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A Rich and Dramatic History:
MV Savarona

APRIL 21, 2021

When launched in 1931, MV Savarona was the largest luxury yacht in the world at length of 446’ (136m). Named for an African swan living in the Indian Ocean, the ship was designed by Gibbs & Cox in 1931 for American heiress Emily Roebling Cadwallader, grand-daughter of John A. Roebling, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. The ship was built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany. Equipped with Sperry gyro-stabilizers, she was described in 1949 by Jane’s Fighting Ships as “probably the most sumptuously fitted yacht afloat.” Her interiors contain 330 tons of polished marble. Her Hammam, a Turkish bath, contains 72 of these tons. Besides her Turkish bath, she also includes a swimming pool, and a 282-foot gold-trimmed staircase.

In 1938, she was purchased by the Turkish government as a state yacht. The first president of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was her first patron, but he unfortunately fell ill and died less than a year after boarding her for the first time. Savarona’s situation changed again when she came under the Turkish Naval Authorities. During World War II, the ship remained idle in Bosporus, Turkey before being used as a training vessel. In 1979, she was gutted and left to rot, but that would not be her final end. In 1989, she was contracted to 49-years of service to a Turkish business man, Kahraman Sadikoglu, who refurbished her over the course of 3 years at a cost of 45 million dollars. One of her major mechanical changes included replacing her original steam turbines with twin caterpillar diesel engines. Due to a scandal concerning alleged illegal activities onboard the ship, the charter was revoked. As of 2015, the Turkish government is back at her helm using her to welcome heads of state and escort the Turkish president.


Read more on Boat International here.

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