Story highlights
- Introducing "Triple Deuce," the world's largest superyacht at 728 feet (222 meters) long
- Will also be most expensive private yacht on the planet with $1 billion price tag
(CNN)There's big. And then there's bigger.
Introducing Triple Deuce, set to be the world's biggest superyacht at a whopping 222 meters (728 feet) long.
At $1 billion, it will also be the most expensive private yacht ever built, costing more than the annual GDP of Western Sahara, the British Virgin Islands, and Micronesia.
The identity of Triple Deuce's owner remains secret. Nonetheless, building a yacht of this size is all about "boasting rights," said Craig Timm of 4Yacht, broker of the record-breaking project.
"It's just like the competition to build the world's tallest building," he said of the commission, due to be completed in spring 2018.
"Project Deuce will cost $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion," added Timm. "And don't forget to add in annual operating costs -- on a yacht of this size, it will run the owner up an additional $20 to $30 million per year."
The boat will be more than 131 feet (40 meters) longer than the world's current biggest superyacht, "Azzam," believed to be owned by the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It will also trump Russian businessman Roman Abramovich's "Eclipse" by 192 feet (58.5 meters).
At 180 meters long, "Azzam" is currently the biggest superyacht in the world... but for how long?
"Our client was concerned that if we built the yacht to 200 meters (656 feet), then someone would come along like Roman Abramovich when he built Eclipse at 163.5 meters (536 feet), and outdid Sheikh Maktoum's yacht, the 162-meter (531-foot) Dubai, by only 1.5 meters (5 feet)," explained Timm.
"By building the yacht to 222 meters (728 feet), the owner wants to make it difficult, if not impossible, to be 'eclipsed' himself."
As the race to build the world's biggest superyacht steps up a notch, is there a point when these floating palaces simply become "too big?"
"You can't really be 'too big' for the high seas. But these superyachts are now at such a size that many of them can't get into harbors," said John Kampfner, author of "The Rich: From slaves to superyachts, a 2,000 year history."
"So what they do is moor out at sea, and a small boat -- which is still enormous by the standards of ordinary mortals -- will take them to shore. Or they could always jump on their helicopter, because no self-respecting superyacht comes without a helipad these days."
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