Proving once again that the 70m plus market remains in robust health, the largest yacht ever to be launched has been unveiled by its manufacturers, Lürssen Yachts.

The 590ft Azzam is rumoured to have been bought by a member of the Saudi royal family Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaudand and its size “eclipses” the previous record held by Roman Abramovich.

It is unlikely this huge vessel will leave the dock very often but if it does there are only two docks big enough to accommodate it on the Mediterranean – Monaco and Antibes.

The Azzam is powered by jets rather than a propeller. It boasts 94,000 horsepower and has an impressive top speed of 30 knots, which is 30% faster than most megayachts.

Designed by Italian yacht firm Nauta Yachts but constructed by Lurssen in Germany, the buyer gave the brief “to build a large luxury yacht with an innovative and timeless design that would be able to travel at high speed in warm and shallow waters, whilst providing luxurious and sophisticated accommodation to its guests,” according to superyachts.com.

Conceived for cruising in warm shallow waters, the vessel is an innovative and ground-breaking megayacht with fast speed capabilities, highly sophisticated facilities and an unprecedented degree of luxury, although little is known about the interior specification apart from the designer, Christophe Leoni.

‘Azzam’ means “determination” in Arabic and with the growing number of megayachts this is exactly what may be required to find a berth!