(CNN) Is this the ultimate super yacht?
Sailing Yacht A, Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's latest venture, has finally left the Nobiskrug shipyard in Kiel, Germany and will undergo final sea tests before being delivered to its owner.
Estimated to have cost $450 million, the yacht is taller than the Statue of Liberty and, at 143-meters in length, will be the eighth longest superyacht in the world. Its three carbon masts -- each measuring more than 90 meters -- are the tallest of any boat.
Invention of the 'tourizen'
If you've ever dreamed of traveling the world and exploring little-known locations, then the MORPHotel might be the holiday of the future for you.
Designed by engineer and architect Gianluca Santosuosso, the MORPHotel project aims to develop a new luxury hotel concept. The hotel's "vertebral spine" allows it to adapt its shape according to weather conditions and its docking location.
The MORPHotel concept is based on four main strategies: Space in between; plug-in city-harbor; adaptive shape; and self-sufficiency.
The MORPHotel uses the sea not only to get visitors from A to B -- as cruise ships do -- but also to explore the areas along the way. Cruise ships' fuel consumption tends to be around 470 liters/km, while the MORPHotel will rely on following sea currents around the world.
During its journey around the world, the MORPHotel will stop in cities it encounters along the way and will become a temporary extension to them. It will provide added value for its inhabitants, who can take advantage of its services such as a theater, restaurants and fitness center, while the city will open up to the hotel guests.
Santosuosso believes such a feature will allow the traditional separation between "tourist" and "citizen" to disappear, leaving space for a new entity: The "tourizen."
This allows the MORPHotel to not only reach the cities' harbors by changing its shape, but to also become an independent aquatic organism. Given its 1 km spine, the hotel can spiral in on itself on ocean crossings to become an artificial bay where boats and ships can find shelter.
"One of the fundamental goals that we want to attain in this project is to create a big, independent, self-sufficient artificial organism," Santosuosso explains.
Energy will be provided by solar panels placed along the upper part of the hull and glass panels, and also by the two ends of the spine through the movement of waves. It will also collect rainwater while desalinating sea water.
This self-sufficiency will also be used to produce certain types of food, as each of the central vertebra will contain a small vegetable garden. This part of the hotel will work as a big floating farm, where it will grow vegetables, rear animals and store foodstuffs.
All three masts are able to withstand twice the weight of a commercial Boeing Dreamliner wing.
Designed for a cruising speed of 16 knots (18 mph) and top speed of 21 knots (24 mph), the sails combined will be the same size as a football field.
Melnichenko, estimated by Forbes to be worth $11.6 billion -- making him the 139th richest person in the world -- will add Sailing Yacht A to his 119-meter Motor Yacht A.
The alphabetically-aware Melnichenko named both boats "A" so they appear at the front of shipping registers.
"Andrey Melnichenko is a man with exceptional vision," Boat International magazine wrote in 2015 after Super Yacht A's design details were released.
"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.
Russian billionaire's mega project
Sailing Yacht A -- seen here at the start of its sea testing -- will be one of the world's largest superyachts when it is officially delivered to owner Andrey Melnichenko in 2017.
The 143-meter vessel is the eighth longest in the world, and its 90-meter-plus carbon masts are all taller than the Statue of Liberty.
One of its main features is a glass hull which allows guests to view the ocean below. It has been tested at depths of up to 120 meters to ensure it can withstand the necessary water pressure.
The designer who oversaw the build, Philippe Starck, was also in charge of designing former Apple boss Steve Jobs' yacht Venus.
Melnichenko commissioned Starck for the project after the French designer delivered his Motor Yacht A boat.
Testing for Sailing Yacht A took place off the coast of Strande, northern Germany, on October 16.
Motor Yacht A, which was completed in 2008, cost Melnichenko a reported $300 million. It is pictured moored on London's River Thames in September 2016.
"His first superyacht, Motor Yacht A, rocked the superyacht world with its radical design and now he's done it again."