Dubai ruler Maktoum to reclaim mega yacht crown from Roman Abramovich

Russian billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich's superyacht Eclipse is about to be superseded as the world's largest privately owner ship. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

THE ruler of Dubai, who already has the world's tallest building, could soon be the ruler of the high seas, too, after 24 inches are added to his mega yacht.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is set to regain the title of the Billionaire with the Biggest Boat. He lost this to Roman Abramovich, 43, when the Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea football club launched the Eclipse, his pounds 300m vessel, 15 months ago.

Business magazines such as Forbes have pegged its length at 557ft - nearly the size of two football pitches.

The Russian businessman is famed for guarding his privacy but the Eclipse's length may have been exaggerated. According to the latest Superyachting Index, an annual compilation by Camper & Nicholsons, whose brokers have been measuring boats since 1782, it is 533ft long - making it just 18in longer than the Dubai, Maktoum's boat.

That lead is now in peril. The Dubai was commissioned for Prince Jefri Bolkiah, the playboy brother of the Sultan of Brunei, until he ran into financial difficulties. The ship was eventually completed in 2006 in the dockyards of Dubai for Maktoum.

The sheikh, 61, who breeds champion racehorses in Britain and Ireland, is - according to sources in the United Arab Emirates - preparing not only to refurbish but also to lengthen the Dubai.

Platinum Yachts, which built the Dubai, is considering updates that could include a black box radar to be mounted jutting forward from under the prow. This alone would make the Dubai 6in longer than the Eclipse.

It is also considering adding a 6ft "beach" to the Dubai's stern. "These beaches have become very fashionable among superyacht owners over the past couple of years," said a shipping expert last week.

"They are extensions, platforms for sunbathing or holding a party at water level so you can just slide into the waves. The Dubai has room for a beach, but the Eclipse does not. So the sheikh could reclaim his crown as ruler of the seas."

Platinum did not return telephone calls last week, but a port official said the Dubai was due to be refurbished next year when such cosmetic fixes could be added.

"We are very proud of the Dubai, but you have to keep making her better," he said. "And bigger."

Dubai has been gripped by a size obsession since last January when it opened the world's tallest skyscraper, the 2,717ft Burj Khalifa tower.

Rebecca Cahilly, editor of Showboats International magazine, said: "It's not about extending the prow so you have bragging rights as the longest boat in the world. It's about the art of shipbuilding, too, the wow factor. It's about passion."

Yet the race for the longest yacht may be running out of steam. Matt Emerson, of Camper & Nicholsons, said the next trend will be restoring classic yachts - James Dyson is rebuilding the Nahlin, once owned by the Romanian royal family - and smaller boats. "The headache with the biggest yachts is that you cannot fit into smaller ports. There are smaller superyachts coming along so their owners can meet up in Nantucket and St Barts, places they have missed for years," Emerson said.

The Sunday Times