PlanetSolar, the 100 by 50 foot catamaran will be “silent and clean,” say its makers, also called PlanetSolar.

The vessel will be able to achieve a top speed of around 15 knots, equivalent to 15 miles per hour, and can accommodate 50 people on its round-the-world voyage, its Swiss-based builders say. The boat is topped by 5,380 square feet of solar panels, with a bright white cockpit sticking up in the center.

Constructed at the Knierim Yacht Club in Kiel in northern Germany, its design also means it will be able to slice smoothly through the waves even in rough seas w.

PlanetSolar will be launched in late March before starring at Hamburg port’s 821st anniversary celebrations in May and undergoing testing between June and September. The world tour will then start in April 2011.