What the decks of this megayacht will have seen. Kingdom 5-KR: the yacht of arms dealers, Trump and Sheikh Al-Waleed

The world of luxury, billionaires and elites is so striking and, at the same time, so mysterious… For example, Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan. Who is it? You may have never heard or read that name. Well, he is one of the members of the family that governs the United Arab Emirates. And you know what? It is a lie that the Great Wall of China can be seen from space, but what was seen for a few years was the name of this sheikh engraved in the form of channels 3.5 km wide and one kilometer long. A whim only available to someone with an estimated fortune of $21 billion.

Because having money as a punishment allows you to indulge in these kinds of expensive indulgences. Indulgences like not a yacht, but a megayacht of the stature of the Kingdom 5-KR, a yacht whose decks have been graced by a wide variety of personalities, from arms dealers to film actors. This is their story.

Kingdom 5KR | Image: Wikimedia Commons

Nabila. That was the name given to this boat when it was delivered to its first owner, Saudi billionaire Adnan Khashoggi, in 1980. And where does the name come from? From his daughter, Nabila Khashoggi. The man considered “king of Marbella”, where he had a mansion, was the son of the personal doctor of the Saudi King Abdulaziz. That, and an arms dealer, one who was involved in conflicts around the world, including the one known as Irangate.

His fall from grace occurred after be tried in Switzerland for having laundered 100 million dollars of Philippine origin. Specifically, the Filipino dictator Ferdinand MarcosIn the 1980s, Khashoggi was considered one of the richest people in the world and every summer he would dock his Nabila in Puerto Banús, which at that time was… well, Puerto Banús in the 1980s. Khashoggi died in 2017 and, by then, the boat no longer belonged to him.

Still from the movie ‘Never Say Never Again’ featuring the Kingdom KR5.

What is the Nabila like?This floating creature cost a whopping [se aclara la garganta] 100 million dollars in 1980. If we adjust for inflation, we are talking about the equivalent of 410 million dollars today. The Benetti company was in charge of its manufacture and for a long time it was one of the largest megayachts in the world with 85.65 meters in length; 13.25 meters wide; 4.72 meters draft and capacity for 615,000 liters of fuel. Today there are much larger ones, of course.

It has five decks and can accommodate up to 52 crew members. Power is provided by two 3,000 HP NOHAB Polar engines that are capable of moving this behemoth at a maximum speed of 20 knots and a cruising speed of 17.5 knots.

Adnan Khashoggi | Image: Wikimedia Commons

What happened to him? Of everything. During her time as Nabila, the yacht inspired the song ‘Kashoggi’s Ship‘ by Queen which literally says, “Everyone drank my wine, you know what I mean. And then we went on holiday on Khashoggi’s boat.” It was also the boat of Maximillian Largo, the evil villain in ‘Never Say Never Again‘, the James Bond movie (with Sean Connery, mind you). In the movie the ship is called Flying Saucer.

As Kashoggi began to experience financial problems, the trafficker sold his boat to the Sultan of Brunei, who soon sold it to another well-known personality: Donald Trump.

And thus the Trump Princess was bornDonald Trump bought the yacht for $29 million in 1988 and the first thing he did was change its name. From Nabila it was called Trump Princess. This was the first of the many renovations that Trump made, as he also added all kinds of amenities to the boat, such as a swimming pool in the solarium, a sauna, a cinema, an elevator, a discotheque and even a small private hospital.

I highly recommend taking a look at this report from 1989 from BOAT magazine that includes photos of what the yacht looked like inside back then. It has no waste. The reform was completed in 1989 and of course, the toys must be renewed, so Trump announced the Trump Princes II.

Fun fact: the company that renovated the Nabila It was Amels. It was also the company that was going to make the Trump Princess II. Well, in 1990, Trump bought that shipyard. However, a series of financial problems led to the sale of Amels to Peter Kutell (another businessman), the cessation of construction of the Trump Princes II, and the sale of the original Trump Princess. Whom?

To Prince Al-WaleedIt happened in 1991. Trump sold his boat to Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who is the grandson of the first king of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz. A billionaire himself, Al-Waleed bought the boat for 19 million dollars and changed its name. From Trump Princess it was renamed Kingdom 5KR.

The origin is the name of the prince’s company, Kingdom Holding Company; his lucky number (5) and the initials of his children (K and R). At the time these lines are written, the ship is docked in the port of Motril.

Cover image | Wikimedia Commons

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