Ice explorer yacht: 90.1 m Lürssen, Azipod drive, 6,000 nm at 15 kn, no ice class

In short

Ice is a 90.1-metre Lürssen of 2005 and the first yacht to use Azipod drive units instead of shafted diesels, with eight generator sets feeding two electric pods (Boat International, Boat International). Her range of 6,000 nautical miles at 15 knots is above the 5,400-mile minimum that one charter and brokerage firm sets for a true explorer, and she was built with a helipad aft for a permanently embarked Eurocopter EC135 (Boat International, Boat International). Despite her name she has no ice-class notation: the DNV register lists her class as ✠100 A5 Motor yacht with no ice notation, and her first owner chose the name for the purity of the concept (DNV Vessel Register, Boat International). Class and press records place her from French Polynesia and Florida to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, but no polar voyage has been reported (DNV Vessel Register, Trinidad Guardian).

World Superyacht Awards 2006: Superyacht of the Year — Boat International, Iconic yachts: Inside Lürssen's 90.1m eco explorer yacht Ice, Boat International, 90m Lürssen superyacht Ice for sale

Videos

Three tours from YouTube.

**90m Lürssen yacht Ice crashes into 31m Numarine A.Mey**SuperYacht Times · 31 Aug 2024Watch on YouTube

**ICE yacht 295 feet by Lürssen visit Ibiza & Formentera**ON HOLIDAYS IBIZA · 31 Mar 2019Watch on YouTube

**Lürssen Yachts - Ice**toutestvanite · 29 May 2009Watch on YouTube

Photos

Aerial view of Ice under way with a white wake, showing the long open aft deck behind the superstructure and the foredeck — From the air, under way

Close-up of the cluster of stainless steel exhaust pipes rising from the funnel above the white superstructure — The stainless steel exhaust pipes of the funnel

Ice at anchor at sunset seen bow-on, with a small tender nearby on calm orange water — At anchor at sunset

Aerial close-up of the forward superstructure and foredeck as the yacht moves through sunlit water — The forward decks from above

Ice moored stern-to at a quay with her stern stairs down and a red ensign flying, a three-masted ship in the background — Moored stern-to

Ice moored in port seen from directly ahead, with her dark hull and white upper decks — Bow-on in port

Ice seen from astern on sunlit water, with the name ICE on the transom, the stern platform and the stepped aft decks — From astern, with the name on the transom

A round pool on an open deck in front of glass doors, with grey loungers and a tray on the deck — Round pool in front of a deck lounge

A circular whirlpool with a steel handrail on an upper deck overlooking the sea — Whirlpool on an upper deck

A wide teak side deck curving along the white superstructure under a blue sky — Teak side deck

A round table with white chairs set for dinner on a covered teak deck in front of a lounge — Dining on a covered teak deck

A salon with cream sofas, a low dark wooden table and large windows — Salon with cream sofas

A lounge with white loungers, a red sculptural chair and a tall black bookcase — Lounge with a bookcase and a red chair

A reading corner with a leather lounge chair and a wall of books in black shelving — Reading corner and library wall

Looking down a spiral staircase with backlit steps — Spiral staircase

A bright lounge with windows on three sides, an oval table with orange chairs and a coloured display cabinet — Lounge with windows on three sides

A guest cabin with a desk, a wall screen, blinds over the windows and a pale fabric bed — Guest cabin

A bathroom with a stone tub, a stone counter with basins and timber cabinets — Bathroom with a stone tub

Specifications

Ice class: No ice-class notation. The DNV register lists her class as ✠100 A5 Motor yacht with the machinery notation ✠MC AUT and the additional notation ERS; none of these concerns ice
In ice, in practice: Without an ice notation her hull carries no class rating for navigation in ice. Her name was chosen by her first owner to reflect the purity of the design, not ice capability. The Polar Code requires every ship it covers to carry a Polar Ship Certificate for polar waters; none appears among her certificates in the DNV register, and no voyage of hers in ice has been reported
Length overall: 90.1 m 90.08 m in the DNV register
Length between perpendiculars: 77 m
Beam: 15 m
Draught: 4.85 m 5.0 m maximum in Superyacht Times
Gross tonnage: 3,268
Displacement: About 2,870 tonnes
Builder: Fr. Lürssen Werft, Bremen, Germany; yard number 13628. Lürssen's codename for the project was Rainbow
Design: Exterior by Tim Heywood, who also planned the interior layout; interior design by Terence Disdale; naval architecture by Lürssen
Build history: Keel laid in February 2003 and delivered in May 2005. Originally named Air, she was sold to Suleiman Kerimov following delivery, and he renamed her Ice. The superstructure was placed further forward than usual to leave room for a large helipad aft, and the five limestone baths were so heavy that the yacht was reportedly built around them
Hull and superstructure: Steel hull, aluminium superstructure, teak decks; displacement hull
Propulsion: Diesel-electric: eight 842 kW MWM/Deutz generator sets in two generator rooms, split by a walk-through passage, power two ABB Azipod units of 2.5 MW each. She was the first yacht with Azipods in place of shafted diesels. Azimuthing Schottel bow thrusters and the pods can be worked from a single joystick on the bridge. Exhaust gases pass through soot filters and leave through eight stainless steel pipes in the funnel Superyacht Times lists eight Deutz 616-series V16 engines of 854 kW
Speed: 16 kn cruising; 18.6 kn on sea trials 18.5 kn in a 2023 Boat International report
Range: 6,000 nm at 15 kn 5,000 nm at 15 kn in the 2023 sale report
Fuel capacity: 400,000 litres
Endurance: Not published in days. Boat International reports a burn of 16–17 tonnes of fuel per 24 hours when cruising at 16–17 knots
Helicopter: One helipad aft, designed for a permanently embarked Eurocopter EC135; no hangar and no certification have been reported
Tenders and toys: The stern bathing platform is the base for a collection of sailing dinghies and water toys; no list of tenders has been published
Submersible: None reported
Support vessel: None reported
Where she has been: DNV survey records place her in Papeete, French Polynesia, in May 2008, West Palm Beach in April 2009 and Algeciras in June 2020, with most surveys since 2020 in Italy; a DNV condition of class was issued in Curaçao in June 2024. In February 2020 she sailed from Barbados to Port of Spain, Trinidad. In August 2024 she struck the 31-metre yacht A.Mey at Yalıkavak, Turkey; no injuries were reported (Boat International, 30 August 2024)
Guests and crew: 14 guests in seven cabins, with the owner's full-beam suite on the main deck forward; 27 crew
On board: A large pool on the main deck aft between the stairs down to the stern platform; a Zen-minimalist interior by Terence Disdale built around a modern art collection, with limestone tables and surfaces and five baths carved from solid stone
Classification and flag: DNV, shown as in class and in operation, although the latest classification certificate in the register is an interim one that ran to 31 May 2025; Equatorial Guinea flag, port of registry Malabo. Superyacht Times lists her original class as Germanischer Lloyd
Charter: Not offered for charter
Owner: Sold to Suleiman Kerimov on delivery in 2005 (Boat International, 2021). The current owner has not been reported by the publications used here: private owner
For sale: Listed for sale with Blackorange Yachts in January 2023 at €120 million; Boat International later gave a last known asking price of €100 million. Superyacht Times showed her as not for sale in September 2025. She was not among the ten longest yachts for sale in Boat International's August 2026 list, which ran down to 86 metres

Where is she now

Live AIS position on:

MarineTraffic VesselFinder

IMO 9332406 · MMSI 631010093

Questions

Is the yacht Ice an ice-class yacht?

No. The DNV register lists her class as ✠100 A5 Motor yacht with no ice notation (DNV Vessel Register). Boat International reports that her first owner named her Ice to reflect the purity of the concept, so the name says nothing about ice capability (Boat International).

Why is Ice called an explorer yacht?

Mainly for her range. She can cover 6,000 nautical miles at 15 knots without refuelling, above the 5,400-mile minimum that one charter firm sets for a true explorer (Boat International). Boat International also lists her among the largest explorer yachts, citing her helipad and toys (Boat International).

How far can Ice travel without refuelling?

Boat International gives 6,000 nautical miles at 15 knots, although its 2023 sale report quoted 5,000 nautical miles at the same speed (Boat International, Boat International). She carries about 400,000 litres of fuel (Superyacht Times).

Does Ice carry a helicopter?

She has one helipad aft, built for a permanently embarked Eurocopter EC135 (Boat International). No hangar has been reported.

What was special about Ice when she was built?

She was the first yacht to use Azipod drive units instead of shafted diesels, with eight generator sets, exhaust soot filters and low noise and vibration. She won Superyacht of the Year at the 2006 World Superyacht Awards (Boat International, Boat International).

Is Ice for sale?

She was listed in January 2023 at €120 million (Boat International). Superyacht Times showed her as not for sale in September 2025 (Superyacht Times), and she was not among the ten longest yachts for sale in Boat International's August 2026 list (Boat International).

Compare with

Explorer yachts of a similar type and length in this guide.

Ice

Videos

Photos

Further reading

Specifications

Where is she now

Questions

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