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Step on board the 162.5m Eclipse - the second largest superyacht in the world

Designer Terry Disdale talks us through the four and a half years, nine decks and 162.5 metres of the world’s second largest superyacht.

Terry Disdale didn’t set out to design the biggest superyacht in the world. “No one ever said to me, ‘I want a 160 metre boat’,” he says over breakfast near his office in Richmond, London. “When the yacht was still on the drawing board, there was a rumour going round that someone was building an even bigger boat, and the owner was asked if he knew about it. He said he didn’t, and that he didn’t care. Breaking records was the farthest thing from his mind.”

What he did care about was helicopters – he wanted to carry more than one; and the pool – it had to be big. There were also some early discussions about low bulwarks and big windows, and that was the totality of the brief for what would become Eclipse . “To be given free rein is actually a dreadful thing,” says Disdale.  “I asked myself what I wanted: something timeless. How do you design something timeless that’s still going to look good and not be anaemic? It’s so easy to get carried away, but you’ve got to be able to look at it in 20 years and decide it still looks OK.” But that’s the trick, isn’t it? And the measure of a designer.

• The 25 largest yachts in the world

At least Disdale had some hooks on which to hang the design. “Part of what creates the yacht looking like that is you’ve got to land this huge helicopter on the front, so the superstructure is pushed back. The formation of the boat is built around helicopter usage. And we didn’t want the boat to look unbalanced when the helicopter is on the foredeck. Some boats have a foredeck that looks wrong whenever a helicopter sits there.”

The lines of the boat were dictated by another prerequisite: the two significant lifeboats demanded by Solas. The sheerline runs straight aft from the bow and steps up amidships, the high freeboard created giving visual support to the lifeboats. “If you’d had a different sheerline, the lifeboats wouldn’t have looked comfortable,” the designer says. This, plus the addition of a 15 metre pool aft on the main deck, meant that the overall length of Eclipse – 162.5 metres – was defined not by ego but by practicality.

“Everyone thinks that a boat starts with a sketch, some glamorous visual of the outside of the boat. But that’s not how things work in my office – we start with a plan, a general arrangement.” The project, from this first design stage to the boat’s launch at Blohm+Voss ’s Hamburg yard in 2009, took four and a half years – a remarkable achievement given the scale of the yacht, which was only overtaken as the world’s biggest in 2013 with the launch of 180 metre Azzam . 

Up to 20 engineers from Blue Ocean Yacht Management were present on site throughout the build, whipping it along to meet the aggressive delivery schedule. Disdale doesn’t recall any sleepless nights – “at least, no more than usual!” he laughs. The pressure of designing what was then the world’s top yacht – both inside and out – did obviously register, though. “It’s a huge responsibility building something of that magnitude, which is going to be under everyone’s magnifying glass. It’s not just ‘doing a job’, this thing is going to be scrutinised and analysed by everyone. There’s a responsibility to yourself as a designer.”

A decade from delivery, and more than 15 years from the moment Disdale first put pen to paper, he says he wouldn’t change a thing – and nor has the owner, who has kept Disdale’s designs largely unchanged. “For me, it’s more a clean piece of architecture than it is a piece of styling. The fact that you have a helipad on the front creates the superstructure to bow dimension, which is beautiful. If it wasn’t there, you wouldn’t have that length. And then when you get to the back of the boat, the swimming pool is dictating another piece of the story. I don’t know what I would change now. I don’t sit around saying, ‘I wish I did this or that’. Maybe I’d make the rear end look a bit more inviting, the way the staircases lead into the boat, but anti-piracy was a concern, plus there are a load of services and facilities back there. There’s a full-size pantry to serve the beach club, which very few boats have, and gull-wing doors with a pullout barbecue and pizza oven. There’s a lot you don’t see.”

Disdale’s long experience in the business means he is able to resist the temptation to force designs, or slavishly follow trends that flare and fade, leaving boats looking old before their time. “ Eclipse is a handsome boat, and it looks like a boat. It doesn’t make any pretence,” he says. “The key word is elegance. Very few boats can make that claim any more. Modern boats are purposeful, aggressive, macho, which has led to them all having snub noses. They look angry. You could paint them grey and stick a cannon on the front and it wouldn’t upset their stance at all. Eclipse is not like that.” It’s a familiar sermon from Disdale, who famously posts his 10 “design commandments” up round his office. “One of  the most important tools in your box is restraint. I can have complete freedom when designing a superstructure, but restraint is actually the most important thing – knowing when to stop gilding the lily. Don’t gild it! Use silver leaf.”

• Inside the Surrey home of legendary superyacht designer Terence Disdale  

The obvious benefit of a single designer being responsible for the interior and exterior of a yacht is a seamless flow between the two, and that is absolutely true of Eclipse , whose interior conforms to another one of Disdale’s mantras: “ beach house not penthouse ”. “If you’ve got a dining room with satin on the chairs and gold braid around them, but you live in a T-shirt and shorts, then you’re not comfortable,” he says. 

The pool is a vast entertaining space, with 3.2 metre overheads and a retracting glass sunroof. “The ambience of the pool is as important as how it looks. You’ve got to want to sit by it.” Or dance on it: the blue granite bottom of the pool rises up to sit flush with the deck. It can also be lowered a touch to create a paddling pool.

The interior of any boat should be about “pure relaxation”, says Disdale. “People are on vacation, people are chilled.” He relates one story of an Arab client in the 1980s, who he dissuaded from fitting gold taps to his superyacht. “I told him he already had a 65 metre on the quay – he had already made his statement. It was a process of trying to quieten his ostentation.” You get the feeling no such effort was needed with the owner of Eclipse . “He had already owned three yachts to our design, so consequently was very familiar with my way of working and the habitat I create.” It’s impossible to miss the very deliberate warmth of that habitat and a design miracle that, despite using broadly the same colour palette throughout, nowhere do you tire of the ochre-like shades. 

This uniformity wasn’t applied to the lobbies between decks: different artists were tasked with creating unique works to give each lobby a flavour, so there is no confusion about what deck you’re on – a problem when you have nine. One of these pieces is a wooden sculpture made up of seven pieces, the design for which was hand drawn by Disdale and sent to Japan for manufacture. It’s a stunning work and symptomatic of the detail shown throughout – even in more mundane pieces, like the sideboards in the cabins that were designed in Europe and crafted in Chile.

With no clear-cut brief on the yacht’s layout, Disdale was forced to second-guess, “but that’s my job”, he says. “You have to work out how people will move around the boat.” The benefit of an LOA like Eclipse ’s is the owner can swallow serious acreage without impacting the guest experience. It’s not about avoiding guests, but being able to operate independently of them.

It would be easy to mistake the guest suites for the owner’s own quarters, such is their footprint. There are 18 guest cabins in total, served by 100 crew. From the moment the guests arrive by chopper, mainly on the top helideck, they’re absorbed in the comfort of the boat and have access to the main stairwell and elevator. It’s a transition of which Disdale is particularly proud. “It came from understanding how a boat is used. When you get out of the helicopter, you’re blown to pieces, and then where do you go?” The answer is an intimate lounge, where you can freshen up before entering the interior proper. It also gives pilots somewhere to conduct safety briefings, he points out. Eclipse is able to travel with multiple helicopters on board because one can be housed in the forward hangar, one above it on the retractable platform and another on the sundeck.

At the other extremity of the boat, the convenience continues with a huge bathing platform and staircases that fold down into the water for easy boarding – even for those wearing full dive gear. The beach club wasn’t maxed out, with a comfortable lounge along the centreline preferred to a big open area that is harder to secure. Beyond, though, the lower deck opens up into a huge 77 square metre gym and spa area, complete with massage room, beauty salon, sauna, shower areas and the yacht’s second plunge pool. Visual interest is added by banks of portholes with views into the swimming pool, which dapple light across this whole space. Choosing somewhere to relax on deck is slightly harder – where do you start? The options are endless but special mention has to be made of the wood-burning fire pit on the upper deck – perfect for nights on deck under the stars.

Disdale and his team were present in June 2009 when the boat appeared from the giant drydock in Hamburg. No butterflies – he claims to have been pretty zen about seeing her free of scaffolding and plastic. “Although you design every part of it and you see it being built, nothing prepares you for the feeling you get when you actually see it in the flesh. The tug pulled it out and there was the thickness of a mattress between the wing stations and the shed walls. Literally – they tied mattresses to the stations. When it appeared I was gobsmacked.” As was the owner, pleasingly for the man who’d dedicated nearly five years to the project.

“It’s like cars,” explains the car fanatic. “I was talking about Lamborghinis the other day. They used to have the Miura, a beautiful car. But they replaced it with the Countach, which looks like it was carved from cheese. One is ageless and one looks stuck in time. Elegance is the most important thing. The Miura is elegant, the Jaguar E-Type is elegant.” He’s too modest to say but Eclipse belongs in that league – beautiful for ever.

First published in the April 2016 edition of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.

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Take a closer look at Russian oligarch's $700 million superyacht that is one of the largest in the world

• Roman Abramovich had seemingly scrambled to avoid sanctions from the UK by moving his superyachts.
• One of those is The Eclipse, which cost $700 million to build and was once the biggest in the world.
• That yacht was once in New York City and we took some photos.

Like other Russian oligarchs, Roman Abramovich had seemingly scrambled to avoid sanctions and that included quickly moving his superyachts to more friendly waters.

Many of the 55-year-old billionaire's assets — such as the Chelsea Football Club and several homes — have been sold or frozen since Russia launched an unprovoked war on Ukraine, Bloomberg reported . 

While Abramovich couldn't move the Premier League football club Chelsea FC and sold the $3 billion club , his yachts are another matter. 

Abramovich's 553-foot-long flagship is The Eclipse, estimated to have cost $700 million when built. After sanctions were initially dropped by the UK against Abramovich, his second "smaller" $600 million superyacht, Solaris, left Barcelona, Spain, and moved to friendlier waters in Turkey.

Solaris was joined in Turkey by The Eclipse, which arrived from the Caribbean .

While the superyacht Eclipse was photographed in Turkish waters in early August , it was once docked at Manhattan's Pier 90, and Robert Johnson was able to get some pictures. Take a tour of the superyacht below. 

Robert Johnson contributed to this post.

Just south of this public parking lot on the roof of the Pier 90 terminal in New York City sat Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's flagship yacht, the "Eclipse."

536-feet long and styled after military vessels.

The 2010 Eclipse cost $700 million and was the world's largest yacht when built.

The vessel has amenities to rival any ship on the sea — like its own mini submersible, perhaps similar to this— able to dive down 150-feet.

The Eclipse has two helipads.

Bulletproof glass and armor plates wrap the length of Roman's master suite and the bridge.

And a German-built missile defense system.

The ship's also supposed to have a laser defense against paparazzi trying to photograph the yacht's guests, but saw no evidence of the device when we were there.

The Eclipse has three launch boats.

That looked to be stocked with medical supplies and a variety of handheld radios.

From the cruise ship parking lot it felt like we were almost on the Eclipse itself.

But with little chance we'd be invited aboard through the ship's door here ...

... We hoped to find one of the 70 crew members required to sail the Eclipse and see if they'd tell us what ship life was like.

But we found no one interested in talking.

But we certainly didn't feel like paparazzi, or that we'd be lasered, when we were in the parking lot tourists use when they arrive to board their cruise.

From up here, the ship was simply stunning and the amount of work required to keep her that way apparent.

The Yacht Report says owning a superyacht costs about 20% of the ship's initial value every year.

But experts believe that Roman probably pays $75 million a year to run the private cruise ship with 24-guest suites.

Looking at the layout of the ship gets us talking about the two swimming pools inside, the disco, cinema, hair salon, and restaurant.

The billionaire's guests would use this door to enter any fore part of the deck.

Perhaps noting where the life rings were as they made their way about the ship.

At 13,000 gross tons, the Eclipse was, at the time, the largest vessel to use a special stabilization system to keep it calm in rough waters while anchored or moving slowly through the sea.

Roman faced a $150,000 tab for parking the Eclipse in New York City while possibly visiting his daughter and her new baby — about $2,000 a day.

A large yacht like the Eclipse can hold over 100,000 gallons of fuel.

Depending on the current price of fuel, a five-hour cruise each way could cost about $30,000.

None of those numbers are likely to concern Roman Abramovich, however, who has an estimated net worth of nearly $8 billion.

Source: Forbes

Here is some drone footage of the superyacht.

You can see interior photos of the luxury yacht at Boat International

Step on board the 162.5m Eclipse - the second largest superyacht in the world

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ECLIPSE Interior & Exterior Photos

162.5m  /  533'2 | blohm + voss | 2010 / 2015.

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By SuperyachtNews 17 Feb 2022

Designing interiors on the world’s largest superyachts

Dasha moranova recalls her journey from humble beginnings to the wonders of lürssen's alice concept....….

Dasha remembers her first big interview in the superyacht industry. The interior designer and OS manager for Roman Abramovich's famous 162.5m superyacht M/Y Eclipse was on maternity leave and so a replacement was needed. The interview took place around a large table in a Michelin star restaurant with representatives from both management and the client side quizzing the young designer. When the restaurant brought her the wrong meal she was faced with a dilemma, “What should I do? Should I send it back and get what I ordered? I don't want to make a fuss, but then again, this is a nice restaurant and they should get it right.” 

She decided to kindly ask the waiter to replace her meal with what she ordered. It turned out to be one of the most important career decisions she had ever made, and it was followed by handshakes all around, ‘Congratulations, you’ve got the job.’ The representatives revealed that it had been the final test of her interview, to see whether she would favour agreeableness in the face of adversity, or if she would stick to her guns and get what she wants. “Yeah, so that was basically my big entrance into the superyacht industry - it was very interesting!”

Dasha went on to work as the interior and owner supply manager for not only Eclipse , but also partly for the 115m expedition superyacht Luna - which was being built at the same time. Dasha explained how it was one of the most intense but amazing experiences of her career, “I was working for Blue Ocean Yacht management, representing the owners side for Mr Abramovich and we were building two boats at the same time. I was on daily calls with the Terence Disdale team, meeting the shipyard interior manager as well as all different contractors and subcontractors. I was also the one who made the final acceptances on the interior side and locked the rooms once completed...

"I was living in Hamburg, and I was literally almost sleeping on the ship because I was working such crazy hours, trying to learn everything and spend as much time on board as possible."

We had a big floating office which was right next to the boat from which we managed everything in between the different groups and from all the different sides. We had a large window in our office from which we could see inside the floating deck and see the ship almost from our desks. Our engineering teams shared the build progress with me and I was helping to prepare monthly reports to Mr A about what was happening.” Dasha continues, “It was an absolutely unforgettable experience with many wonderful people who remain my close friends until this very day. I think that the main thing I learnt was to always be on site, see how everything is being put together, how it's being built, and how all these parties are working together. It was like watching an orchestra.” 

After Eclipse and Luna were delivered in 2009 and 2010, Dasha continued helping BOYM with the design for Damen Yachting on 50m Oberon . Then came her new chapter and a new role as senior interior designer at Terence Disdale Design in London, working on projects with Abeking & Rasmussen on the 80m-plus yachts Kibo and Romea , also a short period designing at Winch Design on 156m Dilbar which was delivered in 2016 at Lürssen . Her impressive resumé doesn’t end there. Once relocated to Amsterdam, her recent work included leading a 20-member team on a six-star hotel project in Qatar and designing a VIP centre at Schiphol Airport, in which the Dutch royal family also have their own rest area. Her latest project and collaboration with former colleague Jim Sluijter, Alice , was a major head turner on the Lürssen stand at Monaco Yacht Show 2021.

Dasha came from humble beginnings before she skyrocketed onto the yachting scene. The spaces she designs today are in a sense the antithesis to the environment where she grew up in the former communist state of Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic. As a young girl she would spend all her time in her fathers workshop in the mountainous and historical region of Moravia. As her passion for design blossomed in her teenage years she decided to spend six years studying at the University of Art, Architecture and Designs in Prague. It was only after the borders were opened in 1991 that she could travel to places like the south of France and Italy to start seeing superyachts and the Mediterranean way of life. And so, it was when she moved to a new life in Palma De Mallorca that her career in yachting really began.

Dasha went on to explain, “For me personally it’s very important to design a space which you enter and will immediately feel relaxed and calm - where simply nothing will bother you. For this it is important to play with lighting, select the right walls and furniture colours and finishes, play with interesting textures and balance it all with the right scent in the room. Our brain is very sensitive to the environment we surround ourselves with and therefore the interior can very much affect our mood and our health. Of course each space is designed to bring different energy and evoke a different emotion in us...

"Interior design is very much about psychology. I love this subject, I constantly educate myself and learn from old Chinese and Japanese schools to see how colours, patterns and shapes affect us.”

This notion is best portrayed by the concept interiors on Lürssens Alice , which combines glamorous living with a sense of ecological responsibility. By placing mental wellbeing at the forefront of her designs, Dasha was able to create a space which summons feelings of being calm, relaxed, and at one with nature. The light and restful interior also compliments Sluijters exterior work which introduces the idea of using the deck space for parks and ponds. The team behind the concept took every detail into consideration, for example, the mirrored glass windows around the owner’s deck which reflect heat, serving as thermal insulation and thus reducing the energy load of the air conditioning systems. 

She admits that she does her very best to not let anything frustrate her - a noble mission considering her line of work and the level of stress that comes with it. With that being said, collaboration is undoubtedly Dasha’s raison d’etre, and the obvious lack of it in the superyacht industry is her only and main gripe. She is of the opinion that truly incredible products can only be achieved if the parties involved work hand in hand instead of working against each other, which can sometimes be the case when things don’t go to plan.

Dasha explained that, “It is very important that designers, both exterior and interior, together with the engineers, shipyard and owners representatives work very closely, pretty much hand in hand. It’s so important as we as a team are able to create magic and I still don’t see it happen enough...

"There is lots of time wasted only because people don’t work together when facing problems, and additionally I would just add that in general, no matter what size of the yacht, the storage space is always an issue.”

As Dasha sees it, any design begins by place in one of two categories - it is either for a specific person, or it is for a public area. From that point, she is able to decipher what the next move is that she needs to take, “If I design for a specific client it is very important for me to know his/her lifestyle. What is important to them? How do they like to spend their day? What do they like to do? How do they feel about certain colours? The public areas - or common spaces are more generic and the design details and style should be made to make everyone feel welcomed and happy, or perhaps energised depending on the use of the space.”

Dasha believes that her latest project Alice is a prime example of what a superyacht design of the future should look like. The concept exemplifies what a modern superyacht owner is looking for in today's age, it is also Lürssen's way of dictating their future narrative, and providing a beacon of reason and inspiration in a chaotic media landscape. Although her reputation precedes her, Dasha remains full of energy and enthusiasm about her chosen field of work, despite rarely being able to show off the fruits of her labour to the wider public. With the winning combination of a wise head on young shoulders, stakeholders can rest assured that the future hidden gems of the industry's designs are up to scratch even for the most elite members of our society.

Profile links

Terence Disdale Design Limited

Winch Design

Abeking & Rasmussen

Damen Yachting

Dasha Moranova Designs

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To have the ability to stand up as an independent designer in that company is a massive achievement. Congratulations to Dasha Moranova.

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Inside the ‘Scenic Eclipse,’ the World’s Most Luxurious Expedition Megayacht

Referred to as a “discovery yacht,” the cutting-edge boat features its own helicopters, a fleet of zodiac boats, a submarine and a near-endless list of high-end amenities.

Senior Staff Writer

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There’s no reason why scientific discovery and luxury have to be mutually exclusive. That’s the thinking of Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours , whose just-launched expedition cruise ship, Scenic Eclipse , attempts to wed the two in one massive, 551-foot megayacht .

After years of delays, the 228-passenger ship finally launched last month and was christened by Dame Helen Mirren in New York on Tuesday. Referred to by Scenic as a “discovery yacht,” the cutting-edge boat features its own helicopters, a fleet of Zodiac boats, a submarine and a near-endless list of high-end amenities, all of which help it set a new high-end standard for expedition-style travel. It will travel to 68 ports around the world, spending half the year in Antarctica and the Arctic , the two main expedition cruise destinations.

• F1 Star Gerhard Berger’s Stolen Ferrari Has Been Found After Almost 30 Years

“In terms of innovation, technology and design, [ Scenic Eclipse ] is second to none,” the company’s chairman and founder Glen Moroney said last month. “The onboard helicopters and submarine and our handcrafted itineraries that take our guests to 38 countries in some of the world’s most stunning and remote locations.”

And it would appear that no expense was spared to take ocean exploration to the next level. For instance, the boat boasts 114 cabins, each of which is a sizable suite—including a living room, veranda and a butler service. The $10,000-per-night, two-bedroom Owner’s Penthouse Suite reportedly measures a staggering 2,659 square feet. Spa suites, meanwhile, include a double-sized Philippe Starck-designed jacuzzi, steam shower and light therapy.

The luxury doesn’t stop inside the rooms, either. The Scenic Eclipse features 10 different restaurants—with cuisines ranging from French to Japanese—overseen by executive chef Tom Goetter. There are also eight bars, one of which serves over 100 top-shelf varieties of whiskey. If you’re an aspiring chef yourself, the yacht boasts a cooking classroom, where guests can learn how to make the delicious dishes they’ve eaten. A built-in theater offers films and lectures. There’s also plenty of beauty and health amenities, like the 5,920-square-foot Senses Spa, which includes Scandanavian-style pools, a gym and a Pilates studio, as well as a hair salon.

Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours’ Scenic Luxury expedition cruise ship  Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours

In addition to the onboard amenities, the yacht will also actively help you explore the areas away from it. The Scenic Eclipse   includes two six-passenger helicopters, a first for an expedition cruise ship, and a fleet of Zodiac boats for adventuring. There’s also a six-passenger submarine, the Scenic Neptune , that can reach depths of 1,000 feet. And because this is an expedition cruise ship, it was built to withstand the elements. It holds the preeminent ice-class rating for a passenger vessel, Polar Class 6, which means passengers have nothing to worry about during voyages in Antarctica and the Arctic.

With all these luxury and technology features, it’s easy to see why a trip on the Scenic Eclipse doesn’t come cheap. Fares start at at $6,395 per person based on a double occupancy, though polar expeditions can cost much more. But that fare does come with a lot, including air travel, pre-departure hotel, all meals and drinks. Helicopter and submarine rides, of course, are extra.

Check out more photos of the Scenic Eclipse  below:

Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours

Bryan Hood is a digital staff writer at Robb Report. Before joining the magazine, he worked for the New York Post, Artinfo and New York magazine, where he covered everything from celebrity gossip to…

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ECLIPSE Yacht – Epic $600M Superyacht

The ECLIPSE yacht was once the largest yacht in the world at an impressive length of 162.5 metres (533 ft) but currently ranks in second place after AZZAM.

Though she is known as the billion-dollar yacht, it is estimated that her true value lies between US $500 – $700 million.

The vessel can host 36 guests and is even rumored to feature a state-of-the-art anti-paparazzi system to protect the privacy of those on board.

ECLIPSE yacht interior

The interior (and the exterior) was designed by Terence Disdale , who has become one of the top names in the industry despite having no formal design education.

ECLIPSE was his largest project to date, and he also worked on prominent vessels such as A+ and AL SALAMAH. The interior of ECLIPSE is classically designed in a style that is to be expected from one of the largest yachts in the world.

The upholstery and furniture follow a beige and crème color palette with wooden accents.

The yacht’s 18 cabins can welcome 36 guests as well as 70 crew members, which is an unusually large number even for a vessel of this size.

A large dance floor, several fireplaces, two swimming pools, and two helipads are also included onboard.

The ECLIPSE yacht interior is so large that there is even a cinema dedicated exclusively to crew members. In 2015 the interior of ECLIPSE was refitted by Blohm and Voss in Hamburg.

Specifications

The ECLIPSE yacht is the second-largest yacht in the world with a length of 162.5 meters (533 ft), a beam of 22 meters (72.2 ft), and a draft of 5.9 meters (19.4 ft).

She was built by the German shipyard Blohm & Voss and delivered to her owner in 2010.

Four MTU engines power ECLIPSE and allow her to reach top speeds of 25 knots, although her average cruising speed lies at 22 knots.

Her total volume lies at 13564 tons making her not only one of the longest but also the heaviest yachts in the world.

Like the interior of ECLIPSE, the interior was designed by Terence Disdale. According to rumors, Abramovich fitted her with an anti-paparazzi system that detects electronic light sensors from digital cameras.

However, there is no proof of this, although many newspapers report its existence.

On deck are several swimming pools and jacuzzis, and the aft of the vessel features a sizeable beach club. The yacht has a sleek design that attests to Terence Disdale’s classical style.

ECLIPSE came to fame as being the most expensive yacht ever built at the time for an approximate price of US $500 million.

She has seen further improvements since her purchase by Abramovich in 2010 and it is often widely reported that she is worth US $1.2 – $1.5 billion.

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A Closer Look at the $1.5 Billion Superyacht Eclipse

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride, but that does not mean we have to stop working towards getting the desires of our hearts. Everyone wants to the best because the spirit of competition was instilled in us in our childhood. By the age of four, you are frowning if your dress or shirt is not as good as your sibling's. It is not wrong to have high levels of self-esteem but sometimes wanting to be the greatest can have us being arrogant like the makers of Titanic who were so proud of their creation that they thought it would never sink only to have it become a disaster that claimed the lives of 1,500 people. Pride comes before a fall, and Roman Abramovich should have learned from this proverb if not from the story of the Titanic. Then again, do we ever learn? Roman went out of his way to have a yacht that would eclipse all other boats at sea; hence, he came up with "Eclipse," a 533-foot long yacht. He was able to get the desires of his heart since Eclipse was named the world's most expensive and largest yacht according to Marine Insight , but the achievement lasted for less than three years because Azzam took over the title in April 2013, with a length of 590 feet. Let's take a closer look at Roman's Eclipse and see if it is worth being valued at $1.5 billion.

The defense system

With money and fame comes enemies and Roman was not going to take chances with his life, so he installed a high-level security system on his yacht. News can make or break you, and we all know that the paparazzi always are putting their noses where they should not. Roman, therefore, ensured that they would never catch him with his pants down by installing an anti-paparazzi security system to protect him from their prying eyes. As The Guardian explains , the system is in the form of a laser beam that detects electronic light sensors from digital cameras; then it hits back at the camera with a bright light such that any pictures a person takes will be useless. The essence, therefore, is not to stop the cameramen from taking shots of the boat, but to frustrate their efforts by making all shots captured unusable. Of course, a relentless cameraman can still go out of his way to get the analog cameras that use film since they would not be detected by the lasers. With such a serious hitch it makes you wonder why someone with all the wealth in the world could not ensure that even such cameras do not get anywhere close to him, or maybe we can blame technology for that.

You can never be too careful, so if paparazzi are not bothering you, it could be that pirates are planning to kidnap you and have their payday or the people you have pissed off want you dead. Roman had that covered with bulletproof glass windows all round his master suite as well as an armor plate surrounding it and the bridge. If things get too hot to remain on the boat, the option of getting out into the sea and escaping is well catered for by a submarine that can carry two passengers. Alternatively, the two helicopter pads will make sure that a helicopter is ready to fly Roman to safety. Moreover, in this day, when someone will kill you remotely using a drone strike, Roman went steps further to ensure that no danger would find him unprepared. He, therefore, has a missile detection system on the boat that was installed by AST, a company with a close connection to the German defense ministry; goes to show the expertise of the firm.

Other features

Besides the extravagant and high-tech defense system, other things that Roman has on Eclipse are two swimming pools, a disco hall, 24 guest cabins, and a few hot tubs. Those who pay attention to their looks will find the beauty salon, spa, massage room, and gym very instrumental. The cabins are luxurious and are fitted with a 6-feet home cinema screen and specialized security systems.

How much does it cost to maintain it?

When you hear of a boat being referred to as a "$1.5 billion superyacht," you think that is the cost of constructing it. The figure was around $400 million, but then with time passage, the billionaire has to keep upgrading the boat and installing features he might find necessary. Therefore the amount has gone up considerably over the years . The cost of construction may be too high, but have you ever considered how much it costs Roman to maintain it? Imagine the dollars you part with every year to keep your car running, yet this is a large boat that has lots of crew members and staff. You complain of thousands of dollars that go into babysitting per year yet they are your children being looked after; Roman has to fork out 40 million Euros every year to maintain the 70 crewmembers aboard the Eclipse, according to The Sun.

Parking fees for your vehicle can put a dent in your pocket especially when they add up; parking charges for Disney World are around $25 per day, so if you plan on staying for five days in the resort hotel, you should be prepared to pay $125. If you think that is too much, think of Roman who cannot take his boat home and park it in a garage. He, therefore, has no choice but to pay dockage fees when the boat is not at sea, and it costs him around $2,000 per day, as reported by City Room .

With insurance covers, fuel, and repairs, you can be sure that the yearly cost goes up significantly. For instance, in 2017, when Eclipse stopped at Port Gruz to refuel and ordered 750 tons of fuel, the cost was around one million euros. In early 2015, Eclipse underwent a renovation, and by the end of the year, it was back at its builders for maintenance. Such expenses can only be catered for billionaires; as for the rest of us, let's keep competing on who has the trendiest clothes, handbags, and shoes and leave the superyachts to the likes of Roman Abramovich.

Written by  Dana Hanson

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Superyachts tracked: Abramovich’s boat heads east after sanctions

Solaris is tracked off coast of Sicily, joining hurried sailings of Russian yachts to avoid seizure

• Ukraine-Russia war – latest updates
• The oligarchs and business figures on western sanction lists

Roman Abramovich’s superyacht Solaris was heading east across the Mediterranean on Thursday after sanctions were extended to the Chelsea FC owner.

His $600m vessel, tracked off the coast of Sicily on Thursday, appeared to have joined the hurried sailings of Russian oligarchs moving their superyachts across the world to avoid seizure by governments enforcing sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine .

The Solaris left the Barcelona port where it had been undergoing repairs on Tuesday, according to Reuters, and by Thursday afternoon it was rounding the southern coast of Sicily. Abramovich’s other yacht, the even more luxurious Eclipse – estimated to be worth more than $1bn after extensive renovations – set sail east from the Caribbean island of St Maarten towards international waters shortly after other oligarchs’ yachts were seized.

The Eclipse had crossed much of the Atlantic by midday Thursday when it was located to the west of the Canary Islands according to vesselfinder.com.

Abramovich was sanctioned by the US in 2018 but joined the UK list on Thursday morning. A spokesperson for Abramovich said earlier this week: “We never comment on the movements of the yacht or any other vehicles or vessels.”

The 163-metre Eclipse, which includes nine decks, two helipads and a 16-metre swimming pool that can be converted into a dancefloor, is the most expensive vessel owned by individuals on the growing US, EU and UK sanction lists.

Many super-rich Russians – including some not yet on the sanctions list, but with links to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin – appear to be attempting to move their superyachts to countries without formal extradition agreements with western governments.

French and Italian authorities last week seized three yachts worth more than $225m (£170m).

Tracking data from the shipping intelligence service MarineTraffic shows that Titan, a $100m superyacht owned by Alexander Abramov, a billionaire iron and steel magnate, arrived in Maldives waters last week after sailing from Fethiye in Turkey. Its owner, who holds a big stake alongside Abramovich in the London-listed coal and steel group Evraz, is not on any sanctions lists.

Clio, a $65m superyacht owned by the aluminium billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who has been subject to US sanctions since 2018, was reported last week to be heading for Raa Atoll in the Maldives. The Maldives is an Indian Ocean island nation with no extradition treaty with the US or the EU.

The US president, Joe Biden, said last week the US was actively working to seize the superyachts, luxury apartments and private jets of oligarchs linked to Putin. “We are coming for your ill-begotten gains,” he said in his State of the Union address .

The White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki, added: “We want [Putin] to feel the squeeze, we want the people around him to feel the squeeze.”

Three ways you can help the people of Ukraine from the UK

Support local charities

There are several Ukrainian charities working on the ground.  Sunflower of Peace  is a charity that helps paramedics and doctors, and has been fundraising for supplies, which includes first aid medical tactical backpacks.

United Help Ukraine  focuses on providing medical supplies and humanitarian aid, and raising awareness of the conflict.

Voices of Children  aims to help children affected by the war in eastern Ukraine, providing support through art therapy, psychologists, video storytelling and a number of other methods.

The  British Red Cross  has launched an emergency appeal to help Ukraine. The charity will be updating its webpage with news on the work its team is doing, and how support will be used to help people.

Support local journalism

English-language news outlets based in the country, such as  Kyiv Independent  and the  New Voice of Ukraine , are covering developments on the ground as the conflict unfolds, using local journalists. The Kyiv Independent says it was created by journalists in order to defend editorial independence. This  site on Twitter  covers many local journalists in Ukraine.

Write to your local MP

This can be a way to lobby the British government to place further sanctions on the Russian government and its associates. You can get in touch with your local MP via email or post to their constituency address. Instructions on how to get in touch can be found on  parliament.uk.

Grant Shapps, the UK transport secretary, said the government would detain any yachts suspected of being Russian-owned if they entered UK waters. “I want to make it impossible for individuals with links to Putin to use their aircraft in UK airspace, at UK airports or airfields, and any aircraft suspected of being linked to Russia will be detained,” he said. “Likewise, their yachts. Any of these floating gin palaces with an identifiable Russian connection will be detained if it attempts to dock in a British port.”

France detained Amore Vero , a 280ft, $120m superyacht they said was owned by Igor Sechin, in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat. Sechin, who is also facing sanctions, is the chief executive of the Russian oil producer Rosneft and a close ally of Putin. Amore Vero, which means “true love” in Italian, can accommodate 14 guests and 28 crew.

French police, who boarded the vessel at night last week, said the ship was in port for repairs, but its crew were “making arrangements to leave in a hurry, without having completed the planned work”.

Italy’s Guardia di Finanza boarded and impounded Lena , a 41-metre, $45m yacht owned by Gennady Timchenko, a close friend of Putin who has an estimated $21bn fortune held in several large Russian raw materials companies, in Sanremo. Lady M, a 64-metre, $60m yacht owned by Alexei Mordashov, was seized in the nearby Ligurian port of Imperia.

Dilbar , the world’s largest superyacht by gross tonnage, which the US government said is owned by Alisher Usmanov , was reported to have been seized in Hamburg. However, German authorities later clarified that the 156-metre vessel, which has been valued at $600m, has not been impounded but requires an export waiver to leave the port.

Usmanov, who reportedly owns Witanhurst, the second biggest private home in the UK after Buckingham Palace, was added to the EU’s sanction list on Wednesday. The US imposed sanctions on him last week after the White House described him as a “one of Russia’s wealthiest individuals and a close ally of Putin”.

The yachts identified by the Guardian as linked to oligarchs are worth more than $3bn. The ultimate ownership of superyachts can be difficult to confirm as many are owned through shell companies registered in tax havens.

Additional reporting by Pamela Duncan , Joanna Partridge and Georgina Quach

• Roman Abramovich
• The super-rich
• Foreign policy

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