With a new year approaching, the yachting world routinely braces itself for the announcement of a new maritime mammoth. It happened in 2024 with the staggering delivery of the 466-foot Dragonfly; it happened in 2025 with the monumental splash of the 427-foot Deep Blue; and now, as the second half of 2026 draws to a close, the industry has welcomed the official announcement of Lürssen’s next titan, Project M. It is an over 410-foot full-custom build boasting a colossal volume of over 6,000 GT.
Possibly commissioned by a secretive American owner, this fully custom Lürssen superyacht is a beast with innate beauty, planned for a May 2032 delivery. That is six years of ultra-custom shipbuilding, suggesting extreme complexity and meticulous, unhurried craftsmanship. It is actually longer than the time taken to build other Lürssen maritime masterpieces like Dilbar, Azzam, and Flying Fox. Even recent Lürssen deliveries like superyachts such as Nixie, Nausicaä, and Deep Blue were completed in four to five years.
Project M, the result of a trifecta of brokerage firms comprising Royal Yacht International, The Italian Yacht Group, and Kitson Yachts, according to Boat International. It is perhaps all the more special because, like all good things in life, it will take its time to take shape. The goliath has been sold on contract for at least $575 million, as per Luxurylaunches calculations, with construction scheduled for Lürssen’s Bremen facilities. Breathing life into the 6,000 GT luxury pleasure craft will be ace designer Espen Øino International on the exterior, while British studio RWD will handle the interior. If there is a winning combination for yachts of this size, this is it. The pairing has previously been witnessed on one other Lürssen build, the 155-metre gigayacht Al Said, delivered in 2008.
For Project M, all three brokerage firms will represent the buyer throughout the build process and supervise construction through to delivery. It is safe to presume Espen Øino will craft a layout where form seamlessly follows function, mapping out guest and crew routes, hotel-scale service infrastructure, and smart allocation for massive machinery and power-generation spaces. Combined with clever integration for tenders and water toys, immaculate fire-safety systems, and advanced noise and vibration isolation (hallmarks of scale-matched giants like Kismet and Octopus), the technical foundation will match the visual grandeur.
RWD is synonymous with the extravagance one expects when a vessel takes shape under its pencil. Though everything is currently kept under wraps, the sheer volume hints at a strong possibility of an owner-only deck, a double-height saloon, a cinema, an extensive spa, a large pool, a beach club, a dive center, helicopter facilities, and multiple tenders, among other lavish amenities. Perhaps a hospital and wellness center with a cryochamber will also find its way onboard, alongside winter gardens and space for pets and pickleball alike.
The 410-footer is surely a mean machine that has captured the yachting world’s attention even before the superstructure takes shape, and for good reason. The mystery owner represented by three firms could well be an American billionaire tycoon given the firms orchestrating the deal. Only time will reveal more about the ship and the UHNWI who rules it.
