Life on the ocean wave

The MY Njord is due to set sail in 2025 and then refrain from docking again, instead inviting guests to join the vessel at sea wherever she might be on the map at any given time. She's part of a growing trend of residential ships allowing apartment owners to leave real life behind.

"Scale is important. There's an ideal number of guests at any one time to create the right kind of community," explains Alain Gruber, President of Ocean Residences Development. "That's why this residence has been built to accommodate larger apartments with open plan kitchens, all facing the sea and so on. The fact is that the very wealthy people who buy these apartments have very exacting standards and they want to be in a place where they can relax with their peers."

Gruber, however, is not selling some swanky beach-front property. The Njord has been designed by the acclaimed naval architect Espen Øino and is one of a new generation of residential ships. Her 117 apartments, from two-beds to multi-million-dollar 9,000sqft triplexes, will provide a fresh take on the mobile home as she continuously navigates the seas, with a draught that allows her to navigate the planet's major river systems, an ice-strengthened hull to take her through more bracing waters and all the spas, cinemas and fine dining you might need to make this a very comfortable trip. Most owners will likely spend a few months of the year onboard, although an estimated fifth of them will live there full-time.

Small wonder, then, that the market – however niche – is already expanding. For example, mid-2024 will likely see the launch of the 222m-long Somnio. This €500m project will have just 39 apartments over six decks, but the developers of Somnio are already considering a further two vessels, each with their own twist on the residential ship idea.

But it's not just size that makes these ships stand apart from each other. The Njord also has a philanthropic element, coming with a laboratory, atmospheric research station and onboard team of scientists who will study the seas. Less than10 percent of the seafloor has been mapped to date, but her two mini submarines will no doubt assist in this endeavour. The Somnio, designed by VARD, Winch Design and Tillberg Design, goes for the aesthetic edge instead, with long, lean lines more in keeping with a superyacht. In fact, it's already claiming that it's set to be the world's largest.

"I have to say I was flabbergasted when I first heard of the concept of the residential ship. It was so exotic, but it's interesting that there's a growing demand for smaller vessels too now in the wider cruise ship world," notes Erik Bredhe, who co-devised Somnio and will captain the ship. "Technically, this new generation of residential ship is much the same because they're all floating vessels. The difference is in the luxury, the level of services and the sense of space, freedom and ownership."

And, perhaps, of style. Luca Boldrini, co-founder of FM Architettura and the lead interior designer of the Njord, speaks of striking details like cascading water features, of central elliptical staircases, of an art area and library and of driving home the difference between having an apartment on a ship like this and one in the middle of a bustling city.

"No matter how big the latter is, it can still feel like a box in which you sometimes feel imprisoned," he explains. "But here, we're at sea, with all the views and all that amazing light. We're aiming to create a connection between inside and outside spaces so owners feel as at home on the public terraces as they do in their apartments. It's about doing all this and still creating a feeling of cosy homeliness too."

"That's key, especially since most cruise liners have the feel of an entertainment resort," laughs Espen Øino. "For me, the real difference with [these residential ships] is in population density. Relative to its size, the Njord – for example – has very few passengers. These are private homes customised however their owners want them, but ones that travel with the appeal of not having to be in a different bed every night. This is MS The World on steroids."

The World to which Øino refers is a cruise ship. Bredhe was her captain for seven years and she really was the pioneer of this new travel sector. Still sailing 20 years after her launch – with her apartments, it's reported, still appreciating – The World also did a lot of the challenging groundwork. Originally designed with both owned and rented apartments, it would later become clear that only a wholly owned approach provided a viable economic model in creating the kind of onboard community that was, for many, the key selling point. In the end, owners staged a buy-out to stop rentals.

"Basically, what The World and the ships that will follow are offering is the opportunity to take your home around the world but without the complexities of owning your own private yacht – the maintenance and running costs, the scheduling, finding the right crew, the best chefs and so on," says Pamela Conover, CEO of The World Residences at Sea and the ex-president of Cunard. Her logic may prove especially tempting to Asia's super-wealthy, for whom private yacht ownership has not yet caught on.

"Obviously, this is still a very luxurious way to travel," Conover adds, "and what a way to see those hard-to-get-to places..."

Picture credit: Winch Design, Luttenberger Design