American billionaire Eric Smidt's superyacht Infinity and its support vessel Intrepid arrived in Auckland last month. Photo / Samuel Sherry
American billionaire Eric Smidt's superyacht Infinity and its support vessel Intrepid arrived in Auckland last month. Photo / Samuel Sherry
A 117m long superyacht has been docked in Auckland for nearly a month, catching the eye of onlookers and sparking interest online.
The Infinity, owned by American billionaire Eric Smidt who is the founder and chief executive of Harbor Freight Tools, has been docked by Silo Park since September 17after leaving Fiji four days earlier, according to Vessel Finder.
Vessel Finder said its support vessel, the Intrepid, arrived on September 20 and has been parked next to the Infinitysince then.
It’s unclear what the 117m superyacht is doing in New Zealand, but it has been catching the eye of onlookers on the waterfront.
When it arrived in New Zealand, a popular superyacht Facebook page shared images of it and described the Infinityas “dwarfing all other vessels currently alongside” it in the Silo Marina, while one user on the page described it as a “monster boat”.
Intrepid does usually have a helicopter on the back of it, but this was offloaded below Stanley Point on September 20 and cannot currently be seen at the marina.
The super yacht Infinity is valued at $521 million. Photo / Samuel Sherry
The super yacht was constructed by Dutch building company Oceanco and set sail in 2022.
Oceanco said it is the company’s largest motor yacht to date and is the largest yacht ever built in the Netherlands.
The Infinity's support vessel Intrepid can reach speeds of 20 knots. Photo / Samuel Sherry
The yacht has seven decks, a wellness area that includes a spa, sauna, gym, and yoga studio, and there’s space for up to 16 guests.
Superyacht Times said the Infinityhas a maximum speed of 18.5 knots, slightly slower than its support vessel which can reach 20 knots although it is smaller with a length of 69.15m.
Smidt’s Infinity is valued at about $521 million (US$300m), making it the most expensive yacht docked in Auckland since Australian billionaire James Packer’s IJE, which is reportedly valued at $357m.
James Packer's $350 million superyacht IJE at Wynyard Quarter in Auckland.
The 108m-long IJE was tied up at Wynyard Quarter in April after arriving from Tahiti and has been described as a “floating palace”.
