[Watch] Anchors away! Unique yacht Yersin to sail under Maltese flag

Anchors Away! Unique yacht Yersin to sail under Maltese flag

The 76.6 metre-long, privately owned motor yacht Yersin, which arrived in Malta a few days ago, was a custom built yacht which has been five years in the making.

The yacht, a bran-child of philanthropist Francois Fiat, who designed and commissioned the building of the vessel, it was built with three main aims; Adventure, Science and Education (ASE).

“The boat took three years to be built and an additional two years of research to be planned before that,” Captain Jean Du Marais told journalists who were taken on a tour of the vessel, currently moored in Malta.

“The intention is for the yacht to ultimately contribute to advancement in scientific and ecological research and education with the ultimate aim of assisting with the preservation of the environment,” Fiat said.

He added that the vessel intended to embark on long and short distances in varied weather conditions and temperatures.

“The yacht is equipped to withstand temperatures from -20 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius, and it’s tents can withstand winds of up to 100 knots, as well as 30 tonnes of snow,” Du Marais said adding that the vessel was also built with stability in mind.

“The vessel was designed to eliminate the swaying that is a direct result of bad weather. It is also designed to allow people to work within the boat itself,” he said showing the research labs to the press, and explaining that the vessel had also been insulated to eliminate the overwhelming noise that engines in research vessels would normally create.

Du Marais added that the vessel could take up to 38 passengers including the crew and that it was fully equipped with the necessary safety measures and with a workshop that allows it to be as self sufficient as possible and carry out maintenance on the vessel itself.

“The control room also has worldwide communication capability, and it is equipped both with a regular radar, and with a specific radar so that the vessel will be able to explore even rivers. The vessel also has a sonar that is essential for the boat to minimize the impact it can have on its surrounding environment, particularly in areas such as the Coral Reef.”

Du Marais also explained that the vessel had a special waste treatment system; whereby it never emitted any harmful chemicals into the sea or even the air, through a garbage treatment and exhaust fume filtration system.

“The vessel can go for ten days at full capacity without having to throw any garbage overboard,” Du Marais added, explaining that the boat ran mostly on diesel and electricity, to further protect the environment.

“The vessel even ahs a sea water filtration system to make drinking water to avoid bringing plastic bottles on board.”

Addressing the press at the end of the tour Fiat said that he vessel was a multi-purpose vessel and that it was looking forward to reaching agreements with interested schools and scientists to make extensive use of its state of the art technology.

“The yacht is unique in that it is the only privately owned yacht which dedicates 70% of its space to research,” Fiat said, explaining that luxury yachts more often than not dedicated a mere 30% to research.

Fiat also explained that they had chosen to sail under a Maltese flag because Malta is a very respected and well-recognized flag around the world, and also because they felt that Malta was a stronghold of the Mediterranean culture, having a very similar culture and history to their homeland, France.