Four years ago, a new Lürssen building burned down spectacularly in the dock. The “Sassi” project at the time is now being replaced by a 146-metre-long successor.
In a proverbial night and fog operation, the Bremen-based Lürssen shipyard has now launched the new yacht “Opera” in Neustädter Hafen in Bremen. Prior to this, the 146 m long mega yacht had been transferred from the Lürssen site in Berne, together with its building dock, some 30 km up the Weser to the port of Bremen.
There is sufficient water depth there to lower the covered floating dock and allow the luxury ship to float. The Rönner Group had already chosen a similar procedure with the frigates for Egypt. The “Opera” was then towed by tugs back to Lürssen on Monday, where the newbuild is to be fitted out and completed. Delivery is scheduled for the beginning of 2023.
Sheikh Mansouv Bin Zayed Al Nahyan from the ruling family of Abu Dhabi is repeatedly named as the client. However, the Lürssen shipyard has not provided any official information on this, as discretion is the top priority in this business.
In September 2018, the yacht project “Sassi” burnt down in the floating dock at Lürssen and caused the largest fire department operation in Bremen since the Second World War. The damage was immense and is considered one of the largest insurance claims in recent history. The total costs were estimated at 660 million dollars.
The burnt-out yacht and its floating dock were subsequently towed to Blohm +Voss in Hamburg. The parts that remained intact were then used to build the replacement with the project name “Opera”. Lürssen covered the 287 m long floating dock 10, which is normally located directly opposite the jetties in Hamburg, with a transparent and durable film. According to the company, the conversion is said to have cost more than €13 million in total.
