$500 Million Koru Megayacht Begins Sea Trials as Billionaire Owner Awaits Delivery

Koru has begun its sea trials in the North Sea, as the video below will confirm. The megayacht is a sail-assisted vessel built by Dutch luxury shipyard Oceanco under the codename Y721 or Project 721. Reports note that the delivery date is set for early 2023, and the start of sea trials confirms it.

If the Y721 name rings a bell with you, it’s because it’s the same superyacht that caused quite a ruckus in 2021, when the builder proposed temporarily taking down a historic bridge in Rotterdam so it could make its way to the final fitting locations with its gigantic masts on. When residents of the city learned of Oceanco’s fitting and the fact that Bezos was the reported owner, they rallied in protest, even threatening to come out to egg the vessel as it passed by the dismantled Koningshaven bridge.

Oceanco had planned to put the bridge back up again in less than 24 hours, but that didn’t matter much to the same residents, who saw the dismantling of a historic bridge for the apparent whim of a billionaire as the ultimate sign of disrespect. In the end, the shipyard opted to take the vessel to its fitting location by another route and to make sure no egging incidents happened, they also did it by night, in the utmost secrecy possible.

The three-masted schooner Y721 is now all put together, including its previously-troublesome 230-foot (70-meter) high masts. The black-hulled vessel is 417 feet (127 meters) in total length and is on track to earning the title of the biggest sailing yacht in the world once it’s delivered. Technically though, Koru is a sail-assisted vessel, much like Black Pearl it’s inspired by, another world-famous Oceanco build.

Once Bezos, or whoever the lucky billionaire who paid $500 million for it, takes delivery of Koru, he will become the owner of the largest vessel built in the Netherlands, as well. Like the Black Pearl, it will be a technologically-advanced sail-assisted yacht, with all the trappings of a luxury life you’re to expect from a vessel of this size.

Because its masts don’t allow for much storage options on deck, Koru will be shadowed by a Damen Yachts superyacht, a custom model codenamed YS 7512 that’s also been kept under wraps. The 246-foot (75-meter) shadow yacht can accommodate as many as 45 people, including guests in very lavish suites, and a large variety of water toys and gear, so it’s rightfully described as a superyacht on its own.