What was a stern war frigate of the Dutch Roval Navy has been transformed into a luxurious superyacht owned by the Saudi Arabian emir Sheikh Hamdan. This is the strange destiny of Yas, now one of the ten biggest yachts in the world.
A huge superyacht. Yas is 141 metres long and 15 metres wide. It has a thin tapered steel hull, as typical in military ships. Born as a war frigate, it was launched by the Dutch Royal Navy in 1978 and completely modified by Abu Dhabi MAR shipbuilder in 2011. A second life which has made it a very luxurious superyacht which can host 60 hosts and 56 crew members.
Its composite superstructure and interiors have been designed by Pierrejean Design, a Parisian studio specialised in plane and yacht design. Frontally, it seems a huge dolphin, especially for the presence of an enormous round window. The hull bends gradually to almost touch the sea. Its interiors are very modern and luxurious, with a huge shipowner’s suite under the glass dome, an astern hydromassage pool, a mini waterfall and, on the highest deck, a heliport.
Transformation works ( defining them a refit should be almost resizing) involved all on-board systems. Today, the boat is provided with 2 MTU diesel engines with a total power of 21,000 hp which allow a cruising speed of 20 knots and a maximum speed of 26 knots.
