3m 24sLength

Russian billionaire has upgraded his £190million superyacht for a new model - at a cost of £260million. Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko's 'Sailing Yacht A', simply named after its owner, is taking its test voyage in Kiel, northern Germany. This is the world's largest sailing superyacht as the Russian industrialist takes his quest to ruling the seas one step further. The vessel is an upgrade to the Russian billionaire's current multi-million pound 'Motor Yacht A', that set him back £190million. At 468ft in length, with ship masts nearing 300ft high, the 'mega-yacht,' has eight floors and includes an underwater observation room. Mr Melnichenko is expected to recover some of the costs by licensing the technology developed for the vessel for commercial applications. Melnichenko also owns a Boeing 737. The epic vessel boasts a staggering eight decks and its keel incorporates one of the largest single pieces of curved glass ever made at 193 square feet and weighs a whopping 1.8 tons. It dwarfs other famous super-yachts like The Maltese Falcon, which is 298ft and weighs 1,367 tons. Cruise speed of the ship is 18mph /15.6 knots/, with a top speed of 24mph /20.8 knots/. The yacht will have a high-tech digital control system operated using a touch sensitive sheet of black glass in the bridge. The 43-year-old was born in Belarus and is married to a former Serbian model. He was named as the 97th wealthiest person on the planet by Forbes, and the ninth richest in Russia. Mr Melnichenko, whose net worth is estimated at £6billion ($9billion), founded the fertilizer producer EuroChem, the coal producer Suek, the power generator SGK, and the pipe exporter TMK along with Sergei Popov. A spokesman for Mr Melnichenko told MailOnline it 'pushed the boundaries. 'Sailing Yacht A is a monument to invention.' Benjamin Maltby of MatrixLloyd, the global authority on superyachts', said Travel that while the yacht may be ready to sail, the interior design work will be ongoing. 'While she's been launched, the interior will take many more months to complete,' the company said. 'It's where the cash really gets splashed. Interiors typically cost at least £10,000 per square metre - and often much more.' 'Make no mistake - this will be a very significant ship. While precise details of the sailing rig have yet to be released, not since the days of the mighty clipper sailing ships, such as the Cutty Sark, has such a large sailing vessel been built. Boat International reports that the previous largest sailing yacht on the water is 96.35 metre Sea Cloud, a classic beauty launched in 1931, followed by the modern falcon-rigged iconic yacht Maltese Falcon at 88 metres LOA. Sailing Yacht A will handily surpass both of these. Music by Kevin MacLeod /Neo Western/ http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/ Blog: http://amazingworldnewsnow.blogspot.com