Fincantieri Celebrate Anniversary Building of World's Fastest Motor Yacht

Italian shipbuilders, Fincantieri, celebrate the achievement of the 'Destreiro' they built in 1991 & still holds Atlantic crossing speed record

The monohull, built in 1991 in less than a year by Fincantieri, sailed 3,106 nautical miles without refueling, from Ambrose Light, New York to Bishop Rock lightship on the Scilly  Isles, England, in 58 hours at an average speed of  53 knots (reaching  peaks of  70), and won once more the Blue Riband which in 1933 had been awarded to the legendary transatlantic liner, the Rex.

Built at the shipyards of  Muggiano and Riva Trigoso, the Destriero was the largest ship in light alloy ever to be constructed and one of the vessels with the highest  concentration of  efficiency, power and technology. At 67 metres long with a beam of  13 metres and 60,000 HP, the yacht could reach average speeds of over  60 knots.

Construction of the Destriero marked for Fincantieri the beginning of the production of  a new generation of  high speed vessels with consequent benefits for commercial development.

The Destriero followed in the wake of the Blue Riband tradition; her challenge to the Atlantic started from Ismaili Prince Karim Aga Khan, who sponsored the initiative, supported by leading testimonials of Italian industry and culture of the time, from the Fiat of  Gianni Agnelli,  to the IRI of  Franco Nobili and other numerous sponsors.