The launch of Benetti’s impressive 108-meter FB275 on March 28 marked the third gigayacht to be delivered by the Livorno, Italy, shipyard in 100 days.
Stretching 354 feet in length and boasting impressive technical engineering, the FB275 will not, however, be Benetti’s last gigayacht, vowed president and founder, Paolo Vitelli. Speaking on the morning of the launch, he stated that with the yard’s new technical know-how and in-house workforce required for building larger vessels, Benetti will strive to deliver at least one 328-foot-plus yacht per year.
“We had to decide during the peak of the financial crisis whether or not to invest €25 million in a new shed. It was a testing time, but we decided to do so, and now that we have entered the field, we want to continue.”
The FB275’s 354-foot steel hull has a 48-foot beam with a draft of 14.4 feet. Designed to cruise for thousands of miles without the need to refuel, the FB275’s 91,139-gallon (345,000-liter) fuel capacity enables it to achieve a range of 6,500 nautical miles at 14 knots. British firm RWD (formerly Redman Whiteley Dixon) penned the yacht’s exterior lines, and Benetti’s in-house team dreamed up the interior.
This gigayacht sports a range of 6,500 nautical miles at 14 knots. Photo: Courtesy of Benetti
More than 10,764 square feet was devoted to exterior spaces, spread across five decks. The owner’s deck has its own exclusive dining and seating areas, while a large heated pool is located on the main deck, and the bridge deck offers up a fire pit surrounded by sunpads. But much of the design prioritizes leisure and water sports, with a 396-gallon refueling station for all the toys on board, not to mention five cranes and two special hydraulic scissor-type lifts for lifting tenders weighing up to 16.5 tons.
RWD designed the exterior lines of this massive yacht. Photo: Courtesy of Benetti
Two MTU 3,862 hp diesel engines achieve a top speed of 18.5 knots, while an electric Schottel stern SPJ pump jet with 500 kW power provides outstanding maneuverability and enables the yacht to travel for short distances under entirely electric propulsion.
“The FB275 typifies everything that we strive to achieve,” says Adrian Chisnell, team principal at RWD. “It’s easy for us to draw a line, but what’s difficult is to turn that line into something that is a stunning, operational vessel on a scale of this magnitude. It’s certainly one, if not the finest achievement in RWD’s 25-year history.”
