Azimut|Benetti awarded important order by the Tokyo government

Azimut|Benetti has been chosen to build the 35-meter conference boat commissioned by the city of Tokyo to host official presentations and conferences. The contract was put out to international tender by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, with two different stages in the award process. The first served to verify the financial soundness and organisational reliability of the shipyards invited to bid, while the second involved the presentation of the technical and financial bids, with Azimut|Benetti prevailing on the back of its proven technology skills honed over more than 140 years of experience.

For this totally custom-built motoryacht, Azimut|Benetti worked with Verme Yacht Design consultants on the development of the structural design and the hull shape.

The shipyard has assigned a dedicated team to the order, coordinated by Project Manager Fortunato Di Marco. The team includes a group of Japanese engineers needed to ensure that the customer receives comprehensive assistance immediately, in line with Azimut|Benetti’s high standards of Customer Service. The 35-meter motoryacht will be built at the company’s Livorno shipyard, with delivery planned for December 2018.

The motoryacht, which is designed to reach a maximum speed of 25 knots, has three decks. Inside, the customer stipulated the need for a conference table seating 35, with an interpreter booth and a Japanese-style reception room. A water-jet propulsion system will be used to keep the draught of the boat below 1.25 meters, so that it can navigate in the shallow waters in Tokyo Bay. The height of the boat is also a key feature of the design and cannot exceed 11 meters from the waterline to enable the yacht to pass under the numerous bridges in the area. A special retractable aerial has had to be designed to satisfy this need.

Commenting on the project, Benetti CEO Vincenzo Poerio said: “We have won an extremely difficult tender operation in a country where the impeccable quality of products and services is a philosophy of life. The customer was extremely selective in both the pre-selection and award stages. The fact that we have beaten the major shipyards we were competing against is a further demonstration of our organisational reliability, financial soundness, construction experience and technological innovation capabilities, of which I cannot help but be very proud”.