The superyacht Yas caused a sensation over the weekend when she moored up next to Puerto Portals yacht club. Yas is based on the hull of a former navy frigate. HNLMS Piet Hein, a Kortenaer-class frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy was launched in 1978 and sold to the United Arab Emirates Navy where she was operated under the name Al Emirat. A second frigate of the same class is undergoing a similar conversion: HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen, renamed Abu Dhabi and Swift135.
She is owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al Nahyan, the brother of the current Emir of the United Arab Emirates.
Yas has little resemblance with a warship today, but she has kept her agility and speed. Despite her size, she can reach top speeds of 30 knots and sails comfortably at average speeds of 25 knots. She was a beam of 14.4 metres (47.3 ft) and a draft of 4.75 metres (15.7 ft). Her total weight lies at 5,002 tons which can be attributed to her impressive steel hull. She was recently refitted in Germany and relaunched in 2021.
Yas is an unusual yacht in many ways. Both her interior and exterior were designed by the French studio Pierrejean and she is said to have been modelled to resemble a dolphin with her immense glass superstructure.
She is a very long yacht with an aerodynamic shape that allows her to retain speed while still looking elegant and luxurious. Yas has a helipad, spacious storage for water toys and, of course, several pools on board for the enjoyment of the guests.