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Photo: Oceanco (composite)
What billionaires want, billionaires get. And Dutch luxury shipyard Oceanco will likely have a hand in it. That’s the story of one of the world’s most famous superyachts, and quite the trailblazer: Aalto.
At 262 feet (80 meters) long, Aalto isn’t quite on the same level as Oceanco’s later builds, including Jeff Bezos’ highly controversial (but still incredibly beautiful) Koru. Today, Aalto isn’t even among the largest ships in the world, and it’s all the way off the top 100 charts by ship length, occupying 188th place. But Aalto was delivered in 2007, so it’s not fair to compare it to today’s superyachts and megayachts.
Delivered as the Amevi, the superyacht was custom designed for an experienced owner, which is industry jargon for the fact that this was not the owner’s first superyacht. With a beam of 46.7 feet (14.2 meters) and a draft of 12.1 feet (3.9 meters), the superyacht offers an impressive interior volume of 2,310 GT across three decks.
The Aalto is surprisingly spacious for its size, accommodating as many as 18 guests in nine suites and a crew of 24 in separate living quarters. These figures alone are impressive for a superyacht that would be considered “small” compared to structures over 100 meters (328 feet).
Photo: Edmiston Yachts
But it’s not just the size of the Aalto that makes it stand out. As an old and rather vulgar saying goes, it’s not the size of the ship that matters.
When Oceanco launched the Aalto, the company introduced it with a rhetorical question: “What would you do to start a new era?” The renowned shipyard presents all of its hulls as an answer to a question other shipyards have never considered. The Aalto was Oceanco’s way of initiating the era of the 700-code superyacht and its first step in answering growing demand in the 80-meter-plus (262-foot-plus) sector.
The superyacht was also designed to include many industry-first features that have since become “standard” even on smaller hulls: At the time of delivery, Aalto was the only superyacht to feature a heated swimming pool, a cinema, a full-size gym, a massage room (which also doubles as a medical room in case of an emergency), a beauty salon, a helipad and its own stable pool table.
Photo: Edmiston Yachts
But to the new owner, none of this matters much.
Aalto is a stunning construction, a first of many firsts, an innovator and the first in a long line of sizeable superyachts. The exterior design is by Nuvolari Lenard and the interiors are by the late Alberto Pinto, featuring elegant neutrals and contrasting nautical-inspired turquoise blues. The naval architecture is by Oceanco and Azure Yacht Design.
It is currently owned by billionaire steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who also owns the Lurssen-built Alaiya. Aalto is listed with three major brokerages and is due to exhibit at the 2024 Monaco Yacht Show in September. Edmiston describes the yacht as a superyacht that will redefine luxury family cruising, citing its impeccable track record as a charter platform for the purpose.
Photo: Edmiston Yachts
A quick Google search brings up numerous results showing A-list celebrities renting the boat for summer family getaways, including embattled music mogul Sean Combs, aka Diddy, so perhaps the owners don’t want to be associated with it.
The onboard amenities are simply luxurious – glass elevators connecting all decks to a huge gym, five fountains, two movie theaters – and even more impressive when you consider that they were installed at a time when these features were not the standard as they are today.
The Aalto is packed with lounges and tanning areas everywhere you look, and the garage is chock-full of all kinds of water toys, from inflatable slides to manta hydrofoils, submersible drones, inflatable play equipment and even an inflatable golf target filled with biodegradable golf balls. This is definitely a vessel that will be enjoyed by generations to come.
Photo: Edmiston Yachts
All guest suites are located on the main deck, and the owner’s suite is designed as a separate area, allowing plenty of privacy, and features a walk-in closet, the largest bathroom in its class, an office and a private deck with not one but two Jacuzzis. There are two more Jacuzzis available for guests, and there’s also a glass-enclosed, backflow pool on the sundeck.
Powered by two MTU 16V 595 TE70 16-cylinder engines with 4,647 horsepower each, the Aalto can reach a top speed of 20 knots (23 mph/43 km/h). When cruising at a slower 14 knots (16 mph/26 km/h), the vessel has a range of 6,334 nautical miles (7,290 miles/11,731 km).
The superyacht is asking 79.75 million euros, or about $87.2 million at current exchange rates. Online reports, which neither Oceanco nor the owner would confirm, put the price at $150 million.
