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Piracy, an extremely rare, yet often talked about hazard in the boating space, has yielded few solutions other than armed security whilst cruising in dangerous areas. The real estate market has come up decades ago with the concept of a panic room where owners could hide in the event of an armed robbery. How could this actually work in yachting?Simon Rowland, CEO of Veritas International Consultants, indicates that while the general concern with security matters in the world is growing, it is not surprising that these issues transmit into the yachting industry. “If you go back five years, it would have been a hard justification to have a panic room on board, but now it is becoming more of a requirement,” claims Rowland.There are two significant functions that a panic room should perform. It should not only support life, but also enable communication between the sheltered ones and the outer world. That is why the consultants from Veritas company normally recommend to locate a panic room at the crew mess, and it is important to think over all security measures on design stage. It is also cheaper to equip a safe room within that area, as a lot of important facilities such as water supply and toilets are already fit into the mess room.However, the locations, where a completely secure room can be equipped, are not limited to the crew mess. Rowland reports that they have advised several clients to equip their room or bathroom as secondary safe rooms, so that they could hide themselves in case they feel anxious or if the boat is being robbed.It is natural, that most of the owners would not stay on board while the boat passes through dangerous zones, therefore panic rooms are in a greater degree a measure aimed to protect the crew rather than the owners. The yachts themselves might be comparatively vulnerable against piracy, as conventional defense mechanisms applied to many vessels do not seem that effective. For instance, many rely on razor wire, but in fact this measure would not normally prevent the criminals from getting on board.That is why the need of taking security measures on-board is becoming more vital these days. Rowland stresses, that it is much more common to have a fully equipped safe room on larger vessels of 70 metres and above, as it might be quite problematic to fit such room onto a smaller yacht. All in all, the danger of piracy or any other form of attack on a large vessel is very low in our time. Nonetheless, panic rooms have become one of the latest trends the owners would not want to overlook in their superyacht design.

Italian shipyard’s ambitious superyacht project launched on February 5, 2019 at the company’s Livorno facility has been yet christened Project ZOZA. This 107-metre yacht with a displacement of more than 5,500 GT, and a 17-metre beam was reportedly thought over by the owner, an Australian billionaire James Packer, nine years ago. Photo: Instagram/@giorgio_casettaThe concept was developed in cooperation with Burgess Technical Services from the start on. Different designers were involved in the planning of exterior design concept that required a long process. Hugo van Wieringen from Azure Architectes and Reymond Langton Design, as well as Benetti’s designer Giorgio M. Cassetta had contributed to the project, while Zaniz Jakubowski from Zaniz Interiors finalised exterior and interior outlines of the yacht.The core idea of design concept was creation of see-through spaces, which would have given unhindered panoramic views from any part of the vessel. Significant amount of glass used in the construction and simplified structures serve that purpose on the vessel of steel hull and aluminium superstructure. Moreover, ZOZA’s six decks provide many alfresco zones in the sun or in shade. On the main deck, guests will find dining and lounging spaces, under the shelter of superstructure, while a private deck leading to the helicopter pad with a refuelling station, is located above. ZOZA operates on diesel-electric propulsion system with 2 Azipods and 2 massive bow thrusters. The propulsion package is based on the most modern technologies and allows vibration-free navigation in complete silence. The yacht can silently operate on her batteries for up to 12 hours without an engine running. The air conditioning system is something to be mentioned, too, as it is regarded one of the biggest fitted to a vessel of that kind, with cooling capacity of nearly 3,000 KW. In order to enable construction of superyachts of that size, Benetti have invested a lot in their yards recently, meaning the infrastructure, organizational, safety, and security matters. The company has added a two-shed expansion to their Livorno construction facility and have also set up the Giga Yacht Construction Programme attracting expert employers to the brand.

Dutch shipyard Heesen has revealed more information on their current 55-metre project scheduled for delivery later this year. The yacht christened Vida had been launched in January under a former name Project Antares. At the moment, her systems are coming through the commissioning phase while the yacht is to proceed with sea trials shortly.Vida is the third project in Heesen’s fast displacement hull form (FDHF) steel class series, featuring muscular exterior outline by Frank Laupman, Omega Architects. One of the distinctive hallmarks of the vessel’s layout are french windows designed to get the most of the natural light on-board. The shipyard has customised the yacht in a narrow cooperation with her owner, whose sport fishing hobby required some particular design features. Thus, Vida has a technical ability to recharge and refuel two sport fishing boats, enabling the guests and the owners to spend several days offshore without returning to the base.As to interior concept, the owner commissioned Be Design Associates, a design bureau based in Florida, for whom Vida became the first new-build yacht project. The designers chose natural environmentally friendly materials to prevail in the inner decoration. Meanwhile, the colour palette has been mainly based on warm and soft colours. The main saloon is decorated with an impressive backlit onyx arch. The vessel can accomodate up to 12 guests on-board within five cabins at the lower deck and a 80-squere-metre master suite at the main deck.The yacht’s interior volume amounts to 740 GT. With a maximum speed of 16 knots, Vida features economic fuel consumption and offers a range of 4,500 nautical miles at cruising speed of 13 knots.Vida’s sea trials will take place in the North Sea. With her delivery to the owner scheduled for spring 2019, she will make her official debute at the Monaco Yacht Show later this year. This launch is the first one in a series of five planned by Dutch company in 2019, contributing to Heesen’s busy year ahead. Among the others, the yard’s largest project so far, a 80-metre yacht Cosmos is now getting ready for launch.Photos via Heesen

During the recent Miami International Boat Show 2019, a new product from the series of collaborations between Mercedes-AMG and Miami builder Cigarette Racing Team was released. This year’s model was inspired by Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Coupe, featuring the same colour patterns and design motifs.This 12,5-metre racing boat has been christened 41 AMG Carbon Edition. One of her most significant features is carbon-fibre construction developed by Cigarette engineers in order to resonate with Mercedes model. It is evident, that Carbon fibre becomes a new trend among fast boats structure materials, for instance, as it is in the latest Pershing 8X. Still, the constructors claim, their new model is one of a few boats of that kind, where carbon is used as not complementary but major constructing material.Cigarette Racing Team’s president Skip Braver emphasises that from his point of view there are not so many differences between cars and boats. “Just as they did with the car, we lightened the boat without sacrificing performance. We modified the design by lowering the centre of gravity and used carbon fibre across the whole boat,” he said.The innovations introduced in hull construction enabled the builders to make the new boat 227 kg lighter than previous 50 Marauder AMG powerboat built in collaboration. 41 AMG Carbon Edition lays on sandwich construction with carbon-fiber structural layers around the boat’s lightweight hull. The deck and hardtop are also made of carbon fibre.Daimler AG and Cigarette work together on design concepts of all AMG boats. This year’s edition transmits the colour patterns of Mercedes saloon, easily recognisable in the boat cabin, with a prevalence of red and black. It is noticeable, that normally dark colours, especially black, are avoided in boat upholstery design, as they easily get hot in the sun. Within this boat, the dark colours can be used due to upholstery materials featuring cooling ability, that can decrease heat up to 30 percent.AMG 41 is equipped with Mercury Racing 400R engine of 1,600 horses. Thus, the boat is capable of reaching her maximum speed of 72 knots with 8 passengers on-board. Meanwhile, she cruises comfortably at around 55 knots with a maximum capacity of 20 passengers. Due to carbon materials used in the construction, a hull becomes firmer, lowering the boat’s flexibility and the “feeling of ship motions” even at the highest speed.Hull construction for such models normally takes about 8 months, including 2 months set aside for painting. Hand-stitched upholstering also takes more than a month. During the process, the project goes through multiple approval stages, so that it would finally satisfy both parties involved in the process.According to Braver, the two brands have already started working on their next joint project. “It feels like mutual admiration and when we hear them talking, it seems like they feel the same. It’s an honor to be partnering with them,” he concludes.

Italian builder Codecasa has launched a 43-metre Project 122, the latest superyacht in their Vintage series featuring a 43 meter hull. The yacht was initially launched in summer 2018 at the company’s Viareggio facility, and is to be delivered to her owner in May 2019, after sea trials.The yacht with a beam of 9 metres and a maximum draft of 2,6 metres attributes a steel hull and aluminium superstructure. Engined by two Caterpillar 3512C of 1,650 HP, she reaches her maximum speed at 16,5 knots. At the same time, with a comfortable cruising speed of 11 knots, she boasts a cruising range of 4,000 nautical miles thanks to her fuel capacity of 65,000 litres.Project 122’ interior design concept was developed by the Codecasa team. The concept implements a combination of elegance and modernity, with predominance of light and neutral colours applied to natural materials.The yacht’s accommodation capacity amounts to ten guests within 5 cabins, including the owner’s full-beam suite. The latter is located on the main deck, featuring two en-suites. As to the staff, there is accommodation space for up to 9 crew members on-board.In contrast to previous 42-metre versions, Project 122 boasts a Sun Deck Jacuzzi and a Captain’s Cabin situated on the upper deck. The yacht’s on-board tender storage holds a Zodiac rescue boat and a Castoldi 21 jet tender. Codecasa is planning to display the yacht at the upcoming Versilia Yachting Rendez-Vous, held in Viareggio in May. Meanwhile, the company's yard is busy constructing two more vessels, a 55-metre and a 65-metre projects to be finished later this year.