Sirena 118 Ikigai debuts at 2026 Cannes Yachting Festival
Sirena Yachts’ first Sirena 118, Ikigai, made its world debut at the 2026 Cannes Yachting Festival on the Côte d’Azur, with the shipyard releasing interior images to coincide with the showing. The 36-metre new build entered the water in July and completed sea trials and final commissioning before being delivered at the start of September. The model was first revealed at the 2024 Monaco Yacht Show as the largest boat in Sirena’s composite line, designed in-house with naval architecture by Germán Frers.
Ikigai is built entirely in GRP and kept under the 300GT threshold; the yard lists the yacht’s volume at 279GT and a beam of 7.8 metres. The tri-deck layout is presented as flexible, targeting owners who want a superyacht feel while remaining within composite-construction limits. Çağın Genç, CEO of Sirena Marine, said the project demonstrates how composite construction can be extended into the superyacht arena through focused design and partnerships.
Cor D. Rover and owner craft bold, exploratory interiors
Dutch designer Cor D. Rover led Ikigai’s interiors, developing a concept that shifted from a neutral palette to a more personalised, colour-driven scheme at the request of an owner who was closely involved in the process. Rover explains the brief as being “built around exploration,” with shapes, colours and materials referencing historical vessels and navigation instruments — riveted hulls, aircraft fuselages, vintage portholes and compasses — reinterpreted to feel warm and lived-in rather than literal reproductions.
The interior makes deliberate use of stronger colour notes — moss green, burgundy and mustard — and tactile, nature-referential finishes. Notable details include a main saloon ceiling composed of pressed leaves encased in layers of milk glass to create a greenhouse-like effect, decorative surfaces incorporating peacock feathers, and seashell inlays in countertops. Furniture and fittings were sourced internationally to achieve the bespoke aesthetic while maintaining practical onboard functionality.
Layout, guest capacity and sundeck social spaces detailed
Ikigai accommodates up to 12 guests and seven crew. Guest areas include a VIP suite plus four guest cabins located on the lower deck. The owner’s suite occupies a prominent forward position on the main deck and is configured in a two-deck “loft” layout, with a spiral staircase framed by a two-storey vintage mirror that leads down to a private lower-deck lounge. That lounge includes a fold-down balcony for direct access to the water, a feature aimed at enhancing privacy and owner use.
Social spaces are distributed across the decks and tailored to family use and entertaining. The upper-deck lounge houses a large dining table for communal meals, while the sundeck is outfitted with an al fresco bar and lounge seating beneath a carbon-fibre hard-top. These areas reflect the owner’s strong input on layout and finish, prioritising both conviviality and a range of outdoor/indoor experiences.
Ikigai’s composite innovation and market relevance
Ikigai’s construction in GRP positions it within a growing market niche for composite-built superyachts that remain below regulatory and cost thresholds associated with larger steel or aluminium displacement vessels. Sirena has emphasised the advantages of composite construction for weight, interior volume distribution and production efficiency while pairing that approach with established naval architecture from Germán Frers and in-house styling.
Performance is provided by a fast-displacement hull and twin MAN engines. The standard propulsion package uses twin MAN 1,550 hp units for a top speed of approximately 16 knots, while an optional 1,990 hp package raises top speed to around 18 knots. With Ikigai now on show at Cannes, Sirena is also preparing the launch of its 42-metre flagship — developed with Luca Vallebona and Hot Lab — which is scheduled to debut at the Monaco Yacht Show later this month. Together these programmes signal Sirena’s intent to extend composite construction and contemporary design across a broader superyacht range.
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