A lot of yacht owners claim their yacht is entirely unique,
but few truly are. This one is, for sure...
The iconic yacht Yas is one of the rare exceptions – with her slim frigate hull, dolphin-inspired exterior and massive panes of glass on her forward superstructure, it’s safe to say there isn’t another yacht like her out there.
Known as Project Swift during her refit, the yachting community waited in anticipation to see the final product emerge. Though the hull was launched in 2011, her completion and interior outfitting took four years, and it wasn’t until 2015 that Yas was delivered and spotted cruising in the Mediterranean. Greenline Yacht Interiors worked on the fit-out of the yacht’s expansive interior spaces.
Yas took a circuitous route to become the iconic yacht that she is today. The bones of the yacht were military in nature. Launched in 1977, she was originally a 135-metre Dutch-built navy frigate named HNLMS Piet Hein. Built by Koninklijke Schelde shipyard in The Netherlands, she served the Royal Dutch Navy for more than 20 years. After that, she changed hands a number of times before ending up in the UAE, serving its military from 1998 to 2006.
When the military was done with her, the vessel was acquired by an owner who wanted to turn her into a private vessel, with all of the work carried out in the UAE. Jacques Pierrejean was hired to make this a reality, with the rebuild taking place at ADM Shipyards in the UAE. As is the story with many refits, the scope of the work was initially much smaller and the timeline much shorter. But it was soon discovered that the majority of the hull would have to be rebuilt. This gave the opportunity for the look of the yacht to be entirely reimagined.
After the second war, many Frigates were turned into yachts as they could be bought for almost pennies.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the "Disco Volante" from "Thunderball". In fact, this could be a 21st century version of it.
ReplyDeleteCool! I’d love to see inside. Also her mechanical systems
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