In Best of the Best, we honour the brands and people behind the most covetable products. Here are the best of the best in yachting in 2025
Gigayacht: Breakthrough
The largest yacht by volume that has been built in the Netherlands, the 390ft Breakthrough justifies its name. Feadship spent five years researching, designing, and constructing the world’s first hydrogen-fuel-cell superyacht.
It involved rethinking the interior to accommodate 4.4 tons of liquid hydrogen—which required 10 times more space than what’s needed for diesel fuel and must be stored in cryogenic tanks at minus 253 degrees Celsius—to generate emissions-free energy. This technical leap combines 16 fuel cells, lithium batteries, two electric motors, and diesel generators to meet Breakthrough’s substantial propulsion and hotel needs.
It will also allow the behemoth to cruise on fuel cells for short periods. Its heat-recovery system warms the pool, jacuzzi, steam room, and floors and even preheats the engines. The luxe interior features elegant textured leather, marble, and rattan. The owner’s deck includes two en-suite bedrooms, a gym, two offices, and a living room, while a private book-lined staircase leads to the lower deck. Other unique features: a regulation-sized pickleball court on the bow and a submerged Nemo lounge on the lower deck.
Superyacht: Diamond Binta
Few yachts focus on the engine room for favourable first impressions, but Diamond Binta revels in pulling back the curtain in unexpected places. A glass walkway and viewing gallery pass between white Caterpillar 3512E diesels, connecting the yacht’s lower-deck guest staterooms with the beach club.
The Francesco Paszkowski-designed exterior also differentiates with automotive details such as deck overhangs, which resemble the hood of a car, and a custom-designed sundeck bar inlaid with a honeycomb pattern that replicates the carbon fibre used in sports cars. A glass-sided pool on the top deck and an outdoor gym are other distinguishing features.
The interior emphasises natural-wood tones, along with marble and leather, and houses a full-beam owner’s suite. Beneath the sophisticated look, Diamond Binta was designed as a world explorer with a 10,000km range. A two-tender garage and a helideck support its off-grid adventures.
Motoryacht: Azimut Seadeck 7
Azimut’s Seadeck 7 isn’t a classic motoryacht, but it is the most forward-thinking in its class. The 71-footer is the first production yacht with Volvo Penta’s IPS hybrid-electric propulsion, which aims to reduce emissions by 40 per cent via four navigation modes.
For carbon-free operation, Pure Electric runs on battery power alone, while at the other end, Crossover uses a diesel engine to drive the electric pod motors. The system can run the hotel load for up to 12 hours without turning on the generators.
The Seadeck 7’s Fun Island lives up to the 1950s-sounding name. The three-tiered rear area measures about 60sqm when the side wings are folded out. It’s defined by lounges, a hammock, and a descending rear step for easy water access.
The four-stateroom interior by residential architects Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez balances simplicity with an upscale vibe, employing certified woods, carpeting made from recycled plastics, and other sustainable materials without looking self-conscious. The flybridge, with solar panels at the rear, makes a cosy, private getaway.
Interiors: Benetti B.Loft 65M
Many yacht interiors are opting for residential looks, but this 216-footer pushes the trend to a new level. As the name suggests, the B.Loft 65M’s floor-to-ceiling windows and 4m-high ceilings in the main salon were modelled after a Manhattan loft.
“It has Italian DNA with its wood and finishes,” says Giorgio Cassetta, whose Rome-based studio penned the design. “But American architecture drove the design language.”
By contrast, the exterior was influenced by South American seaside villas, featuring sweeping terraces and a partially covered lounge area on a 121sqm rear main deck with exceptional sea views. Another bonus: the aptly named Cabana Club at the stern offers another 33sqm surrounded by 270 degrees of windows. A glass-enclosed winter garden and a glass-bottom pool (above the Cabana Club) add yet other residential design elements on this very special yacht.
Comeback: Alfa G
Having good bones was essential for the US$22 million stem-to-stern refit of Oceanco’s Alfa G, first delivered in 2004 as Sea Pearl, and renamed over the years as Abrosiana, Alfa IV, Aviva II, Pegasus, and Pegasus II.
The 197-footer had gone through several earlier makeovers, but those were cosmetic in comparison to this metamorphosis. Before-and-after images demonstrate how designer Alexandre Thiriat transformed a dated interior into a luxurious contemporary dwelling.
A grand piano with a red fallboard, circular ceiling lights above the formal dining table, all-white salons on the upper deck, and dark contemporary woodwork across six staterooms are among many signature details. Overseen by Oceanco, G&K Yachts in Greece completed the project in just 10 months, taking many areas back to the studs.
The reimagined sundeck—with an al fresco dining area and a stealth-looking black mast—gives the exterior a new persona. Replacing the plain-vanilla look of the previous iteration, Alfa G’s black hull with a signature red stripe and white superstructure complete this remarkable conversion.
Advanced technology: Almax
This 165-footer is the first of Sanlorenzo’s 50Steel series, but, more importantly, it serves as a test bed for a fuel-cell system that converts green methanol into hydrogen and ultimately generates 100kW of emissions-free power for the yacht’s hotel load.
Almax’s Hidden Engine Room concept splits the propulsion system between a lower-deck engine area and fuel-cell banks forward. This particular configuration allowed the designers to replace the traditional engine room with a large Ocean Lounge, which connects to the aft beach club and forward guest quarters.
The methanol-fuel-cell technology, which powers up to 90 per cent of the yacht’s needs at anchor or the dock, is a genuine technical leap for vessels of this size.
