Building the largest superyacht in the world apparently wasn't enough for the owner of Azzam. They also wanted the fastest.
Yachting executives say that Azzam, the largest yacht in the world at 590 feet, recently went through its first set of sea trials in the North Sea. The boat hit a staggering 31.5 knots, or about 37 miles per hour. At that speed it's believed to be the fastest yacht longer than 300 feet.
And that's not even top speed. Engineers say Azzam—with 94,000 horsepower driving giant water jets instead of propellers—can go even faster in deeper water. The 31.5 knot speed was recorded in water only about 60 feet deep.
"It can easily do more than 32 knots in deeper water," said one executive close to the project.