Al Mirqab (Ex-Project May)

LENGTH: 436ft. 5in. (133m)
SHIPYARD: Peters-Schiffbau, GmbH, Germany
YEAR: 2008

Al Mirqab was built for the Emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The massive yacht (with a beam of nearly 60 feet) owes its graceful exterior styling to designer Tim Heywood—who gave her a few well-known curves and a sweeping navy blue hull—and her intricate interior to Andrew Winch. Her massive superstructure, topped by a significant mast, suggests huge interior spaces. She is rumored to be speedy, with a large diesel-electric power plant. Kusch Yachts did the naval architecture and supervised the construction of the Emir’s new yacht in Germany. Sheikh Hamad has steered the course of Qatar since 1995. The oil and gas-rich country has been on a buying spree lately and the Emir invests heavily abroad. During a recent visit to the UK, he showed interest in auction house Christie’s (he already owns Harrods and considerable chunks of real estate in the British Capital). The Qatari family is very keen in building an art collection and has acquired very famous works of late, including paying top dollars for a famous Cezanne. This past winter Al Mirqab visited the US Virgin Island by the Emir’s yacht led to speculation that the Emir was looking to acquire some Caribbean real estate. Couldn’t the Emir have simply been enjoying St. Johns?

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