The 15 Greatest Lürssen Superyachts of All Time
Lürssen holds 36 of the top 100 yachts in the world by size, with 10 yachts ranging from 246 feet to over 460 feet currently under construction. That includes Project Cosmos, which will be the first vessel from the yard to feature hybrid fuel cell technology when it delivers in 2025.
Founded in 1875, the yard remains under the management of the fourth-generation Lürssen family. It has not only produced some of the world’s most beautiful yachts, but has also pioneered new technologies like underwater exhaust systems, pod drives, and using heat from the exhaust of its engines to desalinate water for drinking. It’s this constant, drive for innovation that differentiates this yacht builder from most of its competitors.
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The northern European yard has already enjoyed three gigayacht launches in 2024. Its largest this year—the 466-foot Project Ali Baba, which has just finished sea trials near Brunsbüttel in Germany—should deliver in December. That means Lürssen will have amassed a whopping 1,591 feet of boat builds this year alone. And every inch is custom.
Here are our choices for the 15 greatest Lürssens of all time.
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‘Dragonfly’ (466 feet) 2024
Lürssen’s largest new build will be a behemoth of the seas once it delivers. Little is known about the gray industrial design, which has been shrouded in secrecy. Headlines to date have focused on a technical fault that occurred last year at the yard, which caused the yacht’s bow to collide with the dock curtain. The few images of Dragonfly emerging from the sheds show an elongated bow (no dents), raked funnels, and two helipads. Watch this space.
‘Kismet’ (400 feet) 2024
Kismet was the darling of the Monaco Yacht Show in September. Owner Shahid Khan’s third vessel of the same name has ignited curiosity since being delivered in May, thanks to a Nemo lounge (an underwater viewing bubble in the hull), a duplex owner’s suite, and Balinese-inspired spa. However, Robb Report’s onboard tour with interior designer Pascale Reymond revealed more spectacular details, including an infinity “hall of mirrors” on the main deck, a glass gallery view of the hybrid engines, and a Versailles-inspired Champagne bar, which Khan requested to honor a dinner he had in Paris with President Macron.
‘Azzam’ (592 feet, 6 inches) 2013
Like many Lürssens, owner Mubarak Saad’s penchant for privacy has prevented the German shipyard from revealing many details about Azzam, the world’s longest yacht. What we do know is the interior by Christophe Leoni features a 95-foot-long main salon “inspired by the Empire style of the early 19th century.” Despite its size, Azzam can still run as fast as a Navy frigate—30-knots in “sprint mode”—thanks to gas turbines connected to water jets.
‘Dilbar’ (511 feet, 8 inches) 2016
Dilbar’s whopping 15,917 gross tonnage gives Lürssen the distinction of not only building the longest yacht ever, but also the largest in terms of volume. That means space, and lots of it, including two helicopter pads (one of which has a hangar with an H175 helicopter always on standby) and an 82-foot swimming pool that can hold 6,357 cubic feet of water. It’s currently residing in a floating dock at Lürssen’s facilities under sanctions. The yacht’s value is estimated to be $600 million.
‘Flying Fox’ (446 feet, 2 inches) 2019
Once chartered by Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the 446.2-foot Flying Fox is arguably the most high-profile yacht on this list. It remains the largest yacht available for charter—and the most expensive with a weekly rate of around $4.4 million. It returned to the charter market in 2024 after several years on the Russian sanctions list. Key features of the Espen Øino–designed exterior are a curvaceous dove-gray hull and a 40-foot swimming pool that runs athwartship on the main aft deck, the largest ever found on board a yacht. There’s also a dive center, a decompression chamber, and two helipads.
‘Rising Sun’ (454 feet, 1 inch) 2004
Perhaps the most iconic Lürssen on this list for the very fact it was Jon Bannenberg’s final design, Rising Sun was built for Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and is currently owned by billionaire David Geffen. The yacht comes with a gym, a cinema, multiple swimming pools, a wine cellar, and 86,000 square feet of living space in 82 rooms. The exterior is defined by banks of windows across the superstructure and a rear cockpit deck that doubles as a basketball court.
‘Luminance’ (455 feet, 3 inches) 2024
With an exterior designed by Espen Øino, Luminance was Lürssen’s first delivery of 2024. It has a whopping 8,999 gross tons of interior volume. Few details are yet known about the gigayacht owned by Ukrainian mining and financial services mogul Rinat Akhmetov. That includes the interior by Francois Zuretti, but aerial shots reveal twin helicopter pads—one on the foredeck and another high up aft—a large beach club, and an infinity pool with a private spa pool area on the foredeck.
‘Carinthia VII’ (318 feet) 2002
Heidi Horten commissioned Project Faberge, as Carinthia VII was originally known, in 2002 to pay homage to the fleet of Carinthias owned and built by her late husband Helmut Horten, three of which were designed by Jon Bannenberg. She remains one of only a handful of women to commission one of the largest yachts in the world. The famously private yacht was bought by a new owner in 2022 and emerged back in public view a year later following a rapid 300-day refit. Changes include a 36-foot glass-paneled swimming pool and a 968-square-foot air-conditioned gym that used six tons of folding glass doors to create a winter garden.
‘Opera’ (479 feet) 2023
Lürssen’s Opera is a rebuild of Project Sassi, which was destroyed in a fire at the German shipyard in 2018. It’s now four feet longer than the first iteration, with a whopping 66-foot beam and an interior volume exceeding 10,000 gross tons. There are no interior images available of the design penned by Terence Disdale, but the exterior promises good things, judging by its two swimming pools (one with a lifting floor) and two helipads—one on the bow and one on the upper aft deck.
‘Octopus’ (413 feet, 3 inches) 2003
Octopus is one of the first and largest examples of an all-out exploration vessel. It’s equipped with highly sophisticated technology to support scientific research voyages that require months at sea, including an integrated dock for both the principal 66-foot tender and two submersibles, one of which is remotely controlled for reaching greater depths. Designed by Espen Øino, it also has a professional music studio, a cinema, two helipads, and a hanger aft.
‘Al Salamah’ (456 feet, 10 inches) 2016
At the time of its construction in 1999, 456-foot Al Salamah was the third-largest yacht in the world. The build began at German yard HDW in Kiel, but was completed by Lürssen in Bremen, the only yacht builder at the time capable of meeting the owner’s demanding timeline. Al Salamah was commissioned by the late Saudi Arabian crown prince, Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Estimated to be worth around $200 million and accommodating 36 guests, the ample amenities include a cinema, a fully equipped onboard hospital, two full-time beauticians, a business center, and a spa.
‘Limitless’ (314 feet, 9 inch) 1997
Limitless was a game-changing yacht for Lürssen, with a diesel-electric propulsion system that was a novelty in 1997. Conceptualized by the office of the late Jon Bannenberg, the 314-footer features an interior designed by François Catroux, who was also responsible for the beautiful interior of another Lürssen giant, Eos. At the time of the yacht’s construction, Limitless was the largest privately owned yacht in America.
‘Haven’ (269 feet) 2024
Haven is the third Lürssen delivery of the year, following Luminance and Kismet, but it is the first to have an exterior designed in-house. Lürssen’s Jim Robert Sluijter, claims the yacht has “has barely changed from the original sketch”, gave the yacht a straight bow, expansive deck spaces for socializing and “sinuous concave patterns” that run across the superstructure to reflect the ripples made by waves when the sun is in the right position.
‘Nord’ (466 feet) 2021
Nord was announced in 2015 but didn’t hit the water until its 2020 sea trials in the Baltic Sea. The 466-foot yacht features interior and exterior design by Italian studio Nuvolari Lenard and was Lürssen’s first yacht launched from its upgraded floating shed at its facility in Vegasack. Boasting top-tier amenities, the yacht includes a sports and diving center on the lower deck, multiple tenders ranging in size up to 50 feet, and a large swimming pool.
‘Skat’ (232 feet, 9 inches) 2002
When Skat’s owner asked for as much light as possible, Espen Øino responded with a glass conservatory on the bridge deck that allows sunlight to shine in from above and below while affording magnificent views of the yacht’s surroundings. The yacht’s straight sides, high bow, faceted superstructure, and conning tower of a mast give the stealth vessel a military-like aesthetic, which in 2002 made it a polarizing design. Notably, it was the first Lürssen to feature a helideck and the first to have all guest and owner’s cabins on the main deck or above.
