The launch of the Benetti FB275 completes the brand’s goal of releasing three gigayachts in a span of 100 days
The March 2019 launch of Benetti’s impressive 108m FB275 marked the third gigayacht to be delivered by the Livorno, Italy shipyard in 100 days. Boasting impressive technical engineering, the Benetti FB275 will not, however, be the brand’s last gigayacht, vowed president and founder, Paolo Vitelli. Speaking on the morning of the launch, he stated that with the yard’s new technical know-how and in-house workforce required for building larger vessels, Benetti would strive to deliver at least one 100m-plus yacht per year.
“We had to decide during the peak of the financial crisis whether or not to invest €25 million (S$38.3 million) in a new shed. It was a testing time, but we decided to do so, and now that we have entered the field, we want to continue,” he said.
The Benetti FB275’s 108m steel hull has a 14.6m beam with a draft of 4.4m. Designed to cruise for thousands of miles without the need to refuel, the Benetti FB275’s 345,000-litre fuel capacity enables it to achieve a range of 6,500 nautical miles at 14 knots. British firm RWD (formerly Redman Whiteley Dixon) penned the yacht’s exterior lines, and Benetti’s in-house team dreamed up the interior.
More than 10,764 sq ft was devoted to exterior spaces that are spread across five decks. The owner’s deck has its own exclusive dining and seating areas, while a large heated pool is located on the main deck, and the bridge deck offers up a fire pit surrounded by sunpads.
But much of the design prioritises leisure and water sports, with a 1,499-litre refuelling station for all the toys on board, not to mention five cranes and two special hydraulic scissor-type lifts for lifting tenders weighing up to 16.5 tonnes.
Two MTU 3,862 hp diesel engines achieve a top speed of 18.5 knots, while an electric Schottel stern SPJ pump jet with 500 kW power provides outstanding manoeuvrability and enables the yacht to travel for short distances under entirely electric propulsion.
“The Benetti FB275 typifies everything that we strive to achieve,” says Adrian Chisnell, team principal at RWD. “It’s easy for us to draw a line, but what’s difficult is to turn that line into something that is a stunning, operational vessel on a scale of this magnitude. It’s certainly one, if not the finest achievement in RWD’s 25-year history.”
