Abu Dhabi Sheikh's $180,000,000 superyacht has $18,000,000 annual running costs and this is everything they pay for
Published on Mar 05, 2026 at 6:50 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Mar 05, 2026 at 9:31 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
This $180 million superyacht may belong to an Abu Dhabi Sheikh, but that doesn’t mean that the $18 million running costs are anything to sneeze at.
The Yas yacht is capable of carrying 60 guests across 30 suites, alongside 56 crew members.
Accommodating all of those people on a 464 foot boat doesn’t come cheap.
These are the costs that have sent this bill spiraling upwards – not that Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al Nahyan will be feeling the pinch.
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It costs $18 million to run the Abu Dhabi Sheikh’s superyacht
Considering the scale and prestige that comes with the Yas superyacht, it’s no wonder that it costs $18 million to keep it afloat.
But believe it or not, this boat began life as a Dutch navy frigate in the 1970s.
After being retired in 1998, it was decommissioned and sold to the government of the United Arab Emirates.
Named after Yas Island, the island where the F1 Grand Prix takes place, the boat now belongs to Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al Nahyan, a member of the Emirati Royal Family.
With a maximum speed of 26 knots, it’s both fast and extravagant – a striking combination for a vessel once designed for war, but now kitted out for luxury.
It’s no wonder that this thing has been spotted at Monaco.
But how exactly does it cost $18 million to run?
So that’s around 10 percent of the sale tag, and around $49,000 a day.
What factors into that? Crew salaries, fuel, dockage, and ongoing maintenance.
For the Sheikh, who belongs to a family with a fortune exceeding $300 billion, this will barely be a drop in the ocean – if you pardon the pun.
These superyachts are out of this world
There’s a lot of exceptional superyachts out there, but some really do stand out from the crowd.
Quite a few famous names own remarkable superyachts, including Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.
And then there are the superyachts owned by the nameless billionaires, like Project Tanzanite.
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Following stints at LadBible, The Sun, The New York Post, and the Daily Mail, Ben joined the team full-time in February 2025. In his role as Senior Content Writer, his sparkling copy, the ability to sniff out a good story at 100 paces, and a GSOH quickly led to him becoming an integral and invaluable member of the writing staff.
