Russian's new mega-yacht leaves German dockyard one year late

Dec 9, 2010, 17:33 GMT

Berlin - The biggest luxury yacht on the planet, the 535- foot Eclipse, on Thursday left the German dockyard where it was built, presumably bound for delivery to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Legends have surrounded the huge white boat ever since its keel was laid down in a Hamburg dockyard. It is being delivered a year late, reportedly because of a dispute with Abramovich over the price.

Some insiders claimed this week the wallpaper was manta-ray leather and the decoration included real fossils. But they denied claims in British tabloids that the boat has its own missile air-defence system and a mini-submarine as a lifeboat.

There was no announcement it had gone, but the dock was empty and port officials confirmed the Eclipse had departed in the afternoon.

It was presumed Abramovich was still to be the recipient, since the Eclipse was designed entirely to his tastes.

Hamburg dockyard Blohm and Voss, which specializes in boats for the super-rich, had the finished vessel tied up at a dock from December last year while it waited for a settlement. The yard maintains strict secrecy around its luxury yachts.

The price of the Eclipse after last-minute negotiations with Chelsea owner Abramovich is unknown, but the newspaper Financial Times Deutschland estimates the luxury features alone cost 200 million euros (260 million dollars).

The Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper said the whole boat cost 340 million euros, but there were disputes about adjustments for late delivery and for major structural changes such as shifting one of the two helipads.

The Eclipse, 163 metres from stem to stern, has an onboard swimming pool.

Earlier vessels in the so-called 'Abramovich navy' have included the Pelorus, the 115-metre mega-yacht he used as a base at the 2006 football World Cup in Germany, the Ecstasea, 86 metres, and the Sussurro, a mere super-yacht at 49 metres.

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