VESSEL REVIEW | Milky Way – Custom yacht boasts long range and maximised outdoor spaces

Dutch builder Feadship has handed over the custom motor yacht Milky Way.

The Cayman Islands-registered vessel combines a full-displacement steel hull with an exterior arrangement developed for an undisclosed private client.

Feadship said the client sought “a highly flexible, multi-use onboard environment that supports active living and relaxation”. The resulting specification brings together twin main engines, three auxiliary generator sets and a range of 5,500 nautical miles, while the main deck arrangement incorporates a swimming pool.

Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects handled the yacht’s naval architecture. Studio De Voogt took charge of exterior design, while RWD designed the guest and owner spaces. The project was completed in 2026, with construction continuing at Feadship’s Royal Van Lent yard in Amsterdam after hull fabrication.

Aft-heavy arrangement ensuring greater total deck space

The Lloyd’s Register-classed Milky Way has a steel hull, an aluminium superstructure, an LOA of 89.6 metres (294 feet), a beam of 13.49 metres (44.26 feet), and a draught of only 3.7 metres (12 feet). The yacht’s gross tonnage stands at 2,623.

The yacht is powered by two MTU 12V4000M65 main engines that each produce 1,680 kW (2,250 hp) at 1,800 rpm and drive propellers. The auxiliary installation comprises three Scania DI13 generator sets that each produce 400 ekW at 1,500 rpm.

The propulsion arrangement is fed by fuel tanks with a total capacity of 208,000 litres (45,800 gallons) and delivers a cruising speed of 12 knots.

Freshwater capacity is 40,000 litres (8,800 gallons).

Feadship said the bow’s considerable length was intended to make better use of the exterior deck areas, thus shifting more of the yacht’s volume aft.

The arrangement links the client’s request for flexible outdoor use with the distribution of the superstructure and the vessel’s long horizontal deck lines.

Configured to provide onboard and on-water recreation

The main deck swimming pool measures 16.7 metres (54.8 feet) long and three metres (10 feet) wide. Feadship also said the design team refined the vessel’s layout to allow movement throughout the interiors.

The yacht’s equipment includes stabilisers for use underway and at anchor, a swim platform, and a tender garage. The guest facilities meanwhile include a spa and a sauna. Teak was used for the decks.

Construction of Milky Way began in 2023. The hull left the NMC fabrication facility in 2025, after which work continued at Royal Van Lent in Amsterdam.

Her launch at the Amsterdam outfitting facility in June 2026 was followed by sea trials later that month.

As of August 5, 2026, Milky Way had departed the shipyard and arrived in Poole in the UK.