Aviva
| 98.4 m LOA, 17.2 m beam, 4,966 GT | |
| The yard's largest yacht from 2017 until Liva O in 2023 | |
| Delivered 2017, steel hull with aluminium superstructure | |
| Hybrid propulsion, around 11 knots on electric power alone | |
| Top speed 20 knots on twin MTU main engines | |
| Full-size padel tennis court built into the hull | |
| Exterior and interior design by Reymond Langton | |
| Accommodates 16 guests with a crew of around 25 |
The yacht that raised Lemwerder's ceiling
Delivered in 2017, Aviva stood at the top of the Abeking & Rasmussen fleet by every measure, and she kept that position until the 118 metre Liva O arrived in 2023. At 98.4 metres and 4,966 GT, with a 17.2 metre beam, she carries the internal volume of vessels well over 100 metres. She was also the third yacht of the same name the yard had built for the same repeat client, a relationship stretching back across decades.
That continuity tells a buyer more than any brochure. Owners at this level can build anywhere, and the ones who return to the same shipyard three times are voting with the largest cheques in yachting. Aviva was conceived as a vessel to live and work aboard for long stretches, which shaped every major decision in her design, from the volume distribution to the machinery choices below the waterline.
Hybrid power, used daily
Aviva carries a hybrid propulsion arrangement that was genuinely ahead of its time in 2017. On diesel-electric power alone she can make around 11 knots, enough for repositioning, coastal passages and quiet nights underway, all without starting her main MTU engines. With the mains online she reaches 20 knots, a serious turn of speed for a vessel of nearly 5,000 gross tonnes.
The point of the system is how the yacht is actually used. A vessel that serves as a floating base spends most of its life at anchor or moving short distances, exactly the profile where electric drive pays off in silence, vibration and fuel. Guests notice the absence of engine noise before they can name it. The arrangement also positioned Aviva well ahead of emissions rules that have since tightened around the Mediterranean.
The third yacht of the same name, from the same yard, for the same client. No reference in yachting is stronger.
A padel court inside the hull
Aviva's signature feature is a full-size padel tennis court enclosed within the hull, the first of its kind at sea. It is not a marketing flourish scaled down to fit, it is a genuine court with proper run-off, and the entire structure of the yacht was arranged around the double-height volume it demands. Very few yards would have accepted the engineering consequences of that brief.
The court explains the yacht better than any rendering. Aviva was built as a working residence, a place where her owner could keep the routines of home, sport included, while spending much of the year aboard. The rest of the interior follows the same logic, with genuine office space and living areas designed for daily use over months at a time, an approach that reads closer to a private estate than a holiday yacht.
Reymond Langton, inside and out
The British studio Reymond Langton drew both the exterior and the interior, and the coherence shows. Aviva's profile is long, low and almost restrained for her size, with sweeping glazing that hides her true scale until something familiar appears alongside for reference. There is none of the wedding-cake stacking that makes some large yachts look taller than they are long.
Inside, the same hand produced a calm, contemporary environment arranged for living well over long periods. The design brief favoured light, sightlines and connection to the water over spectacle. The result is a 98 metre yacht that photographs quietly and impresses completely in person, which is precisely the order of priorities her owner intended and a fair summary of the Abeking & Rasmussen house character.
What Aviva signals to a buyer
Aviva is the proof that Abeking & Rasmussen operates at the very top of the custom market. Building a technically novel 98 metre yacht, on schedule, for a client who had twice before trusted the yard, is the strongest reference any builder can hold. She demonstrated that Lemwerder could deliver Lurssen-scale complexity while keeping the project entirely out of public view until launch.
For a prospective owner the lesson is practical. The yard that engineered a hybrid powertrain and a padel court into one hull in 2017 can accommodate whatever unusual conviction an owner's brief contains. Aviva remains in service, maintained to yard standard, and she is routinely cited by the trade press among the most significant German yachts of her generation.
Engines and systems
| Main engines | Two MTU 16V4000 M73L diesels, reported at 2,880 kW (3,862 hp) each, consistent across Boat International, YachtCharterFleet and YachtBuyer. |
|---|---|
| Hybrid propulsion | Supplementary electric motors give fully electric, silent cruising at up to 11 knots, confirmed independently by Abeking & Rasmussen's own site, Boat International, YachtCharterFleet, YachtBuyer and SuperYachtFan. |
| Speed | Top speed reported as 20 knots by most brokers, while Boat International's feature gives a more specific 20.3 knots from sea trials with a preferred cruise of 16.5 knots against a 14-knot cruising figure quoted elsewhere. The extra precision does not contradict the rounder broker figures. |
| Range | 6,000 nautical miles at 13 knots, reported identically by YachtCharterFleet and YachtBuyer. Boat International's editorial feature does not state a range figure at all. |
| Stabilisers | MAGLift stabilisers aft plus a forward pair of fin stabilisers, confirmed identically by Boat International, YachtCharterFleet, YachtBuyer and SuperYachtFan. |
| Tankage | Fuel capacity of 364,705 litres, agreeing between YachtCharterFleet and YachtBuyer once units are converted. Freshwater capacity is reported at roughly 40,000 litres by both, though the underlying gallon and litre figures do not convert perfectly and are worth checking against a primary source. |
| Gross tonnage | Reported inconsistently at 4,966 GT (Boat International), 4,999 GT (YachtBuyer) and a rounded 5,000 GT (Charterworld, Abeking & Rasmussen's own site). |
| Thrusters and generators | No source found specifies bow or stern thruster models or generator make and output. This appears to be genuinely unpublished rather than merely unresearched. |
What owners and crew report
Design studio quoted on the padel court's dual purpose
Reymond Langton Design stated the court is not only a lifestyle change for the owner but also for the crew, since it doubles as the largest gym of any yacht, and that when not in padel use the crew plays football and uses other exercise equipment in the space.
Reymond Langton DesignNo independently verifiable owner, crew or charter-guest testimonial found
Extensive research turned up design-team commentary and legal-case reporting, but no first-person account from a named guest, captain or crew member describing time aboard.
Yotters research desk
What is good, and what to watch
Strong points
- The padel court has independent industry recognition, not just marketing weightThe enclosed court, reported at roughly 20 by 10 metres with 6.5 to 7 metre clearance depending on source, won the World Superyacht Awards 2018 Judges' Special Award and the Boat International Design and Innovation Awards 2018 for Best Lifestyle Feature Design.
- The hybrid propulsion is a real, working systemAbeking & Rasmussen's own site, Boat International, YachtCharterFleet, YachtBuyer and SuperYachtFan independently agree the electric motors give roughly 11 knots of silent, emissions-free cruising, with twin MTU 16V4000 M73L mains taking her to a reported 20 to 20.3 knots.
- Guest accommodation is unusually generous for her sizeBoat International and Charterworld both note guest suites sized comparably to owner suites on 50 metre yachts, with a beach club, gym, cinema and spa package beyond her gross tonnage class.
What to watch
- The 'third yacht of this name' claim does not hold up under cross-checkingBoat International's own feature calls this Lewis's third Aviva, but the same publication's coverage of the 68 metre 2007 Aviva separately calls that boat the third of the name, and Wikipedia's entry on this 98 metre yacht calls her the fourth. Which number Aviva she actually is remains unresolved rather than a clean fact.
- Even basic figures disagree across brokers and pressGross tonnage is given as 4,966 GT by Boat International against 4,999 GT by YachtBuyer and a rounded 5,000 GT elsewhere. Estimated value swings from 152 million to 250 million dollars across outlets, none tied to a primary source.
- The owner's privacy has been compromised by his legal case, not by designUnlike most flagship owners who stay unnamed, Joe Lewis's identity and 2023-2024 US insider-trading case are extensively public record, partly because prosecutors alleged the yacht itself was used to help tip off associates. It has produced tabloid-style coverage of her Devon dockside stay rather than the usual admiring trade press treatment.
- The builder credit is a simplificationWikipedia credits Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft as the hull builder, with Abeking & Rasmussen completing and outfitting the vessel at Lemwerder, a detail most press coverage omits in crediting A&R alone. This is not independently corroborated by a second source, so it should be read as an unverified wrinkle.
Practical detail
| Ownership and current role | Still owned by British businessman Joe Lewis of the Tavistock Group, former majority shareholder of Tottenham Hotspur. Boat International describes her as functioning as his floating home and office rather than a charter or resale asset. No sale listing found on YachtCharterFleet, YachtBuyer or Charterworld as of this research. |
|---|---|
| Charter availability | Reported as not currently available for private charter, per both YachtCharterFleet and Charterworld. No confirmed charter rate exists in any source found. |
| Build cost | Never officially disclosed by Abeking & Rasmussen or the owner. Press estimates disagree sharply: 250 million dollars is the figure repeated by SuperYachtFan, YachtBible and Luxurylaunches; dmarge cites roughly 220 million; an earlier autoevolution piece cites 152 million. None of these are sourced to the yard, a broker or the owner, so treat the true build figure as unconfirmed. |
| 2023-2024 legal history | Aviva formed part of a roughly 300 million dollar bail collateral package, alongside private aircraft, after Joe Lewis's 2023 US indictment for insider trading. She was effectively immobilised in Malta through much of 2023 while the case proceeded. Lewis pleaded guilty in January 2024, was sentenced in April 2024 to three years' probation and a 5 million dollar fine, after which the yacht was reported to have left Malta for Albania and Zakynthos. Lewis received a US presidential pardon in November 2025. Reported by Bloomberg, NBC News and MercoPress. |
| Recent whereabouts | 2024 sightings placed her in Vlissingen in the Netherlands en route to Hamburg, on the River Thames, and docked for over a month in Dartmouth, Devon, where local residents were reported to have complained about her dominating the harbour skyline. No confirmed 2026 location found in this research. |
| What is not published | True build cost, current market value, annual running costs and precise present-day cruising location are all unconfirmed or estimate-only. |
Questions owners ask
How big is the Abeking & Rasmussen Aviva?
98.4 m LOA, 17.2 m beam, 4,966 GT. The yard's largest yacht from 2017 until Liva O in 2023.
Who is the Abeking & Rasmussen Aviva for?
An owner who plans to live and work aboard for months at a time and wants flagship scale delivered with total discretion.
What is the Abeking & Rasmussen Aviva good at?
The padel court has independent industry recognition, not just marketing weight. The enclosed court, reported at roughly 20 by 10 metres with 6.5 to 7 metre clearance depending on source, won the World Superyacht Awards 2018 Judges' Special Award and the Boat International Design and Innovation Awards 2018 for Best Lifestyle Feature Design.
What are the drawbacks of the Abeking & Rasmussen Aviva?
The 'third yacht of this name' claim does not hold up under cross-checking. Boat International's own feature calls this Lewis's third Aviva, but the same publication's coverage of the 68 metre 2007 Aviva separately calls that boat the third of the name, and Wikipedia's entry on this 98 metre yacht calls her the fourth. Which number Aviva she actually is remains unresolved rather than a clean fact.
What do owners and crew report about the Abeking & Rasmussen Aviva?
Reymond Langton Design stated the court is not only a lifestyle change for the owner but also for the crew, since it doubles as the largest gym of any yacht, and that when not in padel use the crew plays football and uses other exercise equipment in the space. (Reymond Langton Design)
Who it is for: An owner who plans to live and work aboard for months at a time and wants flagship scale delivered with total discretion.