REV Ocean, the 194.9-metre research ship built for the non-profit of the same name, is now officially due in the fourth quarter of 2026 — nine years after she was ordered from Vard Group against a delivery date of 2021. She is being finished at Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen in the Netherlands. At around 19,235 GT she is the largest yacht in the world by volume, ahead of Dilbar and Azzam.
Nine years and five shipyards
Hull No. 884 was started at Vard's Tulcea yard in Romania in 2018 and launched there in August 2019, at the original design length of 182.9 metres. She was towed to Vard Brattvåg in Norway for outfitting, and in August 2020 she ran two days of sea trials in the North Sea. The plan then was to finish her at Lloyd Werft in Germany. That never happened.
In June 2021 the project admitted the ship might not sail before 2024–2026. Nina Jensen, who was leading it, told Norwegian daily Dagens Næringsliv: "I think without a doubt that both he, I and the rest of the team are extremely frustrated, annoyed, depressed — actually the whole emotional register — because we are impatient to get out to sea." She blamed technical problems in the outfitting and the weight of the vessel. Set against the original 2021 date, that window works out as a slip of three to five years. Neither Jensen nor the yard put a number on it.
The hull went next to Fosen Yard in Trondheim, where a 12-metre section was inserted amidships and the superstructure was rebuilt in aluminium. Adding length to a ship that has already run trials is rare. The job also grew a submarine hangar, a media studio, a robotics and 3D-printing lab, and a third more fuel capacity. Vard finished her at Søviknes and on 5 March 2025 sent her on to Vlissingen; the yard announced the handover on 18 March. Damen had signed the outfitting contract a month earlier, on 6 February — "the largest contract in DSV's history," in Damen's words — for fifteen to eighteen months of work in a drydock.
Nine laboratories, a moonpool and a submersible
The science package is what makes her heavy. Wet, dry, molecular, microbiology and geology labs, plus modular mission space. A moonpool with its own subsea launch system. Multibeam seabed mapping is possible at depths down to 11,000 metres. By REV Ocean's calculations, the ROV and the submersible will be able to explore the seabed across 98 per cent of the world's ocean. The ship is Polar Code certified; the more specific "Polar Class 6" notation gets repeated widely, though it shows up only in secondary sources.
Charter with Burgess, science the rest of the time
A quarter of her operating time is set aside for charter, brokered by Burgess. Trade reports put the rate at around $4 million a week; no tariff has been published. The other three quarters go to research. "Launching REV Ocean to the charter market, the largest yacht in the world, is a milestone not just for Burgess but for the entire yachting industry," said Ben Harwood, Burgess Sales and Charter Director.
V.Ships Norway has managed the vessel since December 2024 and expects her in full operation "at the beginning of 2027." As soon as Damen hands the ship over, preparation for the maiden expedition begins. Vard has meanwhile taken its largest order ever — the 162-metre RV11000 for Gabe Newell's Inkfish.
Photo: Guillaume Plisson / REV Ocean. Source: REV Ocean, Damen, Vard, BOAT International, Maritime Executive, V.Ships, Burgess, FRANK Magazine (Denison Yacht Sales).
