Topaz – The Superyacht of Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Shrouded in mystery, the Topaz is somewhat of an enigma on the oceans. Although it is often seen docking in ports around the world, nobody really knows which celebrity is renting the luxurious vessel at the time. When approaching harbours the Topaz is known to remain around a mile or so off the breakwater to maintain privacy of its visitors. Despite these measures, the media has reported that Leonardo di Caprio rented the Topaz in 2014 and that other stars like Jamie Foxx and Orlando Bloom have also spent some time on the ship.
The grandness of the Topaz is no mystery
Launched in 2012, the Topaz was built by the German yacht building company Lürssen in Bremen. Lürssen also built the Azzam, another one of the world’s largest and most extravagant yachts. To build the Topaz, the shipyard had to take the yacht to a 220 metre dry dock to accommodate the process. The sleek exterior was designed by Tim Heywood and the interior was conceived by UK based Terence Disdale Design. The main engines were developed especially for the yacht by Lürssen, and are Pielstick diesel engines, each with the capacity for 7,990 hp. The Topaz can easily achieve a cruising speed of 22.9 knots and an impressive maximum speed of more than 25.5 knots. The yacht is 147 metres long and is estimated to have cost around US$27 million.
Beautiful interior and top amenities
The Topaz offers a smooth journey to passengers with zero-speed stabilizers installed and lifts to transport guests between its eight levels. The comfort and luxury on offer also includes two hot tubs, a cinema, air conditioning throughout the interior, a tender garage and two helicopter pads. Guests can stay active with the swimming pool located on the deck, the swimming platform and the fitness hall. There are also underwater lights and a large conference room. Although no images of the interior are available to the public, one can only imagine that it is as stunning as every other yacht designed by the award-winning Terence Disdale Design – like the Eclipse owned by Roman Abramovich and the Pelorus owned by David Geffen.
Who owns this enigmatic ship?
The beautiful yacht is owned by the billionaire politician Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who serves as deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. Sheik Mansour assumed office in May 2009 and serves with President Khalifa bin Zyaed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He is the half-brother of the President of the UAE. Sheik Mansour is married to Sheikha Alia bint Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed and Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Sheik Mansour has five children, Zayed, Fatima, Mohammed, Hamden and Latifa. It is because of his royal status that the construction and interior of the Topaz could be held in such secrecy. Besides his political career the Sheik is also a stakeholder of several successful businesses including Sky News Arabia and Virgin Galactic and the owner of ADUG, the investment firm that owns Manchester City Football Club.
