Onlooker causes stir after sharing photo of 'James Bond villain' boat off the coast: 'Super curious'

"Super curious" about a giant vessel that they observed in Hilo Bay, Hawaiʻi, one Reddit user shared pictures of what they described as a "weird ship" with members of the subreddit r/BigIsland.

The ship is certainly a beast, which some Redditors know all about.

"That's the Shinkai — a superyacht designed by Vitruvius and built in 2021 by Feadship in the Netherlands," one commented. Its captain has reportedly said its crew is entirely European and that it is not owned by a Russian oligarch, but there do not appear to be any confirmed reports about the owner. The only other clear clue is that the name of the ship is Japanese for both "deep sea" and "divine rank."

Its price? About $100 million. How many people on board? Ten guests and 12 crew members. Its purpose? Deep-sea exploration, or as another Redditor explained: "That structure on the stern is a crane to launch and recover the on-board submersible."

The first commenter confirmed that among its "toys," the motor boat includes a 6.3-ton submarine, an advanced sonar package for exploring the ocean floor, a crane, a Toyota Land Cruiser, an all-electric jet ski, and a hot tub.

Giant yachts arouse admiration from some and loathing from others. Generally developed to satisfy rich people's obsession with maritime leisure, they produce a substantial amount of pollution and require a lot of energy to operate and maintain.

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According to cleantech news site CleanTechnica, the world's top 300 superyachts generate nearly 285,000 tons of carbon pollution each year. But carbon isn't all — let's not forget noise and light pollution, as well as the discharge of wastewater, which can contaminate the seas and oceans and, ultimately, harm marine life.

Some companies are trying to reduce the environmental cost of these luxury boats, such as Silent Yachts with its solar-powered yachts or Arc Boats and its electric ships and caters.

Meanwhile, the Shinkai, which is almost 55 meters long, does not seem to be going far … unfortunately for some.

"That's the third time I [have] seen it [in] Hilo Bay since I moved here 4 months ago," one Redditor said. In another comment, they added: "Looks like a James Bond villain boat with helicopters."