Sailing Yacht A at anchor below green mountains, sun low over the bay
Sailing Yacht A at anchor below green mountains.Under sail

Sailing Yacht A

HyperyachtTechnical, Stylistic

Three freestanding carbon masts, the tallest rising 100 metres above the waterline, on a hull drawn by Philippe Starck: the largest sail-assisted motor yacht ever built.

Formerly White Pearl (Nobiskrug project 787) (build name)

142.81 m
Length
100 m above waterline
Mainmast
3,747 m²
Sail area
2017
Delivered

In short

Sailing Yacht A is a 142.81-metre sail-assisted motor yacht that Nobiskrug delivered in 2017 to a design by Philippe Starck; she is the largest yacht of her kind, and when she won at the 2018 World Superyacht Awards a new category, Sail-Assisted Motor Yachts, was created for her (Boat International, Yachting World, Nobiskrug). Her three freestanding, rotating carbon masts, designed by Dykstra Naval Architects and built by Magma Structures, carry 3,747 square metres of sail, and the mainmast rises 100 metres above the waterline; the builder describes them as the tallest and most highly loaded freestanding composite structures in the world (Boat International, Nobiskrug). Below the waterline, an observation pod moulded into the keel has windows nearly a foot thick, tested at ten times their working pressure (Boat International). She is reported to have been commissioned by Andrey Melnichenko (Boat International, February 2017), and she has been held by the Italian authorities in Trieste since March 2022 (Boat International, Yachting World, BOOTE).

Videos

Four tours from YouTube, most viewed first.

Mega Sailing Yacht "A" (Docking) [4K]Javier Rullan Ruano · 23 Feb 2017 · 569,475 viewsWatch on YouTube
Super Sailing Yacht A in Saint BarthsSuperYacht Times · 2 May 2019 · 240,457 viewsWatch on YouTube
Sailing Yacht A with her sails setDutch Yachting · 4 Oct 2018 · 198,096 viewsWatch on YouTube
Superyacht 'Sailing Yacht A' Leaves GermanyThe Wall Street Journal · 7 Feb 2017 · 49,605 viewsWatch on YouTube

Photos

Sailing Yacht A under full sail in profile on a calm blue sea, three white sails set on curved masts
Under sail
Aerial three-quarter view of Sailing Yacht A from the bow, sailing with all three sails set
Three sails set, seen from above
The high bow and oval windows of Sailing Yacht A alongside a shipyard quay at dusk
Bow and oval windows at dusk

A mainmast 100 metres above the waterline, taller than Big Ben.

The rig: Boat International, Six facts about the build of Sailing Yacht A (Amanda McCracken)
Sailing Yacht A seen from directly astern, with the mizzen mast above the stacked aft decks
Stern view
Sailing Yacht A under way with bare masts under a grey sky, a cruise ship behind her
On sea trials, October 2015
Sailing Yacht A fitting out in a dock at German Naval Yards in Kiel, one mast stepped, cranes around her
Fitting out in Kiel, September 2015
Close-up of the foot of a carbon mast and the U-shaped furling boom, with the sail emerging
Mast foot and furling boom

Further reading

Independent coverage we found. We link to it rather than rewrite it.

Specifications

Type
Sail-assisted motor yacht (three-masted)
Length overall
142.81 m (468 ft)
Beam
24.88 m
Draught
8 m
Gross tonnage
12,558 about 12,600 quoted at delivery
Decks
8
Shipyard
Nobiskrug, built in Kiel, Germany
Build number
Project 787
Pre-engineering contract
March 2011
Launched
2015
Delivered
2017; delivery announced 3 February 2017 after final sea trials in January
Exterior and interior design
Philippe Starck
Naval architecture
Dykstra Naval Architects, Nobiskrug
Rig and keel design
Dykstra Naval Architects
Masts
Three freestanding, rotating carbon masts by Magma Structures; mainmast 100 m above the waterline
Sail area
3,747 m²; mainsail 1,464 m², by Doyle Sailmakers
Construction
Steel hull, steel and composite superstructure
Guests
20
Crew
54
Propulsion
Hybrid diesel-electric: two MTU 20V 4000 diesels and electric motors on two shafts
Engine power
2 × 4,827 hp 2 × 4,895 hp in some listings
Speed
21 kn max, 16 kn cruising
Range
5,320 nm at 16 kn 5,340 nm in some listings
On board
Underwater observation pod in the keel, touch-and-go helipad on the bow, garages for four tenders and a submarine
Flag
Sierra Leone
Owner
Reported to have been commissioned by Andrey Melnichenko (Boat International, February 2017)
Status
Seized by the Italian financial police in Trieste, March 2022; still under Italian control in June 2026; at anchor off Trieste on AIS in October 2026
Reported cost
Valued at about $578 million by the Italian government (Forbes, March 2022)
For sale
Not listed for sale (October 2026)

Where is she now

Live AIS position on:

MarineTrafficVesselFinder

IMO 1012141 · MMSI 667002036

Questions

Why is Sailing Yacht A famous?
She is the largest sail-assisted motor yacht ever built, at 142.81 metres (Yachting World, Boat International). Her three freestanding carbon masts are, according to Nobiskrug, the tallest and most highly loaded freestanding composite structures in the world, and Philippe Starck's hull hides anchors, doors and balconies behind an unbroken line with 24 shell doors (Nobiskrug, Boat International). When she was entered in the 2018 World Superyacht Awards, she fitted neither the motor nor the sailing classes, so a new Sail-Assisted Motor Yachts category was created, and she won it (Nobiskrug).
How does the rig on Sailing Yacht A work?
Dykstra Naval Architects designed the rig: three freestanding carbon masts with no stays that rotate through 70 degrees, built by Magma Structures in four sections each, with 370 layers of carbon in the lower parts (Boat International). The masts are curved so that the booms follow the rising sheerline, and the 1,464-square-metre mainsail furls into a U-shaped boom at the press of a button, with no crew needed (Boat International). The masts are rated for 90 knots of wind with full sail up; the bending load at deck on the mainmast is about twice that on Maltese Falcon (Boat International). As a sail-assisted design, she carries less sail for her displacement than a pure sailing yacht (Boat International).
Is Sailing Yacht A the largest sailing yacht in the world?
It depends on the definition. At 142.81 metres she is longer than any sailing yacht, and Yachting World calls her the largest sail-assisted superyacht ever built (Yachting World). Boat International, however, classes her as a sail-assisted motor yacht and leaves her out of its sailing-yacht ranking, which Oceanco's 125.82-metre Koru heads (Boat International).
Who designed and built Sailing Yacht A?
Philippe Starck designed her exterior and interior; Dykstra Naval Architects and Nobiskrug did the naval architecture, and Dykstra designed the rig and keel (Boat International, Boat International). Nobiskrug built her in Kiel as project 787: pre-engineering began in March 2011, she was launched in 2015 and her delivery was announced in February 2017 (Boat International, SuperyachtNews, Boat International). Towing tests were run at HSVA in Hamburg, wind-tunnel tests at the Wolfson Unit in Southampton and final model tests at MARIN (Boat International).
How big is Sailing Yacht A and how many people does she carry?
She is 142.81 metres long, with a beam of 24.88 metres, a draught of 8 metres and a gross tonnage of 12,558 over eight decks (Boat International, Boat International). She takes up to 20 guests and 54 crew (Boat International). A hybrid diesel-electric plant gives 21 knots flat out and a range of 5,320 nautical miles at 16 knots (Boat International).
Who owns Sailing Yacht A?
Boat International reported in February 2017 that she was commissioned by Andrey Melnichenko (Boat International). Since March 2022 she has been held by the Italian authorities in Trieste under EU sanctions (Yachting World, BOOTE).
How much did Sailing Yacht A cost?
The builder has not published a price. When Italy froze her in March 2022, Forbes reported that the Italian government estimated her value at around $578 million (Forbes).
Where is Sailing Yacht A now?
In Trieste, Italy: the Italian financial police seized her there in March 2022, and in June 2026 she was still under Italian control in the Gulf of Trieste, and in October 2026 AIS showed her at anchor off Trieste (Yachting World, BOOTE, Boat International, VesselFinder). Her live position is shown on public AIS trackers, where she transmits as SY A: MarineTraffic and VesselFinder. Search by IMO 1012141 or MMSI 667002036 (VesselFinder).

Compare with

Other yachts on the Hyperyachts list: two record-setting sailing rigs and Starck's earlier Motor Yacht A.

Maltese Falcon yacht

Maltese Falcon

88 m Perini Navi sailing yacht, the first vessel built with a DynaRig, delivered 2006

Black Pearl yacht

Black Pearl

106.7 m Oceanco sailing yacht with a three-masted DynaRig, delivered 2018

Sources (15)
  1. Boat International, Superyacht Directory: Sailing Yacht A
  2. Boat International, Six facts about the build of Sailing Yacht A (Amanda McCracken) 29 Oct 2015
  3. Boat International, Exclusive: Sailing Yacht A delivered by Nobiskrug (Chris Jefferies) 3 Feb 2017
  4. Boat International, The best photos of Sailing Yacht A (Miranda Blazeby, Holly Margerrison) 26 Jun 2026
  5. Boat International, Top 10 largest sailing yachts in the world 26 Nov 2021
  6. Nobiskrug, Sailing Yacht A
  7. Nobiskrug, Sailing Yacht A – Winner of the World Superyacht Awards 23 May 2018
  8. YachtBuyer, S/Y A
  9. YachtBuyer, World Superyacht Awards 2018: Sail-Assisted Motor Yachts
  10. SuperyachtNews, Nobiskrug announces launch of 140m 'White Pearl' 10 Apr 2015
  11. Yachting World, World's largest sailing yacht, Sailing Yacht A, seized (Helen Fretter) 12 Mar 2022
  12. Forbes, Italian Police Freeze Russian Billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's Sailing Yacht A (Giacomo Tognini) 12 Mar 2022
  13. Boat International, 143m Nobiskrug superyacht Sailing Yacht A "arrested" in Trieste (Holly Overton) 14 Mar 2022
  14. BOOTE, Sailing Yacht A: sailing giant remains impounded (Martin Hager) 11 Jun 2026
  15. VesselFinder, SY A (IMO 1012141) 15 Oct 2026