Sailing Yacht A is 468 feet long and has masts taller than Big Ben's tower
Mr Melnichenko invested €400 million (£292 million) to build the vessel
It features a massive 1.8 ton curved glass observation pod in the hull
It will have a crew of around 54 and is due to begin sea trials later this year
He is one of the world's richest men and known for being notoriously shy about how he spends his fortune.
But Andrey Melnichenko, the Russian billionaire and businessman, is set to rule the seas after building the world's largest luxury sailing yacht.
Dubbed Sailing Yacht A, the vessel is an astonishing 468 feet (143 metres) long and has three masts taller than the clock tower that houses Big Ben on the Houses of Parliament in London.
Sailing Yacht A (illustrated) will be the world's largest luxury sailing yacht when it is completed. It is about to undergo its first sea trials later this year with one mast before the others are attached. The vessel is expected to be packed with technology and will break boundaries in nautical engineering
The vessel, which cost Mr Melnichenko €400 million (£292 million or $451 million) to build, is one of the most advanced yachts of its kind.
Mr Melnichenko, however, is expected to recover some of the costs by licensing the technology developed for the vessel for commercial applications.
The vessel, which cost Mr Melnichenko €400 million (£292 million or $451 million) to build, is one of the most advanced yachts of its kind.
Mr Melnichenko, however, is expected to recover some of the costs by licensing the technology developed for the vessel for commercial applications.
It is thought to build on the pioneering use of nautical engineering used in Mr Melnichenko's first luxury yacht, Motor Yacht A, which used a knife like hull shape to leave almost no wake.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO KEEP A SUPERYACHT ON THE WATER?
From Russian oligarchs to Middle Eastern royalty to Hollywood producers, it takes a certain type of person to own a superyacht - crucially, they must be super rich.
Andrey Milnichenko has invested $451 million into his new vessel Sailing Yacht A.
However, the initial cost is only part of owning such a luxurious vessel.
For wealthy owners like Roman Abramovich and UAE president Khalifa Al Nahyan, owners of two of the costliest private vessels in the world, the costs associated with keeping such big boats on the water are staggering.
Insurance company Towergate estimates that 10 per cent of the initial value of a superyacht goes on operating costs.
For Chelsea Football Club owner Abramovich's Eclipse, a 162.5m vessel with a missile defence system that cost the billionaire an astronomical $500milion (£332), that means $50m (£33m) a year.
The standard fuel usage for a 71m yacht is 500 litres an hour, meaning an average of $400,000 (£265m) is spent on petrol every year per vessel.
The Value Added Tax (VAT) works out at 15-25 per cent of the vessel's value while docking costs are an average $350,000 (£232,000) and $240,000 (£159,000) the standard for insurance sees the costs soar.
Add to that the expected $1million (£664,000) per year for maintenance and repairs and the wages for an average $1.4m (£930,000) for an on-board crew - which can range from less than 20 to 154 staff on the Sultan of Oman's mysterious Al Said superyacht - and it's a significant outlay.
Sailing Yacht A has eight decks and its keel incorporates one of the largest single pieces of curved glass ever made, measuring 193 square feet and weighing 1.8 tons.
The glass is used to create an observation pod on the bottom of the vessel in part of the keel known as the skeg, where it extends backwards towards the rudder.
Each of its three masts tower more than 328ft (100 metres) above the water line and carry sails that when placed side-by-side are larger than a football field.
By comparison, the height of the Elizabeth Tower which houses Big Ben is 314ft (96 metres).
The yacht, which Mr Melnichenko is thought to have named 'A' to ensure it is listed first in shipping registers, is due to begin its first sea trials later this year.
Initially it will be tested with one mast before the others are fixed in place.
It will dwarf other famous super-yachts like The Maltese Falcon, which is 298ft (88 metres) and weighs 1,367 tons.
By comparison, Sailing Yacht A will weigh 14,224 tons.
Mr Melnichenko was also keen to pack the yacht with the latest technology and sailing engineering.
He hired master ship designer Philippe Starck, who also created Motor Yacht A, to oversee the project.
Although it will have room for a crew of around 54, the yacht will have a high-tech digital control system operated using a touch sensitive sheet of black glass in the bridge.
This will allow the crew to raise and lower the sails and even drop the anchor with a brush of their fingers.
A spokesman for Mr Melnichenko told Mail Online: 'This project was a considerable financial risk for him as he had to fund massive R&D to see if he could achieve his vision.
'But he is a man to always push the boundaries and to challenge the industries he works with to think out of the box so he can achieve something new and exciting as well as beautiful.
'Sailing Yacht A is a monument to invention.'
With an 26ft (8 metres) keel and width of around 81 feet (24.88 metres), Sailing Yacht A had to be built in one of the largest shipyards in the world in Nobiskrug in Germany.
The vessel will dwarf other luxury yachts (illustrated) with a length of 468ft (143 metres) and masts that tower 328ft (100 metres) above the water line. It will also feature a helicopter pad and a glass observation pod
Andrew Melnichenko is known in the sailing world as a pioneering owner after he commissioned his first vessel Motor Yacht A, which featured a unique hull design for cutting through the water leaving little wake. His latest project Sailing Yacht A is expected to bring similar innovations to luxury motor sailing vessels
Each of the yachts masts tower more than 328ft (100 metres) above the water line. By comparison, Elizabeth Tower (pictured) 314ft (96 metres)
The masts were built by Magma Structures from carbon fibre and will be the largest and most highly loaded composite freestanding structures in the world.
The main mast is so large that it contains a small room inside.
Special booms also had to be built to hold the enormous sails, the largest of which is 19,019 square feet (1,767 square metres).
Hamburg-based GL Yachtverglasgun GmbH had to develop new techniques to create the glass hull and then tested it in Geneva in water up to 393 feet (120m) to ensure it could withstand the water pressure.
Boat International, which has been given exclusive access to Sailing Yacht A, said: 'Andrey Melnichenko is a man with exceptional vision.
'Where other yacht owners like to blend into the background, he wants his superyachts to push the boundaries of design, creativity and technology as well as make a statement.
'His first superyacht, Motor Yacht A, rocked the superyacht world with its radical design and now he's done it again.'
It will be powered by two diesel engines and two electric motors which drive five-bladed adjustable pitch propellers.
The vessel is expected to have a top speed of 21 knots (24mph) and to cruise under power at 16 knots (18mph) with an expected range of 5,320 nautical miles.
All the windows on the yacht have been designed to be flush while a helicopter pad has also been built onto the sixth deck of the yacht to drop off and pick up passengers.
Mr Melnichenko's first vessel, Motor Yacht A (pictured) used a unique hull shape to cut through the water and has been seen a ground-breaking piece of nautical engineering. It was fitted inside with Baccarat crystal and the latest technology, a kind of luxury expected to be replicated in Sailing Yacht
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