In the billionaire boat wars, a new record holder is making waves. The Emirati royal family has run the Russians aground with its seaworthy superbeast: The brand-new ship Azzam, at 590 feet, overshadows the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's yacht, Eclipse, by 57 feet. The bigger boat came at a price: According to CNN, just to build the thing cost $605 million. And that doesn't include the cost for upkeep, which can be 10 percent of the boat's price, per year. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, is reportedly the owner, according to the Telegraph. The boat is big — much bigger than a football field and larger than some cruise ships. And relatively speaking, it's fast. It is said to reach speeds of
up to 30 knots, or about 35 mph, making it one of the fastest superyachts on the seas. Although no details of what lies inside have been forthcoming, clues could
come from the Eclipse yacht, which boasts features that sound like something a James Bond supervillain
would own: an armor-plated master suite, two swimming pools, two helipads, a mini submarine, and even its own
missile defense system. The luxe ship, which the website Super Yachts calls "the most challenging and complex yacht ever built," was also built in record time: just three years and a year of engineering. Engineer Mubarak Saad al Ahbabi assembled and directed the team. Lurssen developed Azzam's technical engineering, Nauta Yachts designed the exterior, and Christophe Leoni designed the interior.
