MV Savarona
Encyclopedia
The MV Savarona (also sometimes M/Y, for motor yacht) is a luxury State yacht. She was the largest in the world when launched in 1931, and remains with a length of 136 m (446 ft) one of the world’s longest. She is owned by the Republic of Turkey
and is currently leased by Turkish
businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu
from the Turkish State.
in 1931 for American heiress Emily Roebling Cadwallader, granddaughter of John A. Roebling
, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge
. The ship was built by Blohm & Voss
in Hamburg
, Germany
. She cost about $4 million ($57 million in 2010 dollars). Equipped with Sperry gyro-stabilizers, she was described in 1949 by Jane's Fighting Ships as "probably the most sumptuously fitted yacht afloat."
In 1938, the Turkish
government bought the yacht for ailing leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
, who spent only six weeks aboard before dying a few months later.
Throughout World War II, the ship lay idle in Kanlıca Bay on the Bosporus
. In 1951, she was converted to the training ship Güneş Dil (English: Sun Language
). In October 1979, the ship was gutted by fire at the Turkish Naval Academy
off Heybeliada Island in the Sea of Marmara
. She lay virtually abandoned for ten years.
In 1989, she was chartered for 49 years by Turkish businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu. Over three years, his firm completely refurbished her for about $45 million, removing the original steam turbine
engines and installing modern diesel engines. The ship was rebuilt at Tuzla Shipyards in Tuzla
, a suburb of Istanbul
, for the purpose of serving famous and important guests and helping to keep the memory of Atatürk alive.
On 28 September 2010 teams of the gendarmerie raided the yacht with assistance of the coast guard
and in other places across the country eight persons were arrested for organized human trafficking
and detained of 15 women and six foreigner male guests aboard for prostitution. The yacht was rented by a Kazakh businessman three days before in Bodrum
for one week and was en route Antalya, said the yacht's operator, Kahraman Sadıkoğlu. Yusuf Hakkı Doğan, a public prosecutor in Antalya, who conducted the operation, revealed that the yacht had been used twice for prostitution purposes, the first time in Bodrum. From the 30 September 2010, the MV Savarona became solely a State Yacht.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and is currently leased by Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu
Kahraman Sadikoglu
Kahraman Sadıkoğlu is a Turkish businessman. He owns the Istanbul-based Tuzla Shipyard and is the head of Dubai-based International Marine Contractors.He paid for the restoration of one of the largest yachts in the world, the Savarona...
from the Turkish State.
History
Named for an African swan living in the Indian Ocean, the ship was designed by Gibbs & CoxGibbs & Cox
Gibbs & Cox is a U.S. naval architecture firm that specializes in designing surface warships. Founded in 1922 in New York City, Gibbs & Cox is now headquartered in Arlington, Virginia....
in 1931 for American heiress Emily Roebling Cadwallader, granddaughter of John A. Roebling
John A. Roebling
John Augustus Roebling was a German-born American civil engineer. He is famous for his wire rope suspension bridge designs, in particular, the design of the Brooklyn Bridge.-Early life:...
, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
. The ship was built by Blohm & Voss
Blohm + Voss
Blohm + Voss , is a German shipbuilding and engineering works. It is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; there were plans to sell 80% of Blohm + Voss to Abu Dhabi Mar Group, but talks collapsed in July 2011.-History:It was founded on April 5, 1877, by Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss as a...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. She cost about $4 million ($57 million in 2010 dollars). Equipped with Sperry gyro-stabilizers, she was described in 1949 by Jane's Fighting Ships as "probably the most sumptuously fitted yacht afloat."
In 1938, the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
government bought the yacht for ailing leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
, who spent only six weeks aboard before dying a few months later.
Throughout World War II, the ship lay idle in Kanlıca Bay on the Bosporus
Bosporus
The Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles...
. In 1951, she was converted to the training ship Güneş Dil (English: Sun Language
Sun Language Theory
The Sun Language Theory was a pseudoscientific linguistic hypothesis proposing that all human languages are descendants of one Central Asian primal language. The theory further proposed that the only language remaining more or less the same as this primal language was Turkic...
). In October 1979, the ship was gutted by fire at the Turkish Naval Academy
Turkish Naval Academy
The Turkish Naval Academy is a four year co-educational military academy located in the district of Tuzla in Istanbul. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and physically for service as commissioned officers in the Turkish Navy...
off Heybeliada Island in the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
. She lay virtually abandoned for ten years.
In 1989, she was chartered for 49 years by Turkish businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu. Over three years, his firm completely refurbished her for about $45 million, removing the original steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
engines and installing modern diesel engines. The ship was rebuilt at Tuzla Shipyards in Tuzla
Tuzla (district)
Tuzla is a small town, a suburb of Istanbul, Turkey on the Asian side of the city beyond Kartal and Pendik. Tuzla is on a headland on the coast of the Marmara Sea, at the eastern limit of the city. The mayor is Şadi Yazıcı .-History:...
, a suburb of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, for the purpose of serving famous and important guests and helping to keep the memory of Atatürk alive.
On 28 September 2010 teams of the gendarmerie raided the yacht with assistance of the coast guard
Turkish Coast Guard
The Turkish Coast Guard is a branch of the Turkish Armed Forces and was established in 1859.-Organization:...
and in other places across the country eight persons were arrested for organized human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
and detained of 15 women and six foreigner male guests aboard for prostitution. The yacht was rented by a Kazakh businessman three days before in Bodrum
Bodrum
Bodrum is a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova. The site was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the...
for one week and was en route Antalya, said the yacht's operator, Kahraman Sadıkoğlu. Yusuf Hakkı Doğan, a public prosecutor in Antalya, who conducted the operation, revealed that the yacht had been used twice for prostitution purposes, the first time in Bodrum. From the 30 September 2010, the MV Savarona became solely a State Yacht.
Features
Savarona features a swimming pool, a turkish bath, a 282-foot (86 m) gold-trimmed grand staircase that survived from her original construction, a movie theater, and a library suite dedicated to Atatürk, which is furnished with many of his personal artifacts. Under its charter operator the yacht was available for charter including the crew but not provisions.Specifications
Source- Length: 1949: 349'6" waterline - 408'6" overall; 2010: 408 ft. waterline – 446 ft. sternSternThe stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
to bowspritBowspritThe bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:... - Beam: 1949 and 2010: 53 ft.
- Draft: 1949: 20'6" mean; 2010: 20 ft.
- Tonnage: 1949: 5,710 tons displacementDisplacement (ship)A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
; 2010: 4,646 gross tonnageGross tonnageGross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage... - Engines: 1949: 6 geared turbines, 2 shafts, 10,750 h.p.; 2010: 2 × 3,600 h.p. dieselDiesel engineA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s - Boilers: 1949: 4 watertube, 400 lb. working pressure, oil fuel
- Speed: 1949: 18 knots (originally 21); 2010: 15.5 knots cruising, 18 knots maximum
- Radius: 1949: 9,000 miles at 15 knots
- Crew: 1949: 79; 2010: 44
- Staterooms: 2010: 17 double suites
- Armament: 1949: 2 3-pdr. naval guns
External links
- Note: Some of the below sites are commercial yacht-charter sites; however, they provide pictures and the history of the yacht.
- Savarona official website
- Savarona on SYT Complete specifications, refit and sales information and photos of Savarona
- Maritime Matters: Ocean liner history and cruise ship news – Picture
- Monaco Yachts – Four fine pictures
- All About Turkey – History
- http://www.amazon.com/dp/1413714463 - Novel set in Istanbul; climactic scene takes place aboard the Savarona