OCEANCO BRINGS LEVIATHAN AND DRAAK TO THE 2026 MONACO YACHT SHOW

The 2026 Monaco Yacht Show will provide the setting for an unusual pairing from Oceanco. For the first time at the show, the Dutch superyacht builder will present both a newly built yacht and a rebuilt vessel: Leviathan, measuring 111 metres (364 feet), and Draak, at 93 metres (305 feet). Both form part of Gabe Newell’s Inkfish fleet, which is dedicated to supporting marine scientific research and exploration.

Their presence in Monaco offers a useful insight into the changing possibilities of large-yacht design. Neither project has been conceived solely around conventional ideas of leisure. Instead, their layouts, technical capabilities and operational systems have been developed around a working community and the practical demands of scientific expeditions.

For Oceanco, that distinction is significant. The company has long positioned collaboration at the centre of its approach to yacht building, working with owners, designers, naval architects and specialist suppliers to translate highly individual requirements into functioning vessels. Leviathan and Draak extend that philosophy into an environment where hospitality, crew life, scientific work and exploration must operate alongside one another.

Leviathan was delivered in November 2025. Conceived as a companion yacht within the Inkfish fleet, she has been designed around the experience of the people who use and operate her. Communal areas encourage interaction between guests and crew, while the choice of low-maintenance materials is intended to reduce operational demands and allow the crew to concentrate on their responsibilities.

The yacht also incorporates facilities specifically suited to Inkfish’s scientific mission. A dedicated dive centre, laboratory and hospital form part of the onboard infrastructure, allowing the vessel to support expeditions in remote marine environments. These spaces sit alongside the more familiar functions of a large yacht, creating an arrangement in which research and expedition work are integrated into the vessel rather than treated as occasional additions.

The philosophy extends to the way people live together onboard. Conventional yacht layouts can separate guests and crew into distinct areas, but Leviathan takes a more communal approach. The result is an environment designed around interaction and shared activity, reflecting the collaborative nature of the scientific work for which the yacht is intended.

Draak has followed a different route. Originally an existing vessel, she underwent a comprehensive rebuild led by Oceanco’s Life Cycle Support division before being delivered in June 2026. Her transformation has given her a new operational purpose within the Inkfish fleet.

The rebuilt yacht is equipped to work alongside Leviathan during scientific expeditions. Specialist diving facilities, a substantial tender fleet and heavy-duty lifting equipment enable Draak to support operations that require access to equipment, people and remote marine environments. Elements of the operational and design principles established for Leviathan were also carried across to Draak, helping the two vessels function as a complementary pair.

The relationship between the yachts is particularly relevant to Inkfish. Rather than treating a yacht as an isolated asset, the fleet has been developed as a platform for scientific activity. Its purpose is to support researchers by providing access, equipment, technology and logistical capabilities that can otherwise be difficult to secure.

Gabe Newell established Inkfish around this principle of practical support for the scientific community. The organisation works with researchers to identify what they need in order to pursue their work, then considers how vessels, technology, resources and funding can help overcome those barriers. The resulting approach places collaboration with scientists at the beginning of the process rather than adding research capabilities after a yacht has been designed.

That perspective is visible in both Leviathan and Draak. Their specialist equipment is not simply decorative technology; it forms part of a broader operational system intended to make expeditions possible. The yachts are consequently shaped as much by the requirements of the people working aboard them as by conventional considerations of luxury and accommodation.

The 2026 Monaco Yacht Show also marks a little over a year since Newell joined the Oceanco team in July 2025. During that period, the wider Oceanco Group has continued developing its network of specialist companies. Alewijnse and Winel have joined Aluship, Lateral and Mercury, expanding the expertise available across the group.

This broader ecosystem is relevant to Oceanco’s future direction. The company has increasingly explored how expertise in engineering, technology, design and specialist manufacturing can be brought together earlier in the development process. For complex yachts, where systems and operational requirements can be unusually demanding, that interconnected approach can provide greater scope for experimentation and problem-solving.

Oceanco’s history provides the foundation for this approach. The company traces its origins to 1987, when it was established in the Netherlands. Its Alblasserdam shipyard later became the centre of its operations, particularly after Theodore Angelopoulos became majority shareholder in 2002 and shifted the business towards the construction of yachts above 80 metres. That strategic focus helped establish the scale and specialist capabilities for which Oceanco is now known.

Today, Oceanco operates within the high-end superyacht sector, combining Dutch shipbuilding expertise with an international network of designers, engineers and specialist partners. Its portfolio includes large custom yachts developed around individual owners and highly specific operational requirements. The company’s work increasingly encompasses not only new construction but also lifecycle support and substantial rebuild projects.

That distinction makes the pairing of Leviathan and Draak particularly appropriate for Monaco. One represents the possibilities of a new vessel designed from the outset around a defined mission; the other demonstrates how an existing yacht can be substantially reimagined when its purpose changes. Both ultimately depend on the same disciplines of engineering, design, collaboration and long-term operational thinking.

At the Monaco Yacht Show, the two vessels will be displayed at the cruise terminal, while Oceanco will also host a programme of events and hospitality activities at locations throughout the show. The event provides an opportunity for clients, designers, technical partners and other members of the yachting community to examine the projects and discuss the broader possibilities of new builds and lifecycle transformation.

There is a particular significance in seeing Leviathan and Draak together. They demonstrate that the future of large-yacht design need not be defined by a single template. A yacht can be conceived as a private retreat, an expedition platform, a scientific workplace or, as in this case, a combination of several roles.

For Oceanco and Inkfish, the more interesting question is not simply how far a yacht can travel, but what it can enable once it arrives. Leviathan and Draak place that question at the centre of their design — turning the immense resources of a superyacht into tools for exploration, collaboration and scientific discovery. At Monaco, their presence will offer a considered glimpse of how the language of luxury yachting is expanding to accommodate new ambitions at sea.