It’s different to what you’d find on a cruise but very fitting to the kind of customer we have.

JM: As part of the entertainment program, we’re going to embed into the itinerary intimate entertainment experiences that make a cruise more interesting. We'll have guest lecturers, naturalists and professors come on board. We'll have celebrities come on and talk about their lives. Tina mentioned music and magic and there's some incredibly sophisticated, elegant entertainment that can be done in an intimate setting.

People are also looking for great onshore experiences too. We can tuck our yacht into a nice little port and make sure we have an onshore experience that enriches their cultural identity. A lot of the big cruise companies create their own artificial environment – they own their own islands and have their own entertainment. What we're trying to create is a more authentic experience.

What are you most excited for on the upcoming itineraries?

JM: Next year, we're taking Ilma up into the Baltic, which will be really exciting. And then with Luminara, she'll be sailing in Asia Pacific. She'll be up in Alaska, we'll be going to Japan and Singapore. For our guests, which for now at least are a majority North American, this is the first time they'll be experiencing many of these locations. We’ve become the vessel of opportunity and enlightenment for people in North America to experience the Mediterranean or Asia Pacific, and we take that responsibility seriously. That's why we want to educate people.

The owner's suite on Ilma

Beyond planned sailings, the collection is available for private charters – an example of which was the Mercedes buy-out of Evrima during the 2024 Monaco F1 Grand Prix . What percentage will be bookable sailings versus private charters?

JM: For Evrima , it's about 10% private charter. This is a pioneering effort and a new industry segment, so I would imagine that over time, Evrima could get more and more charter business. She’s the perfect size for a corporate charter or a celebrity weddings and other big events. I could see, over time, close to 40-50% of sailings on Ilma being charter, particularly as we grow our fleet.

A static hotel is very different from a ‘floating’ one. What were the biggest challenges and opportunities you discovered while working on the Group’s first yacht project?

TE: The main learning from a hotel perspective is when the guest is on the vessel, you have to provide everything, so you've got to have a lot of forethought about their expectations or needs. Part of the Ritz-Carlton culture is that we should never say ‘no’; you’ve got to provide guests with alternatives. And sometimes, if you're on sea, like you can't physically do that, so it’s about being very thoughtful about what our guests looking for. F&B is really important because again, when you’re in a static hotel, you can get in your car, or you call an Uber go wherever. But here, you have to provide everything.

What's interesting is we are taking learnings from the yachting experience and we will open our first Ritz-Carlton all-inclusive in Costa Rica in 2026. We've never been in the space and in that type of environment, so it goes both ways.

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Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

• False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
• Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
• Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
• Content that otherwise violates our site's  terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

• Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
• Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
• Actions that otherwise violate our site's  terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

• Stay on topic and share your insights
• Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
• ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
• Protect your community.
• Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service.

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