Let's be honest. When most of us hear the word "superyacht," we picture the same thing: a massive, white, wedding-cake-style boat pumping out diesel fumes, packed with gold fixtures and marble. It's the very definition of old-school, gas-guzzling opulence. It's impressive, for sure, but... is it innovative? Is it smart? Is it... cool?
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
For a long time, the answer was... not really.
And then, in 2015, Feadship launched SAVANNAH.
I've seen a lot of yachts in my time. I've walked the docks at the Monaco Yacht Show, I've seen the spec sheets, and I've talked to the designers. It takes a lot to make my jaw drop. But SAVANNAH... she's different. She's not just another boat. She's a statement. She's a 274-foot (83.5-meter) paradigm shift that took the entire industry, shook it by the shoulders, and said, "We can do better."
This isn't just a review. This is a deep dive into what makes SAVANNAH arguably one of the most important yachts of the 21st century. We're not just going to look at the pretty pictures. We're going to get nerdy. We're going to look at the tech, the design, and the sheer, unadulterated audacity it took to build this thing.
Because, you see, SAVANNAH isn't just a superyacht. She's the first true hybrid superyacht. And that changes everything.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
That "Green" Isn't Just a Color, It's a Clue
The very first thing you notice about SAVANNAH is, without a doubt, her color.
In a sea of white and (if they're feeling spicy) navy blue hulls, SAVANNAH glides in painted a stunning, shimmering, "Sea Foam" green. But here's the kicker: it's not just green paint. It's an all-metallic paint job.
Now, that might not sound like a big deal. You've seen metallic cars, right? What's the problem?
Well, a car is maybe 15 feet long. SAVANNAH is 274 feet long. And her hull and superstructure are made of steel and aluminum, with massive, complex curves. Getting a metallic finish to look perfectly uniform, without a single streak, blotch, or imperfection over a surface area of thousands of square feet is considered one of the most difficult feats in the yachting world.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
Feadship, the legendary Dutch builder behind this masterpiece, basically had to invent new techniques to pull it off. They developed special spray nozzles, created climate-controlled tents big enough to house a building, and trained a small army of 46 specialists (painters, helpers, managers) who worked as a single unit. They had to spray entire sections in one continuous sweep—starting at 5 AM and working until it was done—to ensure all the tiny metallic flakes in the paint landed in the same direction. They went through over 200 sample panels just to find the perfect color.
And I can't help but think the color is a massive, brilliant clue. This isn't just a styling choice. It's a 274-foot-long billboard announcing her eco-friendly credentials before you even know what's under the hood... or, in this case, in the engine room.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
So, What Is a "Hybrid Superyacht," Anyway?
Okay, let's get to the main event. This is the part that won SAVANNAH "Motor Yacht of the Year" at the World Superyacht Awards. This is the "high information gain" you came for.
SAVANNAH is powered by what Feadship calls its "Breathe" system.
Your typical superyacht has two massive diesel engines. They're loud, they vibrate, and they drink fuel at a rate that would make an oil sheik blush.
SAVANNAH throws that entire playbook in the trash.
Instead, she has a single, highly-efficient Wärtsilä medium-speed diesel engine. Just one. This engine isn't just connected to a propeller. It's connected to a complex "electro-mechanical" propulsion system.
Stick with me here. This system links that one engine, three diesel generators, and a whopping one-million-watt (1 MWh) bank of lithium-ion batteries. Think of it as the world's most sophisticated and powerful Toyota Prius.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
All of this power is managed by a hyper-advanced computer system that lets the captain choose between five different operational modes:
Manoeuvring Mode (Batteries Only): This is the one that gives me chills. The captain can disengage the engines completely and run the entire 2,300-gross-tonnage yacht on batteries alone. Imagine gliding into the quiet, pristine harbor of Portofino or St. Barts... in total silence. No engine thrum. No diesel smell. Just the sound of the water lapping against the hull. That, right there, is the new definition of luxury.
Diesel-Electric Mode (Generators Only): For efficient, low-speed cruising (up to around 14 knots), the main engine switches off. The generators hum away, sipping fuel, and power a bank of electric motors that turn the propeller. It's incredibly smooth, quiet, and efficient.
Diesel Mode (Engine Only): For long-range cruising, the main Wärtsilä engine kicks in and drives the propeller directly, like a traditional yacht.
Boost Mode (Full Power): This is the "ludicrous mode." The captain wants to go fast. The system engages the main engine and the generators, pouring all available power into the drivetrain to hit her top speed of 17-18 knots.
Hotel Mode (At Anchor): This is the other game-changer. When you're anchored in a beautiful bay, the last thing you want is the thrum-thrum-thrum of a generator running all night just to keep the air conditioning and lights on. On SAVANNAH, the generators shut down. The entire yacht—all the guest services, the AC, the pools, the stabilization—runs silently off that massive battery bank.
This system is a masterpiece. Feadship claims it provides a 30% reduction in fuel consumption compared to a traditional yacht of her size. That is massive. We're talking savings of hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel. It's not just "greenwashing"; it's a tangible, revolutionary step forward.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
But Wait... There's More (Propeller Nerds, Assemble!)
Feadship didn't just stop with the hybrid power plant. They looked at the other end of the boat and said, "How can we make the propeller better?"
And, boy, did they.
SAVANNAH doesn't have a normal propeller. She has one giant, 40% larger-than-normal propeller sitting in front of an azimuthing thruster. This thruster is basically a pod with another propeller on it (a contra-rotating one, to be exact) that can spin 360 degrees.
This is pure engineering genius. Here's why:
Recovered Energy: The big propeller creates a "swirl" of wasted energy in its slipstream. The second, smaller propeller on the thruster is positioned perfectly to capture that swirl and convert it back into thrust. It's basically recycling the water's energy.
No Rudders: That 360-degree-spinning thruster means the yacht doesn't need rudders. At all. It steers by directing its thrust. This makes it dramatically more maneuverable in tight marinas.
Efficiency: This whole setup—the single screw, the contra-rotating pod—is ridiculously efficient. It slices through the water with less drag and vibration.
When you combine this propulsion with that hybrid "Breathe" system, you get a yacht that is quieter, smoother, more efficient, and more maneuverable than literally anything else in its class. It's a total mic drop.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
What About the "Superyacht" Part? Let's Talk Luxury.
Okay, okay. Enough about the engine room. I know what you're thinking. "That's all very clever, but is it luxurious?"
Let me put it this way: The tech is hidden behind a level of artistry and comfort that is almost hard to comprehend. The interior and exterior design was handled by a Parisian firm, CG Design, which had never designed a yacht before. And honestly? That's probably why it's so brilliant. They came in with zero preconceived notions.
The owner's brief was for a "floating superstructure." They wanted the decks to look like they were floating, not stacked.
The result is a design that is all about curves, glass, and flow. There are no "boxes" on this boat. The main salon isn't a rectangle; it's a giant, semi-circular room with a sweeping video wall and sliding glass doors that open up the entire aft end of the yacht to the outside.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
And that outside space? My word.
It starts with a massive 30-foot (9-meter) swimming pool on the main aft deck. This isn't some tiny plunge pool; it's a legitimate pool, with a colorful glass mosaic by artist Cecily Brown at the bottom. The entire aft deck is one enormous, open-plan "beach club" that cascades down to the sea.
The whole vibe is less "stuffy formal dining room" and more "impossibly chic Ibiza-meets-Maldives resort."
The interior, from what I've seen, is just as stunning. It's not the gold and marble I mentioned earlier. It's dark, polished rosewood, brushed stainless steel, and intricate, futuristic details. It's masculine, elegant, and hyper-modern, but also warm and inviting.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
The "Nemo Lounge": The Feature Everyone Tries to Copy
But there's one feature. One. That has become the stuff of legend. It's the "YouTube thumbnail" moment of the entire yacht.
It's called the "Nemo Lounge."
Tucked away in the hull on the port side, this is a semi-submerged lounge. Let me rephrase that. It's a room inside the boat with a giant, thick, curved window that looks directly out into the ocean.
You can sit on a sofa, with a drink in hand, and literally watch the reef, the fish, or just the deep blue go by. At night, they turn on the underwater lights, attracting marine life. It gives you a perspective on the world that, until then, was reserved for scuba divers and submarines.
And if, for some reason, you get bored of watching the real-life aquarium? The lounge converts into a cinema. A drop-down screen covers the window.
This feature was so revolutionary that it has been copied, in one form or another, by dozens of other yachts. But SAVANNAH was the first. She did it first, and arguably, she still does it best. The sheer engineering of putting a window that large below the waterline in a steel hull is mind-boggling.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
The Private Spaces: What's It Like to Live There?
SAVANNAH accommodates 12 guests in six suites, and every single one of them is on the main deck... except for the owner's.
The entire deck above the main deck is dedicated to the owner. This isn't a suite; it's an apartment. A 274-foot-long private apartment.
It has its own salon and dining room, a private office, a sprawling bedroom with a giant circular skylight, his-and-hers bathrooms and dressing rooms... and, of course, a massive, completely private aft deck with its own dining and lounging areas. From here, you have a 180-degree-plus view of the world, totally shielded from any other guests or crew.
The VIP suite is also a work of art, featuring a stunning fold-out balcony that drops down from the side of the hull, letting you have your morning coffee suspended right over the water.
And for the other 12 guests? They get four enormous guest suites and that one VIP, all with floor-to-ceiling windows and interiors that follow the yacht's "no boxes allowed" philosophy. The walls curve. The spaces flow. It's all designed to be organic and connected to the sea.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
The "Feadship Factor"
I have to take a second to talk about the builder, Feadship. Because, frankly, no one else could have built this boat in 2015.
There's a saying in the industry: "There are yachts, and then there are Feadships." They are the builders' builder. The "if you know, you know" standard. They are famous for taking on the most complex, insane, "this-is-impossible" projects... and delivering perfection.
This wasn't an owner just ticking boxes on an options list. This was an incredibly visionary (and legendarily private) owner who came to Feadship with a dream. A dream of a yacht that was both the pinnacle of luxury and a pioneer of sustainability. It was a massive R&D project. It was a risk.
They spent years developing the hybrid system. They spent two years just figuring out the paint. They had to engineer a way to put a cinema in the side of the hull underwater.
The result? SAVANNAH didn't just win "Motor Yacht of the Year." She won "Best Displacement Motor Yacht," "Best Interior," "Best Exterior," and the "Holistic Award" at the ShowBoats Design Awards. She swept the entire industry. It was a total knockout. The judges basically confirmed what everyone was thinking: this yacht just changed the game.
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| The 274-foot green-hulled Yacht |
My Final Verdict: Why SAVANNAH Still Matters
So, here we are, years after her launch. Is SAVANNAH still a big deal?
Absolutely. More than ever.
Today, "hybrid" is a buzzword in the yachting industry. Almost every new, forward-thinking build has some kind of hybrid system, battery bank, or eco-friendly mode.
But SAVANNAH was the pioneer. She was the proof of concept. She was the one who took the massive financial and technical risk and proved that, yes, you can build a 274-foot superyacht that is 30% more fuel-efficient. You can have silent, emission-free cruising. You can blend extreme luxury with genuine environmental consciousness.
She's not just a review of a cool boat. She's a floating landmark. A turning point in the history of design.
I've called her a "she" this whole article, and that feels right. She's not an "it." She's not just a collection of steel and aluminum. She has a personality. She's smart, she's beautiful, and she's a quiet, green-hulled revolutionary.
Every single hybrid yacht sailing today owes a little "thank you" to SAVANNAH. She walked so they could run.
And that, for me, makes her one of the greatest yachts ever built. Period.
But what do you think? Is this the future of luxury, or just a very, very expensive science experiment? Let me know.