Now You Can Actually Live Aboard the World’s Largest Superyacht

Super-prime living doesn’t have to be relegated to dry land anymore: Developers have launched sales for apartments aboard the world’s largest yacht, offering a select 39 luxury condos starting at $11.2 million. Expected to launch in mid-2024, the 730-foot superyacht Somnio (from the Latin for “to dream”) will sail the “four corners of the globe,” per a press release, including excursions to New York, the Mediterranean, the South Pacific, and even Antarctica.

London’s Winch Design and Tillberg Design of Sweden are collaborating on the architecture of what’s being called “the world’s first yacht liner,” currently under construction in Norway. Condominiums will be spaced out across six decks, and, while the exact features of each unit will vary based on the owners’ needs, options include a personal kitchen, library, gym, and alfresco dining.

Owners will also have access to amenities that include an onboard beach club, numerous restaurants and bars, a 10,000-bottle wine cellar and tasting room, and concierge service for both on-ship and land-based needs. 

Don’t pack your bags yet: Bids on the units will be taken by invitation only. A little bit longer than two football fields and weighing nearly 37,000 tons, Somnio will be the largest yacht on earth in both length and volume. (The current title-holder is the 590-foot Azzam, owned by the royal family of Abu Dhabi.)

At a cost approaching $600 million, the auspicious project is being led by Carl Le Souef, founder of the skin-care company Private Formula International and the sustainable tech company Somnio Global. As such, the ship will incorporate clean-engine technology and will house equipment for marine scientists to conduct research. In addition, experts will be available to update owners on challenges and solutions to global environmental issues.

Helming Somnio is Captain Erik Bredhe, master of MS The World, the first residential cruise ship. “The World has been a phenomenal success, though it is time for true superyacht co-ownership,” Bredhe said in a statement. “Somnio will be the only residential superyacht in the world and has been designed to exacting standards that are commensurate with a life of opportunity. Owners will share a truly unique lifestyle at sea, with a hand-picked crew and a never-ending global itinerary of carefully selected destinations and experiences befitting a yacht of this nature.”

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, developers say the ship will have strict health protocols in place, and owners will have access to “world-class medical care.” After sinking like a stone in 2020, yacht sales have rebounded this year, with more than 380 transactions reported since January, according to SuperYacht Times.