Worlds most luxurious private yacht moored in Panama

The world’s most luxurious yacht The “A” owned by Russian billionaire Andrei Meinichenko, spent much of the week anchored off Flamenco Island , at the end of Panama’s Amador Causeway.

In an earlier story we repeated some misinformation supplied by an avid football fan who thought the yacht was the Eclipse, owned by another Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s who also owns Chelsea football Club. We should have stuck with our original source news.evermarine.com

Yachting readers, another football fans were quick to point out the mistake. The Eclipse is bigger but the “A” reputed to be more luxurious. As the owner is an intensely private man and entertains little on board few are likely to get a personal tour, but an earlier visitor provided some insight.
The yacht, flying Britain’s Red Ensign, and from sea level looking like a cross between a naval frigate and a nuclear submarine, was designed by Frenchman Philippe Stark, who is also the man who has designed an avant- garde oceanfront project being developed on Avenida Balboa.
For all its fame, "A" remains a little mysterious. Its owner, a 38-year-old banking, steel and fertilizer czar, is intensely private and requires all his construction crew and staff to sign strict confidentiality agreements (he declined comment for this article). He and his wife only rarely entertain on board, and few public images of the boat’s interior exist.
With its radical shape—more sleek submarine than boxy pleasure boat—and reams of custom parts and finishes (including bath knobs costing $40,000 apiece), "A" is a conspicuous marker of an ocean-going plutocracy that’s largely been untouched by the recession. The boat, was completed in mid-2008 for more than $300 million, has spawned a flotilla of copycats emulating its low-slung hull and design scheme. The boat’s interior departs dramatically from most conventions of yacht design. Instead of the usual overstuffed couches and mahogany walls, there are Baccarat-crystal tables, shiny white finishes and polished silver, a kind of Manhattan-loft-meets-Vegas aesthetic. Many of the rooms have floor-to-ceiling mirrors, which Mr. Starck says have a built-in "mathematical beauty" that also refer to the "mathematical genius" of Mr. Melnichenko.
The walls of one room are covered in white sting-ray hides, while another is covered in hand-stitched calf’s leather. The main deck features two Michel Haillard chairs made from alligator hides and Kudo horns. Known for his mischievous streak, Mr. Starck outfitted "A" with risqué touches like the suite dubbed the "nookie room" by the crew, with its white circular bed with padded walls and a ceiling-mounted TV.
Mr. Starck says that while most megayachts are "vulgar" statements of wealth and power, "A" was designed to be in harmony with the sea and nature. "This boat has elegance and intelligence, it is not trying to show the money," he adds.
As with many Russian-owned yachts, "A" is highly secure. Its rounded exterior and knife-like hull make it difficult for intruders to board. It has 44 security cameras and more than a dozen exterior cameras fitted with motion-detection systems and a night-vision infrared system.
It is also designed to outrun threats: Twin, high-speed diesel engines deliver 24,000 horsepower and push the 5,959-gross-ton ship to 24 knots, roughly a third faster than most boats its size. The boat is stabilized by fiber-optic gyroscopes and four giant motorized flaps. A transom door in the rear of the boat, which swings open to become a swim deck. The ship’s two main landing boats are mini-yachts themselves, stretching to 36 feet, boasting plush interiors and costing more than $1 million each.
In the battle among Russia’s billionaires for yacht supremacy, upcoming 540-foot Eclipse may be the biggest, but the "A" is still dubbed the most luxurious.