Saudi Arabia’s $8b turtle-shaped yacht would be a floating city that breaks records
- Saudi Arabia wants to build a massive turtle-shaped yacht that’s both a vessel, and a floating city
- At 1,800 feet (550 meters), this would set a world record for the largest floating structure ever made
- The Saudi Arabia cruise ship turtle will include shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, public parks, ports for smaller ships and, of course, residential buildings
Published on Nov 28, 2023 at 6:17 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Dec 07, 2023 at 1:14 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Adam Gray
Saudi Arabia wants to build a massive turtle-shaped yacht that’s both a vessel, and a floating city.
Not only will it be massive, it will also be massively expensive.
Saudi Arabia plans to spend around $8 billion on this project.
READ MORE: Saudi Arabia is building a $1.6 billion ultra-luxury yacht club to rival Monaco
The yacht is called Pangeos, after Pangea, the supercontinent that existed 200 million years ago – but this is unlike anything we’ve seen before.
At 1,800 feet (550 meters), this would set a world record for the largest floating structure ever made.
It is three times longer than the largest yacht in the world, the Azzam.
According to Lazzarini, the design studio that’s working on the project with Saudi Arabia, this is technically a yacht.
It can cover great distances by floating on water, and it can be moored to the pierside.
However, the idea is to turn this into a full-on, self-sustaining city.
The Saudi Arabia cruise ship turtle will include shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, public parks, ports for smaller ships and, of course, residential buildings.
The turtle-shaped yacht is able to stay afloat thanks to over 30,000 cells placed underneath the living space.
It has a cruising speed of five knots.
It’s not exactly what you’d call as fast as lightning, but it’s more than enough to keep it afloat and circumnavigate the globe.
A significant portion of the hull and the beam would be covered with solar panels to provide energy.
Even though this is just a prototype and a design study, Lazzarini and Saudi Arabia are taking it seriously.
They say that construction could start in 2033 and it would take about eight years to complete.
They’ve actually launched a crowdfunding campaign allowing anyone to buy a virtual ticket for $16 or an NFT that gives you access to your own virtual apartment in the turtle yacht.
For some reason we feel that wouldn’t be enough to get to $8 billion, though.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
