Olivia O at anchor in calm blue water, seen from the starboard side: the rounded inverted bow on the right, the glass bridge and mast above it, and the long white superstructure running aft
Olivia O at anchor, with the X-Bow on the right.

Olivia O

A Norwegian offshore yard's first yacht: the inverted bow of its North Sea workboats, an ice-class steel hull, a helipad for commercial flights and a tender garage that works in rough water.

88.5 m
Length
Ice-class
Hull, notation not published
1
Helipad
4,989
Gross tonnage

In short

Olivia O is the first yacht built with the X-Bow, the inverted bow that Norwegian shipbuilder Ulstein developed for offshore vessels working in North Sea conditions, and she was the yard's first yacht (Ulstein, SuperYacht Times). Her owner, who works in commercial shipping, first planned to convert an existing workboat; designer Espen Øino instead drew a new hull on an existing Ulstein platform, keeping its diesel-electric propulsion and engine room and deepening the stern for safer tender launches (Boat International). YachtBuyer describes the steel hull as ice class and says she was built to Lloyd's Register standards, but the ice notation has not been published; she has a commercially certified helipad and a full-beam tender garage that stays usable in rough weather (YachtBuyer, SuperYacht Times). At 4,989 gross tonnage she was, in January 2020, the largest yacht by volume built in the 80–90 metre range; her range has not been published, and her reported cruising since delivery has been in the Mediterranean and, for New Year 2022, the Caribbean (SuperYacht Times, Boat International).

Videos

Three tours from YouTube, most viewed first.

OLIVIA O | Ulstein X-Bow Explorer YachtSuperYacht Times · 13 Jul 2020 · 112,570 viewsWatch on YouTube
Olivia O 88m Explorer yacht anchored in GibraltarGibraltar Yachting · 27 Nov 2020 · 23,355 viewsWatch on YouTube
OLIVIA O | 88.5M Ulstein Explorer Yacht in Antibes, FranceJulien Hubert · 8 Jul 2020 · 21,196 viewsWatch on YouTube

Photos

Olivia O seen head-on at anchor: the bulbous inverted bow rising to the bridge, with wing stations either side and a wooded coastline behind
Head-on: the X-Bow rises straight to the bridge
Olivia O from the starboard quarter: stepped aft decks, the low aft deck at the stern and a tender alongside
Aft decks and the stern, a tender alongside
Close view of the forward superstructure of Olivia O: the wrap-around glass bridge, the mast with radar domes, and the yacht's name on the side
Wrap-around bridge and mast
The bow of Olivia O close up, curving down to the waterline with the anchor pocket
The inverted bow at the waterline
Olivia O at anchor from the port bow, three-quarter view, with a hillside town behind
Three-quarter view from the port bow
Starboard side of Olivia O close up: the rounded bow, the bridge deck and the stepped decks aft
Starboard side and the deck levels
Olivia O at anchor in hazy light, seen from the starboard side, a low coastline in the distance
At anchor, June 2023

Further reading

Independent coverage we found. We link to it rather than rewrite it.

Specifications

Length overall
88.5 m
Beam
16.3 m
Draught
4.4 m 5.1 m maximum in SuperYacht Times and YachtBuyer
Gross tonnage
4,989, the largest volume of any yacht built in the 80–90 m range as of January 2020
Builder
Ulstein Verft, Ulsteinvik, Norway, yard number 307; the yard's first yacht. Hull and superstructure built by Brodosplit in Croatia; finished by Palumbo Superyachts in Malta
Platform
Ulstein design CX105 with the X-Bow, based on an existing Ulstein offshore platform with the same propulsion and engine room
Design
Exterior and general arrangement by Espen Øino with Ulstein Design & Solutions; naval architecture by Ulstein
Interior
Droulers Architecture, Milan: Japanese-inspired, with steel-framed windows, painted metal ceilings and resin terrazzo instead of marble
Hull and superstructure
Steel displacement hull; aluminium superstructure; five decks with the bridge high and forward 4 decks in YachtBuyer's specification table
Ice class
Ice-class steel hull built to Lloyd's Register standards; notation not published
Classification
Lloyd's Register, in class (October 2026)
Propulsion
Diesel-electric: two Caterpillar 3516C-HD engines, 3,934 kW in total, driving two pods
Speed
16.5 kn maximum; 14 kn cruising 16.6 kn recorded on AIS; 15.8 kn maximum in YachtBuyer
Range
Not published
Endurance
Not published
Fuel capacity
Not published
Helicopter
One commercially certified helipad on the bridge deck; no hangar reported; largest helicopter not published
Tenders
Raised full-beam tender garage amidships on the main deck, launched through a large hull door and usable in rough weather; the stern draught was deepened to cut slamming during tender operations. Tender models not published
Submersible and support vessel
None reported
Guests
20 in 8 cabins, including Pullman bunks; cabin ceilings up to 2.7 m 10 cabins in Boat International's directory
Crew
30
On board
10 m pool on the main deck aft; spa; gym; cinema; almost fully enclosed upper deck with full-height windows
Build
Engineering began November 2016; hull at Ulsteinvik from January 2018; sea trials in the fjords near Sulesund, Norway, August 2018; Ulstein delivered the technically complete hull in 2018; finished at Palumbo, Malta, back in the water after outfitting there in January 2020, delivered in 2020 launch in August 2018 and delivery on 14 March 2020 in YachtBuyer; Boat International reported her delivered in May 2020
History
The owner first planned to convert an existing workboat and had an offer for a new 83 m vessel, but chose a new design on an Ulstein platform without the working gear he did not need. In 2020 he also owned the 70 m yacht Olivia
Voyages reported
Norwegian fjords on sea trials, August 2018; Malta, 2018–2020; La Spezia, Italy, May and November 2020; St Barths, Caribbean, New Year 2022. No polar voyage reported
Owner
Private owner; described by Boat International as working in commercial shipping
For sale
Not listed for sale (October 2026)
Flag
Malta

Where is she now

Live AIS position on:

MarineTrafficVesselFinder

IMO 9818797 · MMSI 215708000

Questions

What makes Olivia O an explorer yacht?
She is built on a Norwegian offshore-vessel platform with Ulstein's X-Bow, an ice-class steel hull and diesel-electric propulsion (Ulstein, YachtBuyer, Boat International). She has a commercially certified helipad and a full-beam tender garage that can launch boats in rough weather (SuperYacht Times). No submarine or support vessel has been reported.
What is the X-Bow on Olivia O?
The X-Bow is Ulstein's inverted bow, developed for offshore vessels in North Sea conditions (SuperYacht Times). It pierces smaller waves and reduces pitching in heavy seas, so the ship stays more comfortable at speed (Boat International). Olivia O was the first yacht to use it (Ulstein).
Does Olivia O have an ice class?
Her steel hull is described as ice class and was built to Lloyd's Register standards (YachtBuyer), and Lloyd's Register lists her as in class (Lloyd's Register). The exact ice notation has not been published, so how much ice she is rated for is not known.
How far can Olivia O travel without refuelling?
Her range, fuel capacity and endurance have not been published by the shipyard, Boat International, SuperYacht Times or YachtBuyer. She has a top speed of 16.5 knots and cruises at 14 knots (Boat International). She has been reported as far from Europe as the Caribbean, at St Barths for New Year 2022 (Boat International).
Where was Olivia O built?
Her hull and superstructure were built by Brodosplit in Croatia and moved to Ulstein Verft in Ulsteinvik, Norway, in January 2018 (SuperYacht Times). After sea trials in the Norwegian fjords that August, the hull went to Palumbo in Malta for painting, fairing and the interior, and she was delivered in 2020 (SuperYacht Times, Boat International, Ulstein).
Who owns Olivia O?
She is privately owned. Boat International describes the owner as working in commercial shipping and noted in 2020 that he also owned the 70-metre yacht Olivia (Boat International). She is not listed for sale (YachtBuyer).

Compare with

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

Arctic P yacht

Arctic P

87.6 m salvage tug of 1969, an explorer yacht since the 1990s

Andromeda yacht

Andromeda

107.4 m Kleven explorer yacht, delivered 2016

La Datcha yacht

La Datcha

The first SeaXplorer 77: a heli-ski and dive platform with an ice-class hull and two helicopters

Sources (13)
  1. Ulstein, ship reference: Olivia O
  2. Lloyd's Register, Ships in Class: OLIVIA O (IMO 9818797)
  3. Boat International, Superyacht Directory: Olivia O
  4. Boat International, Olivia O: Ulstein Verft's 88 metre Espen Øino-designed explorer yacht 22 May 2020
  5. Boat International, 88 metre Espen Øino explorer Olivia O delivered 22 May 2020
  6. Boat International, 90+ yachts celebrate the new year in St Barths 5 Jan 2022
  7. SuperYacht Times, Olivia O (yacht page)
  8. SuperYacht Times, 89m explorer yacht Olivia O launched 20 Jan 2020
  9. SuperYacht Times, 88m X-bow superyacht Olivia O on sea trials 7 Aug 2018
  10. SuperYacht Times, Olivia O: latest update on 88m Ulstein/Øino X-Bow superyacht 27 Jul 2018
  11. SuperYacht Times, Ulstein's X-Bow explorer yacht Olivia O in La Spezia 15 Oct 2021
  12. YachtBuyer, Olivia O
  13. VesselFinder, OLIVIA O (IMO 9818797)