The World, the world’s largest privately-owned residential yacht, is set to visit the Cape this month. Picture: Wikipedia
Cape Town – The largest privately-owned residential mega yacht on the planet, The World, is set to stop over in Cape Town this month, and it even has South African residents aboard.
The World is expected to visit two other ports in South Africa – Mossel Bay and Durban.
According to the Mossel Bay Advertiser and Cruise Arabia.com, The World will be journeying to six continents in two weeks.
After ending its sojourn to Antarctica, The World is to reach the Western Cape Province’s ports by the end of this month. Its next stop will be Durban, followed by Mozambique, Kenya and Zanzibar before heading to the Seychelles.
Later it will voyage toward the Asian continent and visit Hong Kong, Tokyo and Vietnam.
With its unique architecture, The World allows its occupants to live on it full time or for certain periods.
According to Wikipedia, the ship was emptied of passengers and non-essential crew in March 2020 because of concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic. It returned to service in July 2021.
Wikipedia reports that the ship was the idea of Knut Kloster, whose family had a long history in the marine industry.
It’s said the hull was built in Landskrona, Sweden, by Öresundsvarvet, and it was then towed to Fosen Mekaniske Verksted in Rissa, Norway, for completion.
The World was launched in March 2002 and purchased by its residents in October 2003.
It also broke a world record on January 28, 2017, for being the southernmost ship, a mark which was later surpassed by the icebreaker Laura Bassi in February 2023.
This was achieved with her captain and the 63 residents on board at the time, as well as crew members.
The ship reached 78°43•997´S and 163°41 421 W at the Bay of Whales in Antarctica’s Ross Sea.
It boasts 165 residences of which 106 are apartments, 19 studio apartments and 40 studios, all of which are owned by ship residents.
It is managed by an elected board of directors.
It sports much of what a cruise ship can offer with a massive lobby, a deck to a mini-shopping mall and even a fitness centre, golf simulator and an impressive tennis court, running track, swimming pool, library, and let’s not forget the night life of cocktail lounges.
As some residents are South African, the Cape is a popular destination.
In a recent media interview, The World’s spokesperson said the vessel had visited South Africa seven times.
She was quoted in saying that while residents made their visits to the various towns and ports around South Africa, they would get to see its beauty by visiting historical sites and venues.
A resident, who is South African, told the Mossel Bay Advertiser he chose to live on such a vessel because they were able to explore different destinations each year.
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