Yas, one of the largest megayachts in the world, sails into Malaga

Ivan Gelibter

Malaga

Sunday, 21 August 2022 | Updated 25/08/2022 12:49h.

The Port of Malaga’s megayacht marina welcomed the luxury vessel Yas on Saturday, one of the largest yachts in the world, and the biggest to sail into the new port facility since it was opened.

The Yas, as it is known today, is actually the second life of another ship. Named Swift141 during her reconstruction, the Yas is based on the hull of an old frigate; Piet Hein, a Kortenaer class frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She was launched in 1978 and later sold to the United Arab Emirates Navy, where she operated under the name Al Emirat. This practice is not that rare, as a second frigate of the same class is in fact undergoing a similar conversion; the Abraham Crijnssen, renamed Abu Dhabi.

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One of the main features of the Yas is its size. It is 141-metres-long and has a swimming pool and heliport. Its interior was created by French designers House Pierrejean Vision Design Studio.

The megayacht is capable of carrying up to 60 guests and 56 crew members. The facilities include a beauty salon and a lift. Powered by two diesel engines, she cruises comfortably at 23 knots, with a top speed of 26 knots and a range of up to 5,758 nautical miles. It is owned by Hamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The arrival of boats like the Yas is due to the fact that a few weeks ago the Malaga megayacht marina was opened in the old pier 1 and part of 2 area of the port, and it features a dock with a capacity for 31 berths for luxury boats, up to 180 metres in length, after an investment of about ten million euros.

The great novelty provided by the Malaga marina is the possibility of supplying electricity from land, so that ships can turn off their engines while they are moored and thus stop consuming fuel and emitting polluting gases.

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