The "Koru" sails through the Mediterranean off the coast of Ibiza on May 18, 2023. (Photo by Felix Frieler/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Just because superyachts create 1,500 times more carbon than the average family car doesn’t mean they can’t be romantic. As of this week, Jeff Bezos owns perhaps the largest masted boat in the world. The glimmering wooden figurehead on its bow has been noted for its resemblance to the Amazon founder’s girlfriend, now fiancée, T.V. personality Lauren Sánchez.

Bezos first commissioned Dutch shipbuilder Oceanco for the boat five years ago, according to Daily Mail. Oceanco constructed the 416-foot vessel in Rotterdam’s port of Zwijndrecht. The $500-million undertaking made headlines last year when Bezos offered to dismantle and rebuild the city’s 100-year-old De Hef bridge so his forthcoming massive ship could make it past its low clearance upon completion. Residents threatened to egg him. Oceanco moved the project, transporting the yacht without its tall masts.

Now complete, the ship is named Koru, the Māori word for “loop,” or new beginnings. Paparazzi spotted Koru making sea trials this February, stunning hood ornament in tow, replete with a pendant also resembling the Māori symbol for the boat’s name. The gowned goddess’s resemblance to Bezos’s beloved “alive girl” echoes classical, feminine elements of her beauty like ample lips, hair, and bosom. Oceanco has not commented on who crafted the sculpture, and if it truly depicts Sánchez.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are seen going to Chiringuito Casa Jondal on May 17, 2023 in Ibiza, Spain. Photo: MEGA/GC Images.

Bezos and Sánchez were spotted aboard the Koru for the first time this week off the coast of Mallorca, following its maiden voyage in April from the Netherlands to Spain via Gibraltar.

The Koru boasts an additional submarine, 250-foot support boat with helipad, on-board supercar and speedboat collection, and interiors inspired by former Fox CEO Barry Diller’s own yacht. While Bezos and Sánchez take the blue-and-gold-painted Koru to Cannes Film Festival and beyond, the media is debating whether it’s now the world’s largest sailing vessel. Maintenance will cost Bezos $25 million a year from the $124 billion fortune he’s pledged to charity.

 

More Trending Stories:  

A Sculpture Depicting King Tut as a Black Man Is Sparking International Outrage 

A Diver Discovered an 1,800-Year-Old Shipwreck off the Coast of Israel Containing a Trove of Marble Artifacts 

Where Does Art Stand Today? Here Are a Few Critical Impressions Gleaned at the Frieze New York Art Fair 

Greece Wins Back Hundreds of Stolen Artifacts From the Disgraced Dealer Robin Symes After a 17-Year Legal Battle 

Go Drinking With Art Advisors, Never Say ‘Nice to Meet You,’ and 33 Other Useful Things I’ve Learned as an Art-World Gossip Columnist 

Nearly $6 Million Was Just Raised to Help Preserve Nina Simone’s Childhood Home, Thanks to Venus Williams and Adam Pendleton 

A Philadelphia Man Paid $6,000 for Cracked Church Windows He Saw on Facebook. Turns Out They’re Tiffany—and Worth a Half-Million 

A Woman Bought Four Ceramic Plates at a Salvation Army for $8. They Turned Out to Be Original Picassos and Worth Over $40,000 

What I Buy and Why: Qatari Collector and Curator Mohammed Al Thani Scours the Globe for Works That Leave Him Breathless