Brand new superyacht crashes through door of Lürssen dry dock
A 140-metre-plus Lürssen superyacht currently under construction has crashed through the doors of the dry docks at the German boatbuilder’s facility in Bremen.
Images published by Nord-West Media TV show the superyacht breaching the gate of the yard’s 170-metre dry dock on Thursday (7 December), in an apparent failed attempt to leave the shed.
Today at the Lürssen shipyard, there was an incident involving the 142-meter project Alibaba during docking procedures.
— SuperYachtFan (@Superyachtfan) December 7, 2023
A large emergency response was triggered following a collision with a gate.
Our thoughts are with everyone at Lürssen during this time.
We are closely… pic.twitter.com/DAVDhL4cvR
One employee was injured in the incident, which triggered a large-scale response involving emergency response teams, including a helicopter, water rescue and fire brigade units.
Images show a bridge that has broken off and partially sunk onsite. In addition, damage to the front of the yacht can be seen.
Following the incident, Lürssen released the following statement: “On Thursday afternoon there was damage to the dock gate in the hall dock at the Lürssen Aumund location in Bremen. Immediately after the incident, all necessary evacuation measures were initiated at the shipyard and the relevant authorities were notified. The accident site was secured together with the Bremen police and fire department.
“An employee was slightly injured during the incident and received immediate medical attention.”
Several outlets have claimed the yacht involved is the 142-metre Alibaba, currently under in-build and due for delivery in 2024.
Alibaba is one of the largest superyachts currently under construction worldwide.
Collision at Lürssen shipyard caused by alleged $450 million superyacht Project Alibaba. The 492 feet vessel, which is one of the largest superyachts under construction, hit the drydock gate from the inside and even tore down a bridge.-https://t.co/UPmnJA89ji pic.twitter.com/RnODPzPs6x
— Luxurylaunches (@luxurylaunches) December 8, 2023
Earlier this year, large parts of Lürssen’s shipyard operations were brought to a standstill after a reported cyberattack. The Lürssen Group currently employs around 1,500 people at different sites.
Lürssen has built some of the world’s largest and most expensive superyachts, including 146-metre Opera, which made its maiden voyage in Portsmouth, and 156-metre Dilbar — regarded as the world’s largest superyacht by volume.
Dilbar has been linked to sanctioned Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov. Dilbar‘s crew were dismissed after the imposing of western sanctions made the payment of wages difficult, according to reports in 2022.
Main image: Lürssen launching 146-metre Opera in 2023.
