HARLINGEN – Icon Yachts, the Dutch refit and conversion specialist, is repurposing two large vessels, turning them into 70m custom explorer yachts. Project Master, an Offshore Rescue and Support craft, entered Icon’s drydock recently when the yard was already working on Project UFO.
ICON made headlines with its 2020 launch of 68.2m (224ft) Ragnar. The one-time Sanaborg – built in the Netherlands in 2012 as a multi-purpose icebreaking supply vessel – entered the Icon yard in 2017 and emerged as Ragnar after an extreme make-over!
Located on the Netherlands’ northern North Sea shore, Icon excels in converting commercial craft into large explorer yachts. “Our main goal is to remain at the peak of our market, to be the leading conversion specialist,” says Icon CEO Tony Gale. “We’ve built a strong expertise from all our past projects – conversions, new builds and refits – while sourcing the most suitable commercial platforms.”
Project Master involves repurposing a former offshore tug and supply vessel built in 2001 in Norway. Polar Code-rated, it will accommodate 12 guests across six suites. There will be a 135 square meter (1,420 square feet) master stateroom and a private owner’s deck, three decks above the guest suites. Monaco-based Espen Øino International handles the design and styling.
Icon says Project Master will have ample space for the necessary equipment on an explorer yacht, such as tenders, water toys, a submarine, a hydraulic crane, all manner of exploration gear, and a fully-certified helicopter deck that can double as an entertainment area. “Close to 80% of the original vessel will be re-used or upcycled,” says Gale. “Even those parts that have been removed will be recycled into the marine industry as spares.”
Friso Hylkema, Icon’s newly hired head of business development, cannot yet say when Project UFO or Project Master will be launched. “The timeline depends on several particulars that are yet to be defined,” he says.
Icon Yachts will attend the Monaco Yacht Show (Sept. 27-29) and provide more details then and there.
