The world's biggest privately owned yacht is being built amid great secrecy, but what can Roman expect for his ?200m?

In a German shipyard a project shrouded in secrecy and fear is gradually entering its final phase. At 550ft long - almost twice the length of a football pitch - and 70.5ft wide, weighing 12,000 tons, the Eclipse will be the largest privately owned yacht ever built.

The builder, Blohm + Voss, in Hamburg, is testing the yacht's 20,000 horsepower turbocharged engines, as well as everything from its walk-in humidor to the escape submarine concealed in the hull, in trials off the German Baltic island of Ruegen. The tests are being conducted at night to avoid spy shots.

While the exterior sets new records for sleekness and size, the interior raises the bar for excess. Built over nine levels, the Eclipse will have two helipads and a hangar with space for two ?1m Eurocopters. One is garaged beneath the other and each is raised on to the helipads by a hydraulic elevator.

There will be four pleasure craft, a 50ft tender to ferry guests to and from shore, 20 jet skis and the private submarine. The 12 seat, ?2m sub, made by the Florida based US Submarines, exits the hull through the bottom and can dive to almost 200ft.

The accommodation will feature six guest suites, five VIP suites and a 5,000 sq ft owner's cabin. All come with two en suite bathrooms and balconies. The owner's cabin features a grand piano and a private garden area on the foredeck, spanning decks 4 and 5. There is a mini theatre / cinema, an exhibition space, three dining rooms, an aquarium, a night club, half a dozen hot tubs, swimming pool, a gym with sauna and steam room, and a mini spa. In addition it has a temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar and humidor, two kitchens and staff quarters for up to 100 ? to accommodate the 70 strong Royal Navy trained crew, plus RAF trained pilots and Abramovich's SAS trained security guards. There is even a mini hospital for Abramovich's private medical team to work in.

Other firsts Include a computerised stabilisation system. The Eclipse is too big to dock in all but the biggest marinas, so has to anchor in often choppy open water. To prevent it rocking, giant stabilisers ? effectively motorised paddles ? extend from the vessel's sides when at anchor. They move in response to the waves to keep the vessel level at all times. Onboard computers even monitor and memorise the wave patterns to predict pressures on the hull, so ensuring the stabilisers react before a wave hits the vessel.

The yacht has a huge rechargeable boat battery, which is charged during the day when the vessel is moving to ensure the owner and guests can enjoy complete silence when they are sitting out and dining at night. With the battery on you can then turn off all the diesel engines and all the generators for up to five hours, and all you hear is the lapping of the waves.

Ever since the murder by radiation poisoning of the former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, Abramovich has become obsessed by security, so the yacht will have the latest protection devices. As well as the submarine, there will be a special missile-detection system. Underwater cameras with heat and motion sensors will detect intruders. All the glass is bulletproof, the yacht is being fitted with the latest antibugging equipment and there are supposedly even flash sensors installed to warn of paparazzi photographers taking snaps through the windows.

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