If you want an ice-class Expedition yacht today and you decide to build it in Europe,
it's going to take you three or four years to get one built prices are Sky High and everyone's
saying that there aren't any available. So here is a solution which is the conversion of an existing
19-knot ice class search and rescue vessel that's sitting in Vigo Spai. I'm going to show you how
this conversion can happen in under a year, but first I want to talk about three attributes
that this boat has built into it that are very unusual and make it an ideal conversion Prospect
for a very capable Expedition yacht. Generally on Commercial vessels and government vessels
you don't have stabilizers. You find these on yachts and people like to have them. Problem with
a stabilizer is - you've got the fins out and if you go into the ice, you're probably going to rip
your fins off. So these fins, and these are very specialized fins there - they are doing what they
usually do. But in this case, they go back into the hull. They're called retractable stabilizers.
They cost a little extra money, but you've got to have them if you're going into the ice. The
second thing is that this vessel is serious ice class. And when you have serious ice class vessels
they generally go slow, because in order to be ice class-rated, whatever their speed rating is,
you've got to have the strength and the Integrity in the hull to encounter ice at speed. In this
case - at 19 knots. So that is a very fast speed rating on ice class hull. The other thing that
is somewhat unusual on an ice-class vessel is that when you have to reinforce the hull,
usually you have a bow that's a traditional bow that can ride up on the ice. This one has
a bulbous bow and the bulbous bow itself has to also be built to ice-class. And so they are
already baked into this vessel and that adds value; and it adds to the capabilities of your
finished yacht that you won't find in a lot of other vessels. So the first thing to know is that
this vessel was delivered. It was sea trialed . I met all of its specifications for Speed,
stability, sound and vibration . It was designed as a search & rescue vessel for the Danish
government specifically to be used year-round in the North Sea in all weather conditions including
ice. According to press at that time, one of the shipyards involved became insolvent, allowing the
Danish government to exit the contract. When new terms could not be agreed, one of the shipyards
involved took complete ownership of the vessel and they are the ones who are selling it now
On a government rescue vessel, system failure is not an option. So everything you see on this
vessel has full redundancy. Principle power comes from three MAN generator sets and the
electricity runs basically from those generators to the actual Motors driving the shafts and up
to the bridge in a fully integrated electrical system designed and installed by Rolls-Royce.
This shot is from my inspection in the deepest part of the hull. So here's a quick design study
done by the very talented Grant Maughan, who is himself an expedition yacht Captain. He's up in
Greenland right now and he has cruised a number of times into Antarctica and other remote regions
and across oceans around the World. Grant and I agreed that this is an extraordinary vessel
and we do want to rip it apart> We wanted to take what was there and build on it and convert it into
an extraordinary and unique Expedition vessel. So let's start at the top. This is unused technical
space which is actually very valuable real estate. Look what Grant's done here - we have have what I
call the 'sky box' which are the best seats in the house. And then just below that is the sun
Deck with a forward-facing lounge. And aft is a hot tub, retractable sunscreen and Sun pads.
The existing Bridge has got big glass and 360 degree views; but what we want to do is open it up
for owners and guests. So we've doubled the size of the bridge, expanding it aft. Moving aft, the
deck has a big opening in it for taking out oil spill equipment - we're going to close that in,
keep the crane and turn that into a tender deck. We'll build a proper helipad onto the transom
where there's a rescue platform now. Typically on a white yacht, in order to launch your tender you
have to find a sheltered anchorage and then dedicate three or four crew for the launch.
Emergency rescue vessels have to be able to launch their rescue craft in all sea conditions while
underway. So we have this existing incredible launch and retrieval bay that is there ready to
go. This vessel only requires nine crew for rescue operations and yet it has enormous
interior spaces. The upper deck and the main deck are dedicated for crew purposes and they're fitted
out to a high level already. The upper deck on the starboard side you've got 30 meters or 98 feet of
accommodations to starboard and 21 meters or 70 feet to Port. The next deck down has the same
size but it also has a forward compartment which is two decks high and currently unused. So what
we're going to do is grab this upper deck for owners and guest accommodations and we'll take
the deck below, which is already set up for crew, it's got plenty of room, and expand that into the
bow for the extra space we might need. So the nine crew currently have 11 oversized cabins with big
portholes and each with an ensuite head, 15 heads overall. There are offices; there's a big crew
gym with big windows and then a spacious Captain Suite which is matched by a chief engineer Suite
across the hall. There's thick thermal and sound insulation not only in the walls but also in the
floors and in the ceilings. The large commercial Galley is backed up with walk-in freezers and
refrigerators, along with trash compactors and other state-of-the-art Waste Management Systems.
So hopefully now you'll see better why this is an extraordinary vessel as a conversion into an
ice class Expedition yacht and also why we are saying it's not going to take a lot of time and
money to do the conversion due to the way that this vessel was designed and built originally;
especially when compared to other platforms that are available for conversion today.