Some people look at the sea as a relaxing playground, a place for champagne and caviar sunsets atop yacht decks following midday PWC frolics through crystal-clear waters. Others will happily give up those tropical comforts to don their Sunday-best polar suits and circle the choppy, sea ice-laced waters of Antarctica on the all-new Ocea Nemo 50 ICE megayacht. This impressive aluminum sea beast lets hardy owners explore Earth's extremes in comfort and style.
It looks very different from the personal submarine and hovercraft-hauling sporting vessel the company was launching the last time we looked at it, but the Nemo 50 ICE project still qualifies as a "sport utility yacht," according to Ocea. However, this yacht project is less about fun under the sun and much more about extended expeditions to some of the most foreboding, uncomfortable (but beautiful) latitudes in the world.
Perhaps the ultimate one-up over the adventure-hungry overlander spending millions on an all-terrain land yacht like the EarthRoamer XV-HD, the intimidatingly massive 164-foot (50-m) Nemo 50 ICE will let its owner skip over the obligatory Pan-American Highway road trip and African safaris and satiate their exploratory cravings by heading straight for the waters of the Arctic or Antarctic. That's the type of rare-breed customer Ocea is courting with the new 50 ICE, though the big yacht will be up to the task of exploring warmer, more accessible parts of the world, as well.
Ocea's core business experience building military ships is sure to come in handy in developing an ice class yacht built for extended trips in extreme conditions. In fact, the company says it's currently working on a 279-footer (85-m) that will debut as the world's largest all-aluminum military vessel. Such aluminum construction of hull and superstructure will play a key role in fortifying the 50 ICE for navigation through choppy, icy waters.
The 50 ICE will come powered by two CAT C32 engines putting out 1,450 bhp (1,081 kW) a piece. A set of structural skegs will protect the propellor shafts, five-blade propellers and rudders in the event of collision with an iceberg or other large, partially submerged sea debris.
Ocea projects a 16-knot (30-km/h) top speed and 14-knot (26-km/h) cruising speed. With 70,000 liters of fuel on board, the 50 ICE will have a range of 5,000 nautical miles, at 10 knots (9,260 km, at 18.5 km/h).
The 50 ICE's engine room will be structured for easy access to every component, and a workshop will help in making timely emergency repairs. The workshop and neighboring control room will be connected by passageway to the crew quarters for added efficiency.
The Nemo 50 ICE will be designed to hold 10 guests and 10 crew members. Ocea hasn't yet released the renderings of the onboard accommodations, but it does say that the vessel will feature a full-width owner's apartment in the fore of the main deck. Along with a bedroom, that apartment will include a private lounge/work area and a bathroom large enough to accommodate a sauna, if desired (and who wouldn't desire a sauna when motoring through frigid, polar waters).
The vessel will carry 8,000 liters of fresh water and have a 2,000-liter black/gray water capacity. It will be capable of launching and recovering tenders, rigid-hulled inflatables and landing craft with its dedicated handling equipment.
Ocea will develop the Nemo 50 ICE with designer Fulvio de Simoni and Aldo Manna, head of the recently opened Ocea Mediterranean Office.
If the Nemo 50 ICE looks a little too small and constricting for your Antarctic holiday, perhaps the recently announced Ida Pfeiffer would be more your size.
Source: Ocea
This kind of thing would be really useful for a supervillain.