Holland’s Icon Yachts BV converts OSV Ocean Ness into a 70m luxury expedition super yacht under Project Master
Currently underway at the Dutch super-yacht shipyard of Icon Yachts BV, based in Harlingen, is a major conversion project under the name of Project Master – which will see the conversion of the OSV/rescue vessel Ocean Ness into a 70m luxury expedition super yacht.
The new exterior appearance of the yet to be named vessel has been developed by super-yacht design specialist Espen Oeino.
The 66m-long, 2001-built Ocean Ness has been stripped back to bare metal in one of Icon’s covered berths and her former rescue accommodation (for 200 persons) below the foredeck is being converted into a wellness deck with gym, massage room, sauna/steam room, plus a medical treatment facility.
The vessel’s open main deck aft is being completely transformed by the addition of a new steel superstructure comprising five large guest suites at main deck level and an Owners’ Deck with a 135m2 master stateroom, while a fully certified helicopter deck is being placed on top of this deck.
Meanwhile, a new 8m-long aft section of the vessel is being built at nearby Talsma Shipyard, which includes a 4m swim platform.
Besides increasing the vessel’s length o.a. to 70m, the new stern section also increases the vessels gt from 1,950 to about 2,800gt.
While the new, unnamed owner, of the vessel did consider keeping the vessel’s original main propulsion system – comprising two 9-cylinder Bergen diesel engines driving two Kongsberg azimuthing pods, the decision has now been taken to strip out the original propulsion system and replace it by two diesel gensets of 500kW each, backed up by a hybrid system comprising 2MW lithium-ion batteries.
The two new gensets will power two electric Voith Schneider Propellers (eVSPs), known as the L-electric thruster, believed to be the first such installation yet of this system on a super yacht. The converted luxury expedition super yacht will have a service speed of 14 knots.
The delivery date for this vessel has yet to be revealed.
