154: BOAT Briefing: Jeff Bezos’s 127m sailer Koru delivered, the history of Saddam Hussein’s 121m yacht, and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund buys into Azimut-Benetti 

In this week's episode of BOAT Briefing, Caroline and Cecile kick off with news that 127m Koru has been delivered – and consider whether a sailing superyacht can truly be called a sailing yacht. They delve into the fascinating story of Saddam Hussein’s 121-metre Al-Mansur – bombed by fighter jets – and touch on other dictators’ yachting histories. Cecile’s brokerage pick is the historied 42m Abeking Sea Class, asking $5,900,000 with Denison, while Caroline chooses the 54m Baltic sailer Pink Gin VI, which is asking €25,500,000 with Edmiston after the second of two €2m price drops. In the news is the launch of the Italian Sea Group’s 55m Silver Star, the first Damen Explorer 58 on sea trials, the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund buying into the Azimut-Benetti Group and Burger Boat Company lifting the lid on its largest yacht to date. Our data story, meanwhile, focusses on superyachts built in Spain. Links:  127m Oceanco superyacht Koru spotted in Mallorca https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/jeff-bezos-oceanco-sailing-yacht-y721  Al-Mansur: What ever happened to Saddam Hussein’s second yacht? https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/editorial-features/al-mansur-saddam-hussein-yacht  58m SeaXplorer Pink Shadow spotted on sea trials https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/damen-seaxplorer-58-yacht-sea-trials  The Italian Sea Group launches 55m Admiral S-Force Silver Star https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/admiral-silver-star Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund buys into Azimut-Benetti Group https://www.boatinternational.com/boat-pro/news/azimut-benetti-group-saudi-arabia-pif-partnership  Burger begins construction on flagship Burger 180 https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/burger-yacht-180-construction   €2M price drop on Baltic sailing yacht Pink Gin VI https://www.boatinternational.com/yacht-market-intelligence/brokerage-sales-news/baltic-sailing-yacht-for-sale-pink-gin-vi BOAT Pro: https://www.boatinternational.com/boat-pro Subscribe: https://www.boatinternational.com/subscriptions Contact us: [email protected] KVH: https://www.kvh.com/