This 1973 German salvage tug boat has lived many lives but now it’s a luxury superyacht

This luxury superyacht has lived many lives since 1973, when it started out as a German salvage tug boat.

The Sea Ranger began life in Germany as a salvage tug, and wound up as a luxury superyacht with millionaire owners from France and the US.

That’s a rags-to-riches story if we’ve ever heard one.

The Sea Ranger began life as Simson, one of a series of German salvage boats built between the 1960s and 1970s.

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This superyacht used to be a German salvage tug boat

These salvage tug boats were designed by Schichau Unterweser, and most of them were commissioned by Hamburg towing company Bugsier.

These boats would often be dispatched to save tankers that had run into problems out on the open sea.

Simson was one of the three tugs in this series that would have a second life as a superyacht.

After being built in 1973, Simson would go on to be sold to a French billionaire in 1994.

In Malta, the ship was put through an extensive refit under the guidance of Claus Kusch from Kusch Yachts.

From the outside, the newly named Simson S didn’t look all that different.

But the interior was a completely different story.

In 1997, the ship traded hands and became the property of American Peter Lewis.

It’s at this point in the story that it was renamed the Lone Ranger and got its biggest makeover yet.

We’re talking a helicopter, jacuzzis, and a basketball court.

With enough space for 10 guests and multiple lounging areas, this is a boat anyone would gladly take a voyage on.

The Lone Ranger would be anything but lonesome if people were given the choice to board it.

The many travels of the Lone Ranger

When owned by Peter Lewis, the Lone Ranger traveled far and wide, even to locations as remote as Antarctica and the Arctic Polar ice cap.

This was possible thanks to a fuel capacity of more than 34,000 gallons, Autoevolution reported.

In 2009, it was donated to an ocean research charity after 15 years of expeditions.

Three years later, it was sold again in an auction for $14 million.

Cue one more renaming – now the Sea Ranger – and yet another refit, and this ship was back on the open waves.

It’s not known who owns it currently, but here’s hoping the Sea Ranger keeps sailing for many more years to come.

This is certainly a superyacht with a difference, as its outer appearance doesn’t scream ‘luxury boat’ quite like the one owned by Starbucks’ CEO does.

And that’s not forgetting Jeff Bezos’ incredible sailing yacht.

It was built by the same company that made Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank’s 367-foot-long yacht. 

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