We’ve spoken in the past about Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich and his uber rich super

The Pelorus

The Pelorus

lifestyle. Today we would like to revisit his ultra yacht is it’s currently being discussed around the world. Roman has ordered the world’s largest yacht complete with an onboard defense system that would make any would-be pirate turn back and head for shore.

In addition to its anti-missile defense system, the $470 million 167-meter-long ‘Eclipse’ will be defended by a crew of 70 fully-armed former SAS and Special Boat Service commandos ready to take on any modern-day buccaneer. The accommodation will feature six guest suites, five VIP suites and a 5,000 sq ft owner’s cabin. All come with two en suite bathrooms and balconies. The owner’s cabin features a grand piano and a private garden area on the foredeck, spanning decks 4 and 5. There is a mini theatre cum cinema, an exhibition space, three dining rooms, an aquarium, a disco, half a dozen hot tubs, a half-indoor, half-outdoor swimming pool, a gym with sauna and steam room, and a mini spa. In addition it has a temperature- and humidity-controlled wine cellar and humidor, two kitchens and staff quarters for up to 100. There is even a mini hospital for Abramovich’s private medical team to work in.

There will be four pleasure craft, a 50ft tender to ferry guests to and from shore, 20 jet skis and the private submarine. The 12-seat mini-sub made by the Florida-based US Submarines, exits the hull through the bottom, which would enable the Russian and his 26-year-old model girlfriend, Daria Zhukova, to come and go in complete privacy. The sub can dive to almost 200ft.

Other firsts include a computerized stabilization system. The Eclipse is too big to dock in all but the biggest marinas, so has to anchor in often choppy open water. To prevent it rocking, giant stabilizers – effectively motorized paddles – extend from the vessel’s sides when at anchor. They move in response to the waves to keep the vessel level at all times, ensuring no bubbly is spilled on the starched linen tablecloths. Onboard computers even monitor and memorize the wave patterns to predict pressures on the hull, so ensuring the stabilizers react before a wave hits the vessel.

Underwater cameras with heat-and-motion sensors will detect intruders. All the glass is bulletproof, the yacht is being fitted with the latest antibugging equipment and there are supposedly even flash sensors installed to warn of paparazzi photographers taking snaps through the windows.

Abramovich also owns three other mega-yachts, though none of them are believed to have anything close to the on-board defense systems the ‘Eclipse’ will deploy. In fact, his private fleet (Pelorus, Le Grand Bleu, and Ecstasea) currently ranks ahead of the navies of several countries.Each vessel serves a different purpose. For entertaining, Mr. Abramovich prefers Pelorus, the 377-footer originally built for a Saudi sheikh. It has bulletproof glass, two helipads, an indoor pool, a steam room and accommodations for 22 guests and more than 40 staff. For cruising, he likes Ecstasea, with a Chinese-themed interior and a top speed of more than 40 knots. The 161-foot Sussurro is mainly used as a loaner or “tag along” yacht for friends during large parties.

eclipseWhen Eclipse launches, Mr. Abramovich will own more than 1,100 feet of yacht — the approximate length of the Queen Mary 2. Exact prices for his boats aren’t known, but industry experts estimate they range from about $25 million for his smallest to more than $300 million for Eclipse. Annual overhead for the boats is more than $20 million, industry experts say, and it costs him $120,000 just to fill up the tanks of his current largest boat, Pelorus.