Oceanco to present Draak at Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show
by Oceanco 2 Oct 02:34 PDT
Draak at FLIBS © Oceanco
Following her debut in Monaco, Draak will make her way to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), showcasing Oceanco's Life Cycle Support capabilities and the first decompression chamber to be installed onboard an Oceanco yacht.
Oceanco is set to present the 92.9m / 305ft Draak at FLIBS, taking place from October 28 to November 1, 2026. Her appearance follows her attendance at the Monaco Yacht Show alongside companion yacht Leviathan.
Originally delivered in 2014, Draak returned to Oceanco's Zwijndrecht facilities for an extensive rebuild to serve an entirely new operational purpose. Previously known as Equanimity and Tranquility, she was selected as the ideal platform to support scientific research and marine exploration as part of the Inkfish fleet.
Draak's rebuild brought together Oceanco's Life Cycle Support and Design teams, Co-makers and owner representatives YTMC, Y.CO and Inkfish, alongside the crews of Draak and Leviathan. Drawing on Oceanco's original design and engineering data, the team integrated extensive structural modifications and new systems into the existing platform.
Rebuilt as a companion yacht, Draak complements Leviathan while expanding the fleet's capacity to support exploration and research. With the two yachts conceived to operate together, both project teams worked closely to align onboard functionality and facilitate seamless operations.
Like Leviathan, Draak was developed with a focus on the people who live and work onboard. "Leviathan and Draak represent the second generation of our thinking about the community onboard and how we can optimize the vessels to serve them and achieve their goals," says owner Gabe Newell. "I've always found it useful to think about the individuals you're involved with and how your actions impact them. It's a funny way of talking about a yacht, and one of the ways Oceanco had to adapt to what I was asking for as an owner."
This philosophy also extends to the fleet's approach to crew employment. "We're designing a program that is the best program for people for the long term — professionally, for their wellbeing and for their families," adds Gabe. "We're building something where people are going to be better off in multiple dimensions."
Crew members were closely involved throughout the project, with operational experience informing decisions from onboard spaces and ergonomics to materials and working practices, creating environments that enable them to work more efficiently. The interior was upgraded by Vedder for Draak's new functionality, as well as reconfigured to encourage interaction between guests and crew. The former main saloon became a shared dining room while the upper deck saloon is now a Chef's Lab, offering a setting for more intimate dining, menu development and chef training. Accommodation was adapted and expanded to include an owner's stateroom and eight guest cabins.
"One of my favorite spaces onboard is the communal mess, where we all eat," says Gabe. "It's very much the heart of the vessel — always lively and buzzing, and just a fun place to be. It has the energy of a really good neighborhood café or bar."
One of the clearest examples of Life Cycle Support's capabilities is the transformation of the former beach club and spa into a fully equipped dive center. As well as diving equipment and a medical treatment room, the new space incorporates the first decompression chamber to be installed onboard an Oceanco yacht.
The six-person chamber, developed with specialist manufacturer Hytech-Pommec, supports both oxygen and Heliox decompression procedures through an integrated Built-In Breathing System (BIBS). This allows Draak to support deeper diving activities for which oxygen-only decompression would not be suitable.
Integrating such a highly specialized system into an existing yacht presented a significant engineering challenge. Rather than cut a new opening in Draak's structure, the chamber was custom-built around the dimensions of the existing access route into the dive center. Its profile was redesigned to reduce its overall height, while the windows, pipework and other components were repositioned to suit the onboard space. A dedicated rail system was then developed to maneuver the chamber onboard, with only millimeters of clearance.
The same level of consideration extended to the chamber's appearance and occupant experience. Its control panel layout, exterior paint color, seating, upholstery and interior details were all customized, alongside an integrated entertainment system. The result combines the safety and operational capability required for deep diving with the finish and comfort level expected onboard an Oceanco yacht.
"Achieving a yacht-quality exterior preparation and paint finish on a decompression chamber was new territory," says Ozkan Sag, Engineering Manager at Oceanco. "Hytech-Pommec embraced our requirements and remained flexible throughout the process, allowing us to deliver a highly specialized piece of equipment that feels fully integrated into Draak."
Significant structural modifications included the removal of the helideck on the upper deck aft to create the clearance required for a dedicated tender operations area on the main deck aft, accommodating Draak's dive boat Scylla, RIB tender Minotaur, a Nautique Paragon sports tender and two Ribeye SOLAS rescue tenders.
Custom lifting systems and heavy-duty cranes were installed to support safe and flexible handling of the tenders and other equipment. A 12.6T Van Driel jib crane with 11m / 36ft outreach was installed on the upper deck aft, while a custom designed C-davit system, featuring twin 6.7T units, was installed on the main deck and is the largest produced by Van Driel. Modular chocks were also installed to provide flexibility for containerized transport and compatibility across the fleet. The swim platform was also extended to integrate an extendable boarding platform and retractable fender system, increasing Draak's overall length by just over one meter.
Oceanco's Life Cycle Support offering spans maintenance and refit through to complex rebuilds, upgrades and lifetime extensions. The team works with owners to adapt existing yachts around changing ambitions, operational requirements and technologies.
"Draak demonstrates what can be achieved by rethinking an existing yacht platform for an entirely new operational purpose," says Life Cycle Support Project Manager Edwin Schneider. "By combining original build knowledge with operational insight and close collaboration across all stakeholders, we have created a yacht that offers greater operational versatility while enhancing onboard capabilities for research, exploration and extended cruising."
Alongside Life Cycle Support, Oceanco specializes in building custom yachts up to 150m, bringing the same collaborative approach and expertise to both new and existing yachts.