superyacht times cosmos

• Destinations & Hotel Guide

• NEWSLETTER Sign up!
• MAGAZINE Subscribe!

Lürssen has launched 114m yacht Project Cosmos

Lürssen has launched today Project Cosmos, the new 114.20m with the exterior and interior design by Marc Newson. Over the coming months, Lürssen personnel will outfit the vessel in a neighborhood facility as the company’s own docks are either occupied or undergoing structural modernisation work themselves. Project Cosmos will be the first Lürssen yacht to feature fuel cell technology on board.

IN THE NEWS

An unparalleled wellbeing on board the new 40m benetti oasis, 50m bilgin eternal spark for charter, 62m project nacre in build on speculation, feadship launches project 821, the world’s first hydrogen fuel-cell superyacht.

Find anything, super fast.

• Destinations
• Documentaries

Lürssen Launches 114m Superyacht Project Cosmos

By Heather Collier

German shipyard Lürssen has now completed its technical launch of 114-metre Project Cosmos, which was spotted leaving its site in Rendsburg earlier this afternoon.

Since it's initial construction in 2020, Project Cosmos has been confirmed as one of the largest yachts currently under construction, with it being the 5th largest project underway for the shipyard, with seven in total over the 100-metre mark.

The vessel sports an explorer-style profile with the superstructure placed forward, allowing for a large aft deck and swimming pool.

Boasting four decks, and what appears to be an observation lounge and helipad, her exterior and interior design were penned by Marc Newson. She will also be the first Lürssen yacht to feature fuel cell technology on board.

Over the coming months, Lürssen personnel will outfit her in a neighborhood facility, as the shipyard's own docks will continue to either be occupied by other vessels or undergoing structural modernisation work.

We look forward to following Project Cosmos as she continues her journey to completion.

"Owners are looking at how they can use the yacht close to the sea and with the sea. However, there is no clear trend, other than people are getting more and more bespoke. They want their yacht – that fits their lifestyle." Peter Lürssen, CEO, Lürssen

"Owners are looking at how they can use the yacht close to the sea and with the sea. However, there is no clear trend, other than people are getting more and more bespoke. They want their yacht – that fits their lifestyle."

Related News

Featured events.

The global authority in superyachting

• NEWSLETTERS
• Yachts Home
• The Superyacht Directory
• Yacht Reports
• Brokerage News
• The largest yachts in the world
• The Register
• Yacht Advice
• Yacht Design
• 12m to 24m yachts
• Monaco Yacht Show
• Builder Directory
• Designer Directory
• Interior Design Directory
• Naval Architect Directory
• Yachts for sale home
• Motor yachts
• Sailing yachts
• Explorer yachts
• Classic yachts
• Sale Broker Directory
• Charter Home
• Yachts for Charter
• Charter Destinations
• Charter Broker Directory
• Destinations Home
• Mediterranean
• South Pacific
• Rest of the World
• Boat Life Home
• Owners' Experiences
• Conservation and Philanthropy
• Interiors Suppliers
• Owners' Club
• Captains' Club
• BOAT Showcase
• Boat Presents
• Events Home
• World Superyacht Awards
• Superyacht Design Festival
• Design and Innovation Awards
• Young Designer of the Year Award
• Artistry and Craft Awards
• Explorer Yachts Summit
• Ocean Talks
• The Ocean Awards
• BOAT Connect
• Between the bays
• Golf Invitational
• BOATPro Home
• Superyacht Insight
• Global Order Book
• Premium Content
• Product Features
• Testimonials
• Pricing Plan
• Tenders & Equipment

Project Cosmos: Inside the Construction of the 80 Metre Heesen Superyacht

The team behind the construction of the 80 metre all aluminium Project Cosmos , the largest yacht ever built by Heesen , has opened up about the in-build superyacht.

With exterior design by Winch Design , Project Cosmos has now begun outfitting after the joining of the hull and superstructure earlier this month. The yacht is on track for its scheduled launch date of November 19, 2021.

Speaking to  BOAT International  about the record-breaking yacht, Heesen’s director of sales and marketing Mark Cavendish revealed that Project Cosmos's owners “like this type of sleek, high-speed yacht”.

He predicted that Project Cosmos will be “one of the biggest and fastest yachts in the world”. Equipped with four MTU 4000 M73 engines totalling 19,000hp, Project Cosmos is estimated to achieve a top speed of just under 30 knots.

The “sleek, streamlined and sporty” exterior is paired with a “luxury interior”, Cavendish said, with “marble bathrooms and finely fitted furnishings”. Elsewhere, Project Cosmos will feature a helicopter platform at the bow and a large swimming pool and wellness centre aft.

“She’s every inch a high-end luxury yacht but just faster than the others,” he added.

Winch Design’s yacht exteriors associate James Russell added: “We wanted to create something fairly timeless that also retained the Heesen DNA.”

Both Cavendish and Russell discussed the greatest challenges in the design and construction of Project Cosmos. Cavendish said achieving a top speed of almost 30 knots was a key challenge.

“In order to make the boat go fast, you’ve got to keep the weight down and to do that the only material you can build in is aluminium,” Cavendish said.

However, the “softness” of aluminium posed challenges in achieving the necessary rigidity. “You really need to know how to construct it to maintain the rigidity and strength you need for a boat of this size,” he said.

As a result, the design team developed and patented a new method of naval architecture called the 'Backbone'.

“It’s more or less the same principal as the regular steel I-Beam girder,” Cavendish said. “We’ve got the two sides of the ship and then at the bottom we have the keel and they’re all linked through the structure in the middle that gives the rigidity and stops the boat from bending. All the strength is in the structure.”

The immense power of Project Cosmos’s propulsion package – four MTU 4000 M73 engines totalling 19,000hp – also caused challenges, Cavendish said.

The engines are connected in pairs to two gearboxes, resulting in two propellers, rather than four.

“We have two engines driving each gearbox and propeller so there’s a tremendous amount of power,” Cavendish explained.

To solve this, the team installed controllable pitch propellers that allow the captain to control the pitch and adjust the power.

“Otherwise, when you engage the thrust, they’ll be too much power going to each propeller,” Cavendish added.

Both Cavendish and Russell highlighted the yacht’s sundeck as a particularly impressive feature. Measuring 40 metres in length, the sundeck takes full advantage of the yacht’s 13.4 metre beam.

The yacht will also feature a movie screen at the bow that guests can watch from a seating area on the sundeck, which also features a dining table for 16 people.

“For me the sundeck is probably one of the best areas on the boat,” Cavendish added.

Sign up to BOAT Briefing email

Latest news, brokerage headlines and yacht exclusives, every weekday

By signing up for BOAT newsletters, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy .

More stories

Most popular, from our partners, sponsored listings.

By SuperyachtNews 10 Aug 2020

Project 'Cosmos': innovation in propeller and rudder design

Heesen's 80m motoryacht will feature a promas integrated propulsion system….

Once delivered, the 80m Heesen project Cosmos will be capable of reaching close to 30 knots and have an efficient cruising speed in excess of 20 knots. In terms of hydrodynamic efficiency, project Cosmos promises to be among the most advanced superyachts ever built, with a refined low-drag hull shape and an innovative propulsion system.

With four engines, two shafts, a half-load displacement of 1,100 tonnes and a required speed of 29 knots, project Cosmos presents a uniquely demanding set of parameters, and minimising appendage drag was not the only challenge for the design and build team. “The propellers will be under very high load at maximum speed,” explains Heesen naval architect Sjoerd van Herk. “And high loading can mean cavitation.”

Cavitation describes when vapour bubbles form in the flow of water around and behind a vessel’s propeller. It is particularly challenging at high speed, and as well as affecting performance it can also have severe impacts on noise and vibration – a critical consideration for any superyacht project, especially for one designed to achieve close to 30 knots.

Therefore, the propeller design on project Cosmos had to be fine-tuned not only to ensure the speed and efficiency requirements are met, but also that any potential problems with cavitation can be eliminated. As such, Heesen approached Norwegian propulsion specialist Kongsberg for its expertise in propeller design. The company also has an innovative approach to rudders, with its integrated propulsion system Promas having been in development since 2004. “The benefit comes from designing the rudder and propeller to suit each other,” says Carola Andersson of Kongsberg.

Kongsberg’s Promas propulsion system features a special hubcap fitted to the propeller, which streamlines the flow onto a bulb that is added to the rudder, effectively reducing flow separation immediately after the propeller. The result is an increase in propeller thrust as previously wasted energy is recovered from the flow. The addition of the bulb on the rudder also streamlines the flow aft of the rudder, further reducing drag. A twisted rudder provides further improvements in efficiency and manoeuvrability.

Each Promas propulsion system is tailored to its particular hull. Heesen shared data with Kongsberg about resistance, tank test results, and information about waterflow around the hull from van Oossanen’s CFD simulations. “There was a strong collaboration between the three of us,” adds van Herk.

Because of the specific performance requirements of Cosmos , variable-pitch propellers were essential. Two new propeller designs were evaluated in Kongsberg’s test tank before the blade shape was finalised. Testing showed that the propellers were almost free of cavitation at 30 knots, and completely free of cavitation at 20 knots.

Promas essentially transforms an element of propeller design that has long been regarded as a passive participant in ship operation into an active contributor to a vessel’s hydrodynamic efficiency – even in a vessel as optimised for low drag as Cosmos . “The rudder alone will account for an extra half knot at top speed,” concludes van Herk.

Heesen recently announced that the hull and superstructure of project Cosmos are now joined together – the project’s sleek profile, penned by renowned British studio Winch Design, can at last be admired for the first time. The yacht will now undergo the outfitting process in the run up to its launch in 2021.

Profile links

VAN OOSSANEN NAVAL ARCHITECTS

Heesen Yachts

Join the discussion

To post comments please Sign in or Register

When commenting please follow our house rules

Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here .

Related news

The importance of innovation

Martin Redmayne wants to sift out the true innovations driving our industry forward

Superyacht cranes with 2:1 strength-to-weight ratios

The NS-Series cranes by Nautical Structures are fabricated entirely from aluminium and Duplex stainless steel

Heesen delivers 'Amare II'

The 50m hybrid suuperyacht suffered only minor delays as a result of COVID-19

Is the superyacht sector ready to switch over to hybrid power?

ABS' Daniele Bottino discusses the evolving regulations that supports low noise, lower emission dual fuel designs

3D printing in superyacht construction

Yachting Developments' in-house 3D printing capabilities are being applied to superyacht refit and build projects

4 years ago

Sign up to the SuperyachtNews Bulletin

Receive unrivalled market intelligence, weekly headlines and the most relevant and insightful journalism directly to your inbox.

Sign up to the SuperyachtNews Bulletin

The superyachtnews app.

Follow us on

Media Pack Request

Please select exactly what you would like to receive from us by ticking the boxes below:

SuperyachtNews.com

Register to comment

672 Wine Club

• Motorcycles
• Car of the Month
• Destinations
• Men’s Fashion
• Watch Collector
• Art & Collectibles
• Vacation Homes
• Celebrity Homes
• New Construction
• Home Design
• Electronics
• Fine Dining
• Benchmark Wines
• Brian Fox Art
• Disneyland Resort
• Ka La’I Wakiki Beach
• Kalamazoo Grill
• Raffles Hotels & Resorts
• Sports & Leisure
• Health & Wellness
• Best of the Best
• The Ultimate Gift Guide

How a Unique ‘Backbone’ Helps This New 262-Foot Superyacht Zip Through the Water

Heesen's patented construction gives the big, fast and lightweight yacht the structural rigidity to hit 30 knots., julia zaltzman, julia zaltzman's most recent stories.

• These Charter Yachts Let You Tag Hammerhead Sharks and Count Spirit Bears for Research
• These Luxe Villas Are the Place to Stay in This Retro-Chic Enclave on the Tuscan Coast
• The 7 Most Exciting New Superyacht Marinas in the World
• Share This Article

Some might say it takes backbone to build an owner’s dream yacht. Nerves of steel, so to speak. But few shipyards take that metaphor literally. When Heesen ’s 262-foot aluminum Cosmos is completed, she will be the first boat in the world to draw its strength and rigidity from a flat metal bar. Reminiscent of an I-girder support beam used in the construction of skyscrapers, Heesen has coined it the “Backbone.”

• Review: Bentley’s Opulent Bentayga EWB Azure V8 SUV Is a Surprisingly Agile Beast
• Car of the Week: This 2022 Lamborghini Countach Could Fetch More Than $3 Million at Auction
• SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Mission Returns Safely to Earth After Its Record-Breaking Flight

Currently in build at the Dutch shipyard’s facilities in Oss, Cosmos—whose hull and superstructure were joined together this month—was commissioned by an experienced owner with a penchant for speed. Requesting a cruiser at the 200-foot mark is one thing, but when the yacht extends upwards of 260-feet, the physics become more challenging, says Mark Cavendish, sales and marketing director at Heesen.

“Weight is the big enemy of speed, so to keep the weight down we had to build in aluminum which is much softer than steel,” Cavendish told Robb Report . “We needed to get strength and rigidity into the hull and stop it from flexing, so we developed the now patented Backbone technology that allows us to build a long hull and still keep it rigid.”

The Backbone gives Cosmos structural rigidity so it can reach 30 knots. Hull and superstructure were joined this month.  Heesen Yachts

Developed in partnership with Dutch hydrodynamicists Van Oossanen, Cosmos’s fast displacement platform is essentially made up of two long, flat metal plates joined together by a vertical plate in the middle. The strength and rigidity centers from the top of the deck, to the port and starboard sides, and down to the bottom of the keel, says Cavendish, while “the hull itself is basically there to keep the water out and the furniture in.”

To deliver on the yard’s promise of a near 30-knot top speed, four MTU engines totaling 19,000 horsepower will drive two controllable pitch propellers.

In addition to size and speed, the owner’s brief included a fully certified helipad. This, says James Russell of Winch Design, determined the length and proportions of the bow, as well as the position of the superstructure. When not being used as a helipad, the bow features a 16-foot-wide cinema screen that pops out forward. Integrated sofas for starlit film viewing sink completely flush to the deck when not in use, so as to be in compliance with helipad regulations.

The helipad converts into a social area by day and mini-cinema at night, with a movie screen on the foredeck. 

A full-beam, 885-square-foot sun deck is another important design element for the owner, Russell told Robb Report , who adds that “the client intends to spend a lot of time up there with guests and family.”

Large, sweeping panes of glass trace the arching line of the superstructure, filling the Sinot-designed interior with natural light. On the main deck aft is a 23-foot glass-bottomed pool with a waterfall that plunges from the deck above and shining down on the wellness retreat below. This area opens up to the transom and portside platforms to create a fully fledged beach club.

With Heesen building ever-larger superyachts, the patented Backbone could be used on future builds.  Heesen Yachts

With so much riding on Heesen’s new patented technology, is the Backbone a one-off? “That depends on who wants to build another boat like Cosmos,” says Cavendish. “We’re building bigger and bigger boats now. Cosmos is our largest to date, and if somebody else comes along and wants to do something similar then I’m sure we’ll roll out the Backbone again when needed.”

Cosmos is scheduled for delivery in April 2022.

Read More On:

More marine.

Meet Spitfire, a New 164-Foot Superyacht Based on a High-Performance Patrol Boat

What It’s Like to Watch an America’s Cup Race Right on the Water

Austin Parker Unveils Not One but 6 New Yachts at Cannes Fest

This New 72-Foot Yacht’s New Hybrid Propulsion System Is the First of Its Kind

Meet the Wine Club That Thinks Differently.

Receive editor-curated reds from boutique California producers four times a year.

Give the Gift of Luxury

Latest Galleries in Marine

Spitfire Superyacht in Photos

The AX/E 22 and AX/E 25 in Photos

More from our brands, willy chavarria’s grounded approach extends to more than just fashion, prime video, everpass sign distribution deal for nfl ‘tnf’, elon musk deletes x post musing about kamala harris assassination, claims it was ‘joke’ that was ‘funny’ in ‘context’, sarah lewis’s new book shows how photography taught americans to “see” race, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors.

The Superyacht Market Intelligence System

First-class intelligence platform to help yacht professionals and owners making informed and impactful decisions in the yachting industry.