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The global eco-yacht with the tiny tank, by Tristan Rutherford

Camper & Nicholsons SEA+I Magazine, September 2021

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Emocean seldom needs a marina. That’s because this brand new explorer yacht can cruise 5,000nm - the distance from Britain to Brazil - while consuming the same fuel load as a large tender. 

 

The mission of her two vegan owners was simple. To create the leanest, greenest superyacht on planet earth. Their wishlist was longer. Capacity for 12 guests. A sundeck infinity pool. A draft barely deeper than 2m, enabling her to glide into any anchorage from Vis to St Vincent. 

 

Like a true explorer, Emocean couples autonomy with attitude. She carries spare parts to fix problems at sea within a 38m steel hull. A potable water system that can mineralise or spritz drinking water without the need for plastic bottles. A crystal glass cellar that can chill 150 bottles of organic wine. Most importantly, she has the ability to cruise the natural world while imparting a tiny carbon footprint. 

 

Yet here’s the irony. To render Emocean unbreakable, her owners chose Rosetti Superyachts in Ravenna. In 1960 this shipyard started producing tug boats and supply vessels for the Adriatic oil and gas industry. Not very eco. However for Rosetti’s Sales and Marketing Director, Andrea Giora, that history is a bonus. “The 100 commercial vessels we built are strong, stable and have excellent sea keeping ability,” he explains. “Rosetti’s energy industry vessels have to work in all conditions far away from infrastructures,” from ‘Hurricane Alley’ in the Gulf of Mexico to the tumultuous North Sea. 

 

With Emocean, Giora and his team were given a chance to pivot their knowledge. “We made our experience open for owners looking for an ultra reliable and efficient superyacht,” he explains. If 2021 charter bookings are any guide, Rosetti Superyachts have delivered a tough explorer that can turn heads from Iceland to the Indian Ocean.  

 

The design ethos aboard Emocean brings the outside in. While some yacht interiors hide from the ocean, or recreate the atmosphere of a country lodge, Emocean embodies the élan of an Ibizan beach club. Floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies turn seascapes into portraits. There are few doors or corridors to impede flow. Instead the Pilates IQ reformer and crystal glass wine cellar become features themselves. Her 350m2 deck space serves as a platform for cinema nights, wildlife spotting and alfresco dinners for 12. 

 

All chintz has been rinsed. The light-filled master suite appears teleported from a Milanese design hotel. There's a diving board that springs from the bridge deck directly into the drink. Contemporary Cassina sofas are made from 100% recycled fibre - mostly from PET bottles scooped from the sea.

 

Environmentalism sits at the core of Emocean’s build. However, her owners chose to inspire, not preach. Few charter parties will complain at the ban on toxic cleaning products. Or the provision of reef friendly sunscreen and biodegradable toiletries. Plastic water bottles, which comprise the principal source of yacht waste, have been eliminated. In their place is a Blupura water filtration system. Guests can fill their reusable Emocean bottles from aqua kiosks - choose chilled, sparkling and mineralised water - on each deck. 

 

The eco-chic mentality runs deep. Skin and fur have been replaced with natural fabrics and Econyl, a nylon made from regenerated landfill. Coverings are crafted from Alcantara, a soft recycled textile used inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Renewable woods make screens, pillars and parquet floors. Even crew uniforms are crafted from recycled ocean plastic. If guests desire, her private chef can propose an optional vegetarian day. Think black truffle gnocchi, medjool date hummus and blood orange sorbet. Although Camper & Nicholsons charters can also still order a carpaccio of Angus beef.

 

Did the owners’ eco aspirations impact the timescale at the Rosetti Superyachts shipyard? “They were not in a rush,” says Rosetti’s Sales and Marketing Director Andrea Giora. “They wanted us to deliver the right product, rather than the wrong product in a shorter time.” A key factor for the owners was the ability to select suppliers for each element, from carpentry to kitchen supplies, then interact with that provider to ensure minimal impact during the lifetime of their yacht. “Their selection wasn’t based upon price,” confirms Giora. “They desired quality and durability and sustainability. Rosetti Superyachts were happy to oblige.” 

 

A final game changer was the installation of a state-of-the-art electricity management system. It essentially supervises energy consumption, then automatically switches off outlets that aren’t functioning. All of which promises a tiny fuel bill to Emocean’s owners and disembarking guests alike. 

 

Emocean’s toys are literally electrifying. On constant charge is the Seabob F5 SR, the most powerful personal underwater craft. Using twin cameras, it can beam video footable back to Emocean using WiFi. Ayala Club ebikes can whiz along the palm-shaded roads of Eleuthera in winter, or the coastal lanes around Cap Ferrat in summer. The DVI drone is of the type used by aerial photography units. It can track, film and broadcast a charter party’s excursions for HD editing back onboard. 

 

The fuelless toy flotilla is equally inspired. There’s a jellyfish pool. Kayaks. SUPs. And six carbon fibre STRiDA city bikes, which fold up like umbrellas. Thirst for gas? Emocean couldn’t resist a ZAR Formenti tender, built just outside Milan, and a 100cc scooter. You can take the man out of Italy but… 


Andrea Giora sums up the 2021 launch. “The owners of Emocean are not typical,” he concedes. “They do not want to sit in a marina or only do watersports in the Western Mediterranean.” Emocean’s green manifest is more globally aware. “Her owners wish to use her as another house to explore the world,” concludes Giora. With Camper & Nicholsons, that opportunity to cruise sustainably and stylishly is now open to all.

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Tristan Rutherford's superyacht writing also appears in Boat International.

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