Add The California Post on Google A jaw-dropping superyacht worth more than $350 million sparked a frenzy of curiosity after it was spotted cruising Hawaiian waters.
Videos and pictures posted on social media this week showed the massive vessel off Waikiki one day and near Maili the next.
“Did anyone else see this off of the Waikiki shore the other day?” one post read.
“Massive yacht off Waikiki. Never seen one like that,” another added.
The unique looking ship had people speculating about who the owner could be and whether it was connected to the military.
“At first, I thought it was a military vehicle,” visitor Ted Reddy told Hawaii News Now after seeing it off Maili on Tuesday.
“I’d be curious to see what they’re doing here.”
Before it was spotted near Mali, locals in Molakai recalled their reaction when they saw it too.
“My wife woke me up. She was like, ‘Oh, you need to come outside and see this,’” local Kenny Adachi told the news outlet.
Turns out the luxury yacht is owned by Yusaku Maezawa, a billionaire fashion entrepreneur and art collector, superyachtfan.com reported.
Its name, Nausicaä, comes from the iconic Studio Ghibli anime “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,” by Hayao Miyazaki.
The name can be found in Greek mythology and means “burner of ships” or “she who shines among the ships,” Super Yacht Times reported.
The massive vessel is impressive to say the least, able to accommodate up to 18 guests with nine cabins, and a crew of over 36.
The floating palace comes with the billionaire essentials: a sushi bar, two-level art gallery, helipad, swimming pool and table tennis area.
It was designed by Marc Newson and built by German designer Lurssen, a yacht building shipyard based in Bremen, Germany.
The eccentric art collector even has a revolving gallery aboard the yacht for works by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool and Richard Prince.
Maezawa’s eccentric lifestyle has even extended to his children — who reportedly once hurled a bowl of cereal at a $110 million Jean-Michel Basquiat painting because they were frightened by the artwork.
The bizarre incident happened aboard another luxury vessel.
The ship cruises at around 14 knots with a top speed of more than 20 knots.
The Nausicaä can even transform into a silent, battery-powered sanctuary when anchored, shutting down its generators while its 2-megawatt battery bank runs the onboard systems.
Maezawa’s appetite for adventure goes well beyond yachts — he became the first private passenger to visit the International Space Station and has also been selected for a planned trip around the moon aboard SpaceX’s Starship.
