The 55m Lürssen superyacht Moon Sand, previously known as Project 13800, has arrived in London following the recent delivery of the yacht. Moon Sand began sea trials in June after hitting the water for the first time in April 2021, exactly three years after it was commissioned.
Designed by Bannenberg & Rowell, Moon Sand is described as “truly bespoke” with “distinctive lines” influenced by the 1973 Lürssen superyacht Carinthia VI.
Known for building the largest yachts in the world, Lürssen is using the yacht to re-establish the yard in the 55-75 metre size bracket. Moon Sand is the smallest yacht launched by the yard since 1955.
Moon Sand's interior features a “fearless use of colours and textures” combined with “museum-quality interior furniture pieces”.
“Every millimetre of interior and exterior space usage has to be presented, discussed and agreed with the owners, and this has led to many inspiring discussions," said Dickie Bannenberg. "We really look forward to seeing her completed over the coming months, including a spectacular interior.”
Speaking during the first episode of Lürssen's talkshow Lürssen Live, shipyard managing partner Peter Lürssen spoke about the challenges of building a smaller yacht.
"On a 100 metre+ boat, it’s a question of the enormity of the workload and coordinating sometimes close to 1000 people working on a boat," he said. "On a boat of this size, the question is more of how to squeeze all of the systems in and that has been a challenge."
However he added that "it's exciting to build a yacht of this size" and "we want to show prospective clients, brokers, designers that we are able to build these and that we would like to build these."
Lürssen added: “We are very grateful for the client’s trust in us to build his dream of a bespoke 55 metre yacht.
“The owner’s representative team has fantastic experience with that size of yacht and it has been a very fruitful collaboration so far.”