The elite world of yachting is now seeing an upward trend of smaller, standby, luxurious shadow yachts to accompany megayachts for the ride, Mansion Global reported.
Shadow yachts are "smaller" support yachts, with most measuring between 90 and 150 feet. Shadow yachts are tailored for the needs of their owners, but most carry maintenance items, large refrigerators for fresh food and beverages, watersports gear such as jet skis or scuba equipment, a helipad for landing aircraft, and cabins for the crew.
Compared to the mothership megayacht, a shadow yacht is more manageable in size and can handle the logistics of the larger yacht's boating itinerary. For example, a shadow yacht can head to land to grab fresh food to make dinner for the megayacht's guests while the megayacht remains in its position at sea.
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Definitely 👍 According to Mansion Global, billionaire Jeff Bezos spent approximately $500 million to build his 417-foot megayacht, Kora, and an additional $75 million on his shadow yacht, Abeona, which measures 250 feet. These vessels are by no means small.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich cranks more than 22,000 tonnes of carbon pollution each year from operating his megayachts, as charted by The Conversation. This amount is even more than some small countries pollute in a single year.
Megayachts are "environmentally indefensible," the Guardian described.
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Most of these large boats are powered by diesel engines, which produce harmful pollutants including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide that contribute to ground-level ozone, which can affect sensitive vegetation, ecosystems, and human health.
Adding a shadow yacht to the journey only adds to the amount of pollution these giant vessels produce. They represent an unnecessary luxury that further exacerbates the environmental impact of luxury boating.
To curb the significant environmental impact of megayachts, the Guardian suggests that leaders take a stand. Stop allowing producers to build them beyond a certain size and prevent megayachts from docking. Lawmakers in Maine have introduced an impact fee to mitigate the damage caused by megayachts docking in the area.
On a Reddit thread discussing shadow yachts, one commenter said, "Apparently once your boat gets so big it needs a big boat to hold the stuff that the big boat can't hold."
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"How much yacht could a yacht yacht yacht if a yacht yacht could yacht yacht?" another commenter on the Reddit thread joked.
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