Octopus (yacht)

Octopus is a 414-foot (126 m) megayacht owned by the Jody Allen-controlled estate of the late Paul Allen. It is one of the world's largest yachts. Launched in 2003, Octopus is a private vessel that is regularly lent out for exploration projects, scientific research initiatives and rescue missions.[1]

This article is about the motor yacht Octopus. For other uses, see Octopus.
Octopus
Octopus in Antibes, July 21, 2009
History
Name: Octopus
Owner: Estate of Paul Allen
Port of registry:  Cayman Islands
Builder: Lürssen
Yard number: 13622
Completed: 2003
Identification:
General characteristics
Class and type: LR motor yacht
Tonnage: 9,932 GT; 2,979 NT
Displacement: 8,850 T
Length: 126.20 m (414.0 ft)
Beam: 21.00 m (68.90 ft)
Draft: 5.66 m (18.6 ft)
Installed power:
  • 8 diesel engines
  • total 19,200 hp (14,300 kW)
Propulsion: 2 propellers
Speed:
  • max: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
  • cruise: 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Capacity: 26
Crew: 57

Description
Octopus in Barbados, December 2, 2006
Octopus in Antibes Port Vauban, in 2009
Octupus in Hamburg, August 1, 2019

Octopus has two helicopter[2] pads on the main deck, a twin pad and hangars at the stern and a single pad on the bow; and a 63-foot (19 m) tender docked in the transom and a landing craft. There are a total of seven tenders aboard. The yacht also has a pool, located aft on one of its upper decks,[3] and two submarines (one of them operated by remote control and capable of attaining greater depths). The latter was lent to Google Earth for the "Explore the Ocean" project.[3] Side hatches at the water line form a dock for personal watercraft.

The exterior was designed by Espen Øino Naval Architects and built by the German shipbuilders Lürssen in Bremen and HDW[4] in Kiel. The interior was by designer Jonathan Quinn Barnett of Seattle.

History

Octopus was built in 2003 and refitted in 2008.

Allen loaned Octopus, which is equipped with a submarine and ROV, for a variety of rescue and research operations. These include assisting in a hunt for an American pilot and two officers whose plane disappeared off Palau, and loaning his yacht to scientists to study the coelacanth, a "living fossil" that was once believed to be extinct.

In January 2011, while en route to Antarctica, one of its helicopters was forced to make an emergency landing in the waters off the coast of Argentina. While the helicopter was severely damaged, there was no loss of life, with only the co-pilot suffering minor injuries. Allen was not aboard at the time.[5][6]

In 2012, he loaned the ship to the Royal Navy in their attempt to retrieve the ship's bell from the Admiral-class battlecruiser HMS Hood, which sank to a depth of 9,000 feet (2,700 m) in the Denmark Strait during World War II, as a national memorial. HMS Hood was hit by a shell from the German battleship Bismarck; its magazines exploded and the ship sank in minutes with a loss of over 1,400 lives. The bell was located but not recovered, due to adverse weather conditions. On 7 August 2015 it was announced that the bell from HMS Hood had been recovered by the ROV operating from Octopus. After conservation, the bell was put on display in 2016 at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Portsmouth, England.[7]

In March 2015, an Allen-led research team announced that it had found the Japanese battleship Musashi in the Sibuyan Sea off the coast of the Philippines.[8] Armed with 46 cm (18.1 in) main guns and displacing 72,800 tonnes (74,000 tons) at full load, Musashi and its sister ship Yamato were the largest and most heavily armed battleships in naval history.[9]

From 2018 to July 2019, the yacht underwent a refit at Blohm+Voss and is reportedly for sale with an asking price of €295,000,000.[10]

In October 2019, the Estate of Paul Allen, announced that the yacht would be up for sale for $325 million. It was not announced if the sale went through. [11]

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References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2015-04-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "The Wild World of Paul Allen". Daily News. 5 February 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  3. Madeline Stone (21 May 2015). "11 crazy facts about Paul Allen's $200 million superyacht". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  4. "OCTOPUS Yacht | Superyacht by Lürssen". www.superyachttimes.com. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  5. "Microsoft Allen's yacht helicopter in emergency landing". Reuters. 31 January 2011.
  6. Golliver, Ben (31 January 2011). "Portland Trail Blazers Owner Paul Allen's Helicopter Crashed, Allen Not Aboard, Co-Pilot Suffers 'Minor Injuries'". Blazer's Edge.
  7. "HMS Hood's bell unveiled at Navy museum Portsmouth". BBC News. May 24, 2016.
  8. "More details about warship recovery by superyacht Octopus". www.superyachttimes.com. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  9. "Japan's WW2 'Musashi Battleship Wreck Found'". BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  10. "OCTOPUS Yacht for Sale | SuperYacht Times".
  11. Warren, Katie. "Paul Allen's 414-foot superyacht is for sale for $325 million. Take a look at the late Microsoft cofounder's yacht, which has 2 helipads and a glass-bottomed underwater lounge". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-08-06.

Sources

Further reading
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