Italian boat-builders Benetti continue to dazzle with the launch of FB272. The second of three Giga Yachts to be unveiled
Once again the eyes of the world turned to Livorno, where Italian shipyard Benetti successfully launched FB272, the second vessel to demonstrate its jaw-dropping new giga yacht building capabilities. FB272 is a steel yacht with aluminium superstructure built to comply with the PYC (Passenger Yacht Code) with a significant contribution of the owner to the conception and development of the specification, general arrangement and exterior design at the outset of the build. FB272 has been built to the unique taste of a very experienced owner in luxury yachts who has from the start of the project made available the Burgess Technical Services team, a full time, highly skilled and dedicated technical and project management team which has brought its significant experience and expertise in luxury yachts to the project.
FB272 has a displacement of above 5,500 GT, a length of about 100 meters and a beam of 17 meters. The yacht is fitted with a pioneering hybrid propulsion system with diesel-electric engines and two Azipods propulsion units connected to a special battery pack conceived and provided by the owner for total vibration-free navigation in absolute silence.
Less than two months since Benetti launched the giga yacht FB277, the Shipyard celebrates the successful launch of FB272, the second of three giga yachts to be revealed in a few months and a yacht with an entirely unique profile that was conceived by the owner. Prior to going to contract, the owner spent significant time in the development of the exterior design, initially with Hugo van Wieringen from Azure Naval Architects and then with the assistance of Reymond Langton Design and Zaniz Jakubowski of Zaniz Interiors. The exterior design was refined post contract with the assistance of Benetti’s in-house designer, Giorgio Cassetta, supporting Zaniz Interiors who took over responsibility for both the exterior and interior design of the yacht.
FB272 is impressively high and massive to offer a new sense of proportion and demonstrates the huge scope of imagination and build capacity at the Italian shipyard. She features an advanced Lutron domotic system – approximately 500 kilometres of cable run across her hull and superstructure. Despite this hi-tech soul, she provides masses of connection with the outside world: the huge windows with 3 meters height offer an incredibly extensive glazing which floods the interior with light, thanks to an outstanding surface of 800 square meters of window glass.
FB272’s exterior lines, which include six decks, were created by the owner, Reymond Langton Design and Zaniz Jakubowski and further developed by Benetti into a buildable 3D model. A straight bow offers brilliant seakeeping credentials, while a huge forward deck area brings guests a thrilling vantage point from which to cruise and relax. The main deck offers further dining and social spaces, sheltered and shaded by the graceful overhang of the beautifully styled superstructure. Above this is the wheelhouse and above again is a charming, private deck leading towards the helicopter pad – fully certificated by a recognized aviation agency – equipped with fuelling/de-fuelling station. High swathes of glass wrap the main decks, with the hull featuring a long horizontal strip of glazing from mid ship to stern. Windows on the upper decks are entirely uninterrupted by structure, giving each deck a floating appearance.
Interior design for the guest areas and crew spaces were conceived and developed by Zaniz Jakubowski of Zaniz Interiors. She also provided her unique artistic expertise in luxury yacht designing to develop a wonderful exterior décor fulfilling the owner’s brief. Known for conceiving spaces that work in synchronicity with their surroundings, this sought-after designer has put her iconic stamp on FB272.
The generation/propulsion package is obtained by 6 generators of approximately 1,000 KW each. The electricity produced by those generators is managed electronically, by a sophisticated fully integrated power management system, to feed the consumption of the services on board and the electric motors of two Azipods of 2,200 KW each. The spare electricity is also used to charge 35 tons of batteries which can operate the yacht for 12 hours with no engine running.
This propulsion package is the state of the art of technology today, made by top names such as Caterpillar, Seastema, ABB, under the coordination of Benetti Technical Department. The advantage of this system is a vibration-free navigation in total silence: with such stable and soundless cruising, guests might hardly realize they are underway.
The air conditioning system and chiller units –which were based on the owner’s specific requirements and supplied by H&H- are one of the biggest ever installed inside a yacht of this size with a total cooling capacity of approximately 3,000KW.
The yacht is equipped with a waste heat recovery system conceived by the owner that is capable to feed the yacht and save electrical power in line with the latest green environment requirements.
