MYS 2019: Espen Øino on Designing with Purpose

By Rose-Hannah Lishman

With an office poised at the tip of Port Hercules, nobody is more at home in our Monaco Yacht Show Breaking News Centre than Espen Øino. The famed designer joined us in the hot seat on Day 1 to discuss all things yacht design and with the impending launch of the largest superyacht in the world penned by the man himself, it wasn’t long before talk turned to REV…

Espen joins us at midday, straight from his first client meeting of the show; evidence that the MYS is the busiest week of the year even for local residents. The designer starts by announcing his new collaboration between Wally Yachts for the Wally Power 165. In fact, it seems, the man responsible for the lines of many yachts above 80m is going back to his roots, working on a number of smaller vessels including a Windy production boat too. 

But from small, to the world’s largest, we had to ask about the 182.9 metre Vard explorer REV. Espen begins, “Designing the world’s largest yacht in itself isn’t exciting, what is exciting is the boat because it’s such an unusual yacht. It’s a science yacht, it’s a yacht with purpose, noble purpose.” And indeed, with REV set to traverse the world’s oceans, it’s intentions are to go and discover what no yacht has seen before. 

The world’s largest yacht designer continues, “Packed with technical systems, with a moon pool, with labs, with huge crains, sonars that come out of the bottom of the boat, it’s really something very unique and sophisticated.” And what this means for the superyacht industry? “It really is a showcase on where I think marine engineering and systems are at in today’s world.” 

Espen also told Superyachts.com about his year in perspective. So far in 2019, the studio has celebrated its 25th year and its 50th boat. With an average of two yachts delivered per year since the studio's humble beginnings, we not only look forward to seeing REV on the water, but the future lines from the increasingly relevant designer. 

"Designing the world’s largest yacht in itself isn’t exciting, what is exciting is the boat because it’s such an unusual yacht. It’s a science yacht, it’s a yacht with purpose, noble purpose."

Espen Øino

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"Designing the world’s largest yacht in itself isn’t exciting, what is exciting is the boat because it’s such an unusual yacht. It’s a science yacht, it’s a yacht with purpose, noble purpose."

Espen Øino
By Rose-Hannah Lishman
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