Superyachts cost millions every year and emit tons of carbon, and yet they continue to build the ultra-rich.
“Nice brand new superyacht who goes to Louisiana,” wrote a Redditor as a caption for pictures of a gigantic ship as a whole.
“Looks like a floating fool,” commented a Reddit user. “Where the pirates?” Another wondered.
According to a member of the R/PICS Subreddit, this “floating Turd” seems to be the 279-foot motor yacht “Gigia”. The ship, built in 2017, can welcome 28 crew members and 18 guests – yes, only that – and was delivered by the German shipyard Lursen.
“The owner, a former Olympic cyclist, wanted to conveniently accommodate his family and teammates instead of using air pants and sofabeds to use his other ships,” explains Yachtbuyer. “He also wanted privacy for him and his family and a place where he kept his street bikes.”
Between “his other ships” and “a place where he kept his street bikes” “it is difficult to say what the strangest part of this description is.
One thing is certain – yachts have a catastrophic environment footprint. In 2021 it was said that a superyacht with a constant crew, a helicopter cushion, U boats and pools radiated around 7,020 tons of carbon dioxide a year.
In an earlier opinion for the guardian, Professor Chris Armstrong continued and said that possession of a megay night that is at least 70 meters long is “the most environmentally harmful activity in which a single person can possibly take part”.
“Abramovich's yachts emit more than 22,000 tons of carbon every year, which is more than a few small countries,” he added in relation to the Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich, which Forbes has in 2023 to 16 yachts and ships.
“The majority of these emissions occur regardless of whether a yacht actually travels everywhere,” said Armstrong. “Simply owning one – or actually building one – is an act of enormous climate vandalism.”
Initiatives with which yacht owners can switch to cleaner fuels or use more sustainable constructions cannot undermine the urgency of the few elite to change their consumption patterns and to cause a more sober, simpler lifestyle.
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