A £200million superyacht which ‘belongs to the Qatari royal family’ has joined the staycation crowds in Cornwall as it was spotted in Falmouth Harbour.
Katara, a secretive 410ft luxury vessel which was built for the country’s previous Emir in 2010, was watched in by hundreds of stunned locals and visitors.
The ‘floating palace’, which is one of the largest ships of its kind in the world, glided past the twin castles of St Mawes and Pendennis before it berthed.
It dropped anchor next to two other huge boats – cruise liner The World and superyacht Sherpa – in a trio thought to be worth £800million as they towered over St Anthony’s Lighthouse.
Katara is shrouded in secrecy and even as she approached Cornwall last night her AIS – the automatic identification system – was switched off.
It is widely thought the stunning ship belongs to the Qatari royal family, but the identity of the current owner has never been unveiled.
Katara, a secretive 410ft luxury vessel which was built for the country’s previous Emir in 2010, was watched in by hundreds of stunned locals and visitors
It dropped anchor next to two other huge boats – cruise liner The World and superyacht Sherpa – in a trio thought to be worth £800million as they towered over St Anthony’s Lighthouse
Yacht enthusiasts speculate it is the property of current Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani or Sheikh Nawaf bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al-Thani, who is chairman of the Katara Hospitality Group.
Katara, which was built in Germany at the Lurssen yard in 2010, features a helicopter deck, an array of satellite communication domes, various tenders and jet skis.
The 7,922-tonne superyacht also has a beach club, swimming pool, a gym and spa, on-deck hot tub as well as speculation of a main saloon that towers over two decks.
She has two 9,925 hp engines giving her a top speed of around 20 knots, but she generally cruises at about 15 knots.
As for her name, since the year 150AD, ‘Catara’ was the first and most ancient name designated for the Qatar Peninsula on maps.
The name spelt with a ‘K’ appeared on documents in the early 18th century and was written ‘Katara’ – instead of ‘Catara’ – on French maps of the area.
The vessel was built for the previous Emir of Qatar, who is the father of the current Emir, and sails under the Qatari flag.
Her home port is Doha, the country’s capital, and she is scheduled to leave Cornwall tomorrow according to the Falmouth Harbour Commissioners’ website.
Katara offers accommodation for up to 34 guests and can carry up to 95 crew members on board, according to Yachtcharterfleet.com.
The ‘floating palace’, which is one of the largest ships of its kind in the world, glided past the twin castles of St Mawes and Pendennis before it berthed
It is widely thought the stunning ship belongs to the Qatari royal family (pictured, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in April), but the identity of the current owner has never been unveiled
The website says: ‘The 124.4m custom motor yacht motor yacht ‘Katara’ was built by Lurssen in Germany at their Lemwerder shipyard, she was delivered to her owner in 2010. The yacht’s interior has been designed by Alberto Pinto.’
Charterworld.com adds: ‘Her impressive naval architecture was designed by the Lurssen in-house naval architects, with the exterior design by the world renowned designer Espen Oeino.
‘Katara megayacht was launched in April 2010. She features a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, carrying the hull number 13656. As her name suggests, the motor yacht Katara is flying a Qatar flag.’
The biggest yacht on the planet is the Azzam, which is 591ft and worth an estimated £411million. It is thought to be owned by the royal family of Abu Dhabi.
Second on the mega list is the 533ft, £342million Eclipse, which belongs to Chelsea foobtall club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich.