Feadship not only has a reputation for building some of the most luxurious and recognizable superyachts in the world. The Dutch shipyard is also striving to produce carbon-neutral superyachts by 2030. And the brief for newest launch was that it had to be more energy efficient and emit less carbon than Feadship’s award-winning hybrid yacht, Savannah, which launched in 2015.
As a result, the 276-foot-long Obsidian is the first of Feadship’s new generation of large yachts that are specifically designed for significant carbon reduction through hull design, weight control, advancements in electric propulsion, and the ability to run engines on non-fossil diesel fuel called HVO. In fact, the sea trials were conducted with the generators running on this second-generation biofuel, reducing carbon emissions by 90% compared to yachts operating on fossil fuels.
According to Feadship, reducing CO2 emissions was a top priority, but the company wanted to go even further by addressing the overall environmental impact of its vessels. Therefore everything from emissions of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide (NOx), to particulate matter, hydrocarbons, and the impact of building materials like steel, aluminum, fairing compounds, antifouling, teak, interior finishing, and more were analyzed.
Operating on the philosophy that one cannot control what one cannot measure, Bram Jongepier, Senior Designer at Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects developed the Yacht Environmental Transparency Index (YETI) to accurately measure the environmental impact of CO2, NOx, particulate matter, shore power, and fuel production have been made freely available by Feadship to the signatories of the Water Revolution Foundation, a yachting industry association dedicated to driving sustainability in the superyacht industry through collaboration and innovation. This led to a Joint Industry Project (JIP) under the flag of the Water Revolution Foundation with twenty major partners in the yachting industry.
The YETI JIP produced a tool which, with data augmented by partners like engine manufacturers, predicts the environmental impact of a standardized operational year in the yacht’s lifecycle. Jongepier estimates that YETI effectively captures 90% of the total lifecycle of a yacht and each new build helps gather more data. It is estimated that Obsidian will operate with 27% less total environmental impact than a yacht of similar size launched only five years ago if run on fossil fuel, and 60% less when using HVO.
For Obsidian, the first step was building on innovation from the award-winning Savannah. Using Feadship’s Advanced Electrical Drive (FAED) program for diesel-electric hybrid power, Obsidian has 4.5 times more electrical storage capacity than Feadship’s first hybrid yacht, Savannah. Another innovation is Obsidian has no drive shafts and no rudders. Propulsion and steering are supplied by a pair of low-drag Veth contra-rotating thrusters.
Veth’s experience with compact units for ships operating on rivers was seen as a perfect fit for a yacht specified for a relatively shallow draft. Feadship and Veth collaborated on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the shapes of the drive legs and the propellors to maximize efficiency and minimize vibration, dampening vibration being another key component of the brief.
Powering it all is a 4.5 MWh battery bank that is charged by four generators — two large and two small, custom, variable speed units based on tweaked CatC32 engines with permanent magnet alternators that deliver power as needed. Where Savannah and Lonian – which launched in 2018 – operated on 560 volts, the DC system on Obsidian is a staggering 1,000- volt system because the yacht is fully powered by electricity. Obsidian should be able to cruise for 35 nm at 10 knots on batteries alone. At anchor, the batteries will provide silent operation for 10-15 hours.
Because the path to carbon-neutral superyachts goes far beyond a single solution, Obsidian also involved fresh approaches to the hull form. De Voogt’s naval architects created the low, slim hull, optimized at cruising speed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with the final form being made into a model tested in a towing tank.
For the first time in many years, Feadship is delivering a yacht with a single level engine room, which gave her designers considerably more freedom in creating the interior layout that’s just as bold and modern as the exterior profile would suggest. Both the exterior styling and interior design are by the British firm RWD, in collaboration with MONK Design.
Near the stern is an Aqua Lounge where massive windows below water level offer a unique view from the nearby gym. The Aqua Lounge can also function as a cinema and even a classroom.
From decks to the interior, the design leitmotif is all about surprise – most of the corridors and many of the rooms, as well as all of the al fresco living spaces, are not oriented on a fore and aft or athwartships axis. In fact, except for staterooms, none of the interior rooms have any 90-degree angles. A hidden staircase to a study and a sunken lounge on the main deck are just two more of the unexpected interior elements. But the biggest surprise involves the use of submarine anchors. Eliminating the need for a mooring deck forward allows Obsidian to feature a fantastic interior bow observation lounge with double curved glass floor-to-ceiling windows. Access is via a main deck corridor from the guest accommodation area through the tender garage to this hidden gem.
In keeping with the carbon reduction theme, both of the yacht’s primary tenders are electric- powered and custom made by Tenderworks. Four fast charging stations installed by the yard will allow them to be charged in the water or in the tender garage.
Of course the tenders are electric! Stay tuned for more from the future.