The Yachting Oscars

1. Largest Yacht - Azzam
A regular feature in the superyacht league tables, Azzam is the biggest private boat in the world at 180m - for reference, that is the length of 12 double-decker buses. The project was assembled by engineer Mubarak Saad al Ahbabi, with technical engineering by Lurssen, exteriors by Nauta Yachts and interiors by Christophe Leoni. In a world where yachts are getting bigger and bolder, Azzam is a huge milestone.

2. Largest Concept - Valkyrie
If constructed, the truly ambitious Valkyrie will surpass Azzam by 50m. The 229m has been designed by Chulhun Park, Senior Designer at Latitude Yachts, and will feature a a casino, theatre, gallery and a convention hall. Meanwhile, her curvy and fluid shape also ranks for most mesmerizing exterior.

3. Fastest Yacht - The World is Not Enough
Half speed boat and half luxury superyacht, the award for the fastest boat on the water goes to Millennium build The World is Not Enough. This 42m superyacht can reach a staggering top speed of 70 knots, despite the typical speed for a superyacht of her size is between 20-25 knots. This has been achieved through a lightweight alloy superstructure, a dead-rise V hull design for aerodynamism, and an awful lot of horsepower to boot.

4. Oldest Yacht - El Mahrousa
The boat that has been around the longest is El Mahrousa. This antique yacht has a fascinating backstory - the 145.72m was built by Samuda Bros in 1865, and presented to the Ottoman governor of Egypt Khedive Ismail at the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal in 1869. She then slipped into disrepair whilst being used as a museum ship, before a 1992 overhaul made her seaworthy once again.

5. Most Expensive Yacht - Eclipse
She might not be as big as Azzam, but Eclipse takes home the prize for the highest grossing yacht. Roman Abramovich is rumoured to have paid a mind numbing $1.5 billion for her, receiving in return an intruder detection system, missile defense, 2 helipads, a submarine, 24 guest cabins, a disco hall and two swimming pools. When you consider that one needs to spend approximately one tenth of the initial price of the vessel each year for upkeep after purchase, we are talking serious money.

6. Most Colourful Yacht - Ipanema
Mondomarine’s 50m superyacht Ipanema’s high-gloss scarlet hue wins her the title of the most colourful yacht. The striking hull was designed by Hot Lab, and does much to set the yacht apart from the ‘wedding cake’ crowd - the hoards of white hulled and staggered-deck superyachts that we see everyday.

7. Craziest Concept - Streets of Monaco
Streets of Monaco is a concept that asks its baffled audience: What if Monaco could float? For this, it earns the title of most daring yacht idea ever. The 152m vessel would be a recreation of the Mediterranean principality, with the famous grand prix circuit being reimagined as a go-kart track. With the amount of technical and engineering challenges facing such an ambitious project, Streets of Monaco would definitely have to be seen to be believed.