INSIDE OCEANCO'S AWESOME 105 METER SUPERYACHT "H"

One of the best kept secrets in yachting, Project H was recently unveiled to the world at a spectacular launch ceremony. At 105 meters in length, this is one of the largest super yachts in the world, certainly in the top 5%, but it wasn't just the size that had impact on the invited guests and the media. It was also the beauty of a design that shows such elegance and restraint, such an awareness of proportions and perspective that from the moment of her perfectly choreographed birth, her impact would leave a deep impression in every corner of the yachting world, stirring excitement and a thirst for more information amongst everybody and anybody who appreciates the beauty of design and the intelligence of engineering. If you are such a person, prepare to have your thirst quenched. Because this is not just the presentation of a very beautiful yacht, it's not even just the presentation of a very large yacht because with Project H, OceanCo have unveiled what is probably the greatest example of upcycling the world has ever seen. This is not the first time that OceanCo have astonished the world with a yacht far from it. In the year 2000, they launched a 95 meter long super yacht with no less than three engines of 10,000 horsepower each, making her not only one of the largest yachts in the world at the time, but also one of the fastest in that size range with a top speed of over 25 knots. Incredible as it may sound, OceanCo have now taken that yacht and through a painstaking process of research and redesign transformed her into a more modern, efficient and frankly appealing vessel that is fit for the modern age. This involved a total restudy of the entire engineering package, a complete redesign and rebuild of her exterior and interior and an extension of her hull to incorporate features that would make her stand out even in the modern lineup of 100 meter plus super yachts. So let's start with the engine room. And this area of the yacht was our particularly great priority. OceanCo have long been committed to making super yacht construction and ownership more sustainable. And let's face it, three 10,000 horsepower engines installed 20 years ago is not exactly the best solution as far as sustainability is concerned. Not only that, but OceanCo regularly analyze the way that owners are using their yachts. And the truth is that most owners simply don't need all of that speed all of the time. They far prefer long distance cruising at more conservative speeds and in greater comfort. So those engines had to go. And at that point, they decided to replace everything relating to the power of the yacht. The result is nothing short of sensational. Two MTU 4000 series engines power Project H to a still very respectable top speed of 18 knots and now a range of 6,000 nautical miles can be achieved at a cruising speed of 14 knots. But to limit the conversation to the engines would be a great disservice to this yacht. Four huge Scania generators were installed plus an emergency generator and everything was subjected to an exhaust filtration system to massively reduce carbon emissions. In the yachting industry, this is known as being tier three compliance. To give you an idea of the extent of this rebuild, I wanted to show you through the tank deck because everything you see here is brand new. Everything is state-of-the-art modern equipment. Walking through the tank deck is like walking through the corridor of a hospital. It is so clean and well-organized. Here we find the chiller unit for the air conditioning. Easy and generous access to the chilled water manifold, expansion tanks, boilers, a Hammond sewage water treatment plant, an entire area dedicated to pumps, plenty of access to the tanks, of course, the biggest water maker I have ever seen, a fresh water manifold and a fresh air system for the HVAC. Interestingly, this system brings in fresh air from outside the vessel, filters it, dehumidifies it, sets it to a temperature of 18 degrees and feeds it to the cabins. Naturally, each area of the yacht can then modify the temperature according to their requirements. And on the subject of the cabins, I have to say that the look of both the interior and the exterior design is an absolute tribute to Raymond Langton Design, who were tasked with the job of completely renewing the image of this superyacht and what an amazing job they did. The sweeping lines and subtle curves of the superstructure create a symphony of aesthetic elegance of Beethoven magnificence that will undoubtedly stand the test of time as successfully as the works of the great master himself. This is a study of proportion and practicality rarely seen on this scale, where each area blends into the next. And yet each area has a specific purpose, a reason for being, offering opportunities to the owner and to his guests. Lengthening the yacht to a total length of 105 meters allowed not just for a better hull performance, but also an optimization of space from the touch-and-go helipad on the bow all the way to that expansive swim platform at the transom. But we'll be talking in more detail about the transom area a little later, because there is some real magic taking place there. But first, let me show you through the yacht as if you were here with me. Now, I can't show you every single area of the yacht. The owner's stateroom, for example, is reserved for private viewings for whoever eventually buys the yacht. It is so close to completion that as we look around, you'll see certain areas with protective covering on it, other areas with little tapes here and there where a tiny defect has been found that's not acceptable to the Oceancoat quality control department. They will not be content until every millimeter is perfect. We're actually quite privileged to see the yacht at this point before anybody else has seen it on board. As I said, I can't show you everything, but what I can show you is an example of a superyacht design and construction at its very best, starting with this huge aft deck. Now, underneath that canopy is a swimming pool that's seven meters by three and a half meters. The floor has a lifting mechanism so that you can actually adjust the depth of the pool, or you can have a flush deck for an incredible party yacht. Now, the party potential of Project H is something we'll go into a little bit later, but first, let's take a look inside, inside to what's called the welcome lounge. Now, I hardly know where to start here. We could start by talking about this exquisitely designed bar where crew will serve you welcoming drinks when you get on board the yacht, or we could talk about this remarkable and unique coffee table, but no, let's talk about this. At the moment, on screen, it's showing a recording of the launch of the yacht, but actually there's a camera fitted to the outside, so it could be showing actually what's going on outside of the yacht so that guests feel that they have a huge porthole there where they can see their surroundings, but let's not even talk about that. Let's talk about this. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Full-height television walls creating such a sense of occasion when guests enter the yacht. These are 10.5 metres long, 2.1 metres high. They have a 1.5 millimetre pixel pitch with 12.5 million pixels, and they lead you here to the salon. I mentioned earlier that Raymond Langton are responsible for the design, and often it's the subtle details that come together to make an area so special. Just look at the layers in the ceiling, the magnificent detailing of the wall panels, the way that the storage areas are concealed behind gorgeous backlit etched glass. Moving further forward, though, we have this huge lobby area with an elevator, and we find the guest accommodation. There are six guest staterooms in this area, but before I show one of them to you, let me show you this rather cool feature that's outside each of the staterooms. This panel tells the guest the temperature outside, the weather forecast, the itinerary. You could even have the menu of the day displayed inside each guest cabin is, well, I've been using too many adjectives in this presentation, so I think I'll just be quiet and let the pictures do the talking. Next deck up, an immense lounge. Now, there's so many details to take in here, but I'll mention a few. We have storage areas here with what appears to me to be a mother of pearl finishing. We have a gorgeous formal dining table with crystal caviar lighting above it. Two infinity mirrors, a wonderful accommodating, comfortable seating area, and this. Now, it's one thing to talk about engineering, seakeeping, styling, layout. These are all things that Oceanco are world leaders at, but this coffee table is one of the reasons that this is truly an extraordinary superyacht. So much of the furniture that you see from the coffee table in the welcome lounge to this amazing piece of work here was designed by Raymond Langton and then built by a top end furniture manufacturer. Totally unique. Further aft still, and we find this wonderful, let's say less formal dining area. You see that we pass here from the ornate flooring of the interior to teak deck. And that's because this whole aft section and part of the sides open up so that you can enjoy alfresco dining. Alfresco dining followed by, if you wish, the viewing of a movie at your own personal outdoor cinema. And when you're not watching a movie, this entire unit folds down to form a spacious sun pad. From here, you can access the bridge deck. Actually, this deck can be reserved for truly VIP guests. Effectively, this is a private terrace for the VIP stay room and inside there's a sitting room and, well, just take a look. As the name bridge deck would suggest, at the forward end of the yacht is the bridge with completely state-of-the-art navigational equipment, but also more than enough space to spread a paper chart out if you wish to. The captain's cabin is up here too. Now, I can't show you the crew accommodation firstly because there are so many crew on board living and working, but also because, to be frank, in two days of filming, it's impossible to show you every area of one of the world's largest yachts. We can, though, make a quick detour here, the galley, and this is quite extraordinary. But behind the wow factor, there's some serious hardware, including two pizza ovens, two rationale ovens, and the chef tells me that that is the oven to have. There's a walk-in fridge and freezer. This is called a salamander and it's for really finishing off your steaks. This is called a planter. And then here we have two deep fat fryers above a huge extraction system and even a dedicated fire suppressant system. Moving on, this is a Hobart industrial washer. We even have a dumbwaiter to keep your plate of fine cuisine warm as it passes through the decks. After this quick detour, let's check out the sun deck. And here we start to get a hint of the water toy storage on board the yacht. We have two smaller tenders on this deck, two large tenders on the main deck with two jet skis inboard of those, plus another smaller water toy storage area that we'll be looking at a little later. Inside this deck is dedicated to a gymnasium complete with Technogym equipment, whilst at the aft end is the emergency generator. Outside at the forward end is a very spacious spa tub, whilst aft is this rather pleasant seating area. But that's not all that is here. I noticed as we walked around the yacht, these chrome plaques positioned in the bulwarks of the decks. Now those steel plaques are covering outlets that you can plug high-capacity loudspeakers into, or better still, a DJ can plug his deck into it for the most amazing party imaginable. Can you picture that? It makes Nikki Beach seem like Blackpool Beach. But in my opinion, the piece de la resistance of this soupy yacht is hidden out of sight from the vantage point of the upper deck, because those same guests that enjoy dancing the night away above deck, below deck can enjoy simply the most magnificent private beach club imaginable. This is such a great way to enjoy the water, and the waterfall feature on the transom. Now typically you may swim around and re-enter the yacht from the side door, but we'll walk you through this way, past the water toy storage, to show you this simply fantastic beach club area where you can hang out and enjoy the fresh sea air. I must say that it has been an absolute honor to have been allowed to film a yacht of this magnitude and to show her to you. I said at the beginning that this is one of the greatest examples of upcycling the world has ever seen, and this from a shipyard that has built some of the greatest yachts that the world has ever seen, from Alfa Nero to Bravo Eugenia, from Jubilee to Black Pearl, yachts that have made the history of our industry. But Project H marks a new chapter in OceanCo's history, a new chapter in yachting history, because when you can take an existing vessel and reconstruct it as completely as this, making an entirely new yacht with more sustainable solutions on board, when you can take the soul of an existing yacht and inject into it new life, new youth, new vigor, new sustainable energy, then you know that you have cemented your place in yachting greatness, and that place is right at the top.