2 First on board: YachtCharterFleet tours 183m research and expedition yacht REV Ocean at VARD shipyard, Norway

There’s still a long way to go before REV Ocean sees delivery and is crowned with the ‘World’s Largest Yacht’ title.

As it stands, she is around 50% complete. The hull and superstructure of the yacht were built at VARD’s specialist facilities in Tulcea, Romania. She made the passage to Norway by tow, attracting crowds of curious onlookers as she cruised past over the course of the 25-day journey. 

She arrived at VARD's Brattvag facility on October 2. Docked outside the shipyard, she towers over the buildings and makes the red and blue homes of Brattvag look like dolls’ houses.

The installation of the scientific equipment will take place at VARD Brattvag over the next year, following which she will head to Lloyd Werft in Germany under her own propulsion for exterior fairing, deck laying and the installation of her interiors. 

Our tour begins with a look inside the shipyard, where a model of REV has pride of place in the main lobby.

From here, we’re given a first hand look into the yacht in its future final form. Her exterior styling has been penned by Espen Oeino, and we’re told the esteemed superyacht designer regularly makes trips to Brattvag to check on the status of his latest project.

The interiors meanwhile, come courtesy of H2 Yacht Design. Renderings are not yet available to the public, but YachtCharterFleet has previously spoken to founder Jonny Horsfield to get some insight into the interiors of REV Ocean.

Stepping out onto the dock, the yacht’s sheer size can be admired in all its glory. Spanning 11 decks in total with 8 above the waterline and stretching out across a vast 182.9m, the scale of this 17,440 GT, superyacht is breathtaking. 

Guiding us on the tour is Nils Baadnes, the captain of REV Ocean, Aage Andreas Linningsvoll, Technical Project Manager, and Lawrence Hislop.

Although REV Ocean is still a skeleton, the tour takes almost two hours to complete. We begin on the aft deck, where we find ourselves in a large two-deck hangar.

“This will be one of the most important areas of the boat when it comes to the scientific part of it, because all the equipment is going to be in here. It’s going to be jam-packed with equipment when it’s finished.” Says Lawrence. The Moonpool can be found here, along with the toy garage and dive room. 

Although REV Ocean is still a skeleton, the tour takes almost two hours to complete. We begin on the aft deck, where we find ourselves in a large two-deck hangar.

“This will be one of the most important areas of the boat when it comes to the scientific part of it, because all the equipment is going to be in here. It’s going to be jam-packed with equipment when it’s finished.” Says Lawrence. The Moonpool can be found here, along with the toy garage and dive room. 

REV will also play host to three pool areas for her guests to enjoy. Located on the aft deck, foredeck and the upper deck, they each have a tiered shape and are flanked by split-level decks

Jonny Horsfield, of H2 Yacht Design, has told us his favourite area is the observation deck and it’s all too easy to see why when we get up there. The space will be encased in a single piece of double curvature glass, providing sweeping panoramic vistas across the surroundings.

As well as a range of lounging options and customized furniture, guests can also make use of binoculars. 

REV Ocean spoils her guests for choice when it comes to views; we head out onto the walkable bowsprite next, where we are treated to even more spectacular scenes over the Norwegian countryside.