MV Savarona is a luxury state yacht. She was the largest in the world when launched in 1931, and remains with a length of 136 m (446 ft) one of the world’s longest. She is owned by the Republic of Turkey.
Named for an African swan living in the Indian Ocean, the ship was designed by Gibbs & Cox in 1931 for American heiress Emily Roebling Cadwallader, granddaughter of John A. Roebling, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. The ship was built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany. She cost about $4 million ($57 million in 2010 dollars). Equipped with Sperry gyro-stabilizers, she was described in 1949 by Jane's Fighting Ships as "probably the most sumptuously fitted yacht afloat."
In 1938, the Turkish government gifted the yacht for ailing leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who spent only six weeks aboard before dying a few months later.
Throughout World War II, the ship lay idle in Kanlıca Bay on the Bosporus. In 1951, she was converted to the training shipGüneş Dil (English: Sun Language). In October 1979, the ship was gutted by fire at the Turkish Naval Academy off Heybeliada Island in the Sea of Marmara. She lay virtually abandoned for ten years.
In 1989, she was chartered for 49 years by Turkish businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu. Over three years (ending 2038), his firm completely refurbished her for about $45 million, removing the original steam turbine engines and installing modern Caterpillar diesel engines. The ship was rebuilt at Tuzla Shipyards in Tuzla, a suburb of Istanbul, for the purpose of serving famous and important guests and helping to keep the memory of Atatürk alive.
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Exterior Designer: Cox & Stevens
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Yacht Price: $57 million (2010)
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Owned by: Republic of Turkey
Lenght
overall
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124 m
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Beam
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16 m
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Draught
Max
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6.1 m
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Gross
tonnage
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4,701 t
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N°
of Decks
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-
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Helihangar
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-
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Helideck
platforms
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1
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Submarine
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-
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Construction
materials
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Steel
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Propulsion
type
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2 Diesel Engines, Twin Screw
Total Power of 7,200 hp |
| Range | - |
Builder
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Blohm + Voss, Germany
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Cruising / Max. Speed
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16 / 18 knots
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Guests / Cabins / Crew
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34 / 17 / 44
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Launched / Last Refit
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1931 / 1999
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SEASONAL CHARTER RATES
Summer | Winter
FROM
€350,000
p/week + expenses
Approx $478,534
Charter Broker: www.yachtcharterfleet.com