About Abu Dhabi MAR
Abu Dhabi MAR is a broad-based, yachtrelated enterprise by local entrepreneurs who recognise two compelling facts. First, global yacht-construction capacity can’t keep up with demand; there are more than 700 large yachts on order today and new facilities are desperately needed for the future. Second, Abu Dhabi is an ideal site for an operation that can build, service, refit, and berth very large yachts from any homeport, at the luxury level owners and crews deserve and expect. Abu Dhabi MAR has begun with a bang, not a whimper, by building yachts of 141 and 135 metres length overall. The two are branded ‘Swift’ because they are conversions of high-speed frigates created for The Royal Dutch Navy. The UAE Navy later purchased them, but in 2007 elected to replace them. Rather than scrap them, Abu Dhabi MAR is applying advanced technology, expert management, and no little audacity to convert them to extraordinary, futuristic private yachts.
Why trouble to convert warships bristling with cannons and rockets into exquisite yachts, when clients can build new ones from scratch? The answer is: Time. Creating yachts of these proportions can easily consume five years. By starting with ‘readymade’ steel hulls of commanding ‘mil-spec’ quality, Abu Dhabi MAR shortens the process considerably. The Swift initiative is not alone a case of form following function; it is an example of purpose pursuing performance. The inherent speed and manoeuvrability of a modern naval ship offers owners and guests limitless possibilities for exhilaration at sea. And military seaworthiness allows a crew to deliver the yacht wherever she is wanted, in any weather, without pause.
Because the hulls are intact, removing the superstructures and gutting the interiors to make way for luxury furnishings and high-tech equipment was done with the ships afloat in a reserved basin of Al Mina Harbour. Meanwhile, as a central facet of Abu Dhabi MAR’s bold long-range programme, it is setting up stateof- the-art shipyard facilities. The Swift 141 has already been be hauled out there for completion and cosmetic finish, and future yachts will be constructed or refit there. The shipyard is also offering such added services as crew procurement and training, complete interior outfitting, and shore management.
The Swifts will be as ‘green’ as possible: the original fuel-guzzling turbine propulsion is being replaced by fuel-efficient diesels with minimal environmental impact. The exterior and interior styling, by the exceptional Pierrejean Design Studio of Paris, is at once eye-catching and breath-taking, in tune with a welcome trend toward sleekness and tasteful minimalism in large yachts. Abu Dhabi MAR has an unlimited future as a global superyacht centre. It will easily be found on the new world map to the benefit of superyacht owners and crews everywhere.