Le Grand Bleu

LENGTH: 370ft. (112.8m)
SHIPYARD: Bremer Vulkan, Germany
YEAR: 2000

Roman Abramovich, the self-made billionaire now worth an estimated 12.1 billion, acquired Le Grand Bleu from commissioning owner and US businessman John McCaw in 2003, but reportedly gifted the yacht to friend and Russian oil billionaire Eugene Shvidler in 2006. Shvidler is the current chairman of investment and asset management company Millhouse LLC. Le Grand Bleu has distinguished herself as a frontrunner in the implementation of environmentally friendly technologies, for which she received the Environmental Protection Notation from insurer Lloyd’s of London. A “green” prototype built under supervision of the late Claus Kusch and according to a design by young Italian designer Stefano Pastrovich, this 355-foot expedition yacht was equipped with sewage and wastewater treatment plants, a water purification system and nitrogen and sulfur exhaust emission controls. Without these systems, the footprint of one of the world’s largest expedition yachts could be very large indeed. Le Grand Bleu comes complete with a sizeable speedboat, sailing yacht and helicopter pad, and she has been seen transiting the Atlantic from the UK to the Caribbean on a regular basis. In March 2012, she created quite a stir by taking position off the coast of the Dominican Republic near Casa de Campo.

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