We went on board the superyacht “Lusine”, a 60 metre long full custom built by the Dutch shipyard Heesen Yachts and delivered to its owner in February 2022.

It was one of the many superyachts on display at the latest edition of the Monaco Yacht Show, but with one distinctive trait. During our tour on board, Sara Gioanola from the Heesen Yachts press department showed us something that makes this superyacht very different: a piece of lunar meteorite, set in palladium, the most precious metal on Earth.

Before being named “Lusine”, which in Armenian means “Moon”, design YN 19360 was known as Project Falcon and, during testing in the Northern Sea, it reached a maximum speed of 17.5 knots, propelled by two  MTU 12V 4000 M65L diesel engines, with an autonomy of 4,200 miles at 13 knots. Its exterior was designed by Omega Architects.

With a length of 60 metres and gross tonnage of around 1060 GT, this superyacht presented a number of challenges for the engineers and artisans of Heesen, who developed intelligent solutions to satisfy the owner and their team, like storing the Boston Whaler tender in the aft garage with launch ramp.

“Thanks to the skills acquired – explained Peter van der Zanden, general manager for the shipyard’s design, development and engineering departments – throughout the evolution of our fleet over the years, our naval engineering and architecture teams easily hit all the targets. Lusine is one of the most complex steel yachts that we have ever delivered, but our experience helped us to find ingenious solutions.”

Lusine’s layout is full custom, designed around the owners and their family’s lifestyle. The superyacht can accommodate 12 people in 6 comfortable cabins, with the owner’s suite on the aft main deck. The touch-and-go heliport, for private use, serviced by an enclosed and air-conditioned reception area, guarantees discrete boarding. Top quality service is at the heart of the layout: separate corridors throughout the yacht ensure that the crew can do their jobs without disturbing the passengers.

Video by Claudio Colombo