International Boat Industry - June-July 2018

58 JUNE–JULY 2018 | International Boat Industry http://www.ibi-plus.com

TECHNICAL

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT | SUPERYACHTS - WORLD REVIEW

Oceanco and Horizon, to name a few.

Several of the superyacht builders are

only working on one or two projects.

Because of the confidentiality that is an

integral part of the superyacht industry, it

is not always possible to identify whether a

yacht is building to a contract or if it is on

spec. The percentage of those being built on

spec is quite high.

Linked to the growth of the fleet is the

need for greater superyacht infrastructure.

This includes greater capacity in the

repair and refit market, more oicer

and crew supply and training, increased

marina facilities, additional capacity in the

brokerage, management and charter areas,

and additional cruising grounds due to

overcrowding in the Med and Caribbean.

Action to respond to these needs is

already well underway, with investment

going into new and expanded refit and

repair facilities around the world. Asia-

Pacific is being heavily promoted as a

third cruising area with related marina

infrastructure and support services being

established. Crew promotion, placement

and training is also responding accordingly.

As to the potential client base for

owning superyachts, constant growth in

the number of UHNWIs (ultra-high net

AS THE GLOBAL superyacht market shows
increasing signs of recovery from the
global downturn of 2008-12, its future
development is being influenced and
dictated by a growing number of dynamics

• some new and some long-running – that
  are having a variable set of impacts.
  The world superyacht fleet continues
  to grow. There are currently around 5,600
  yachts over 30m (98.5ft) in length and well
  over 7,000 for 24m (78ft)-plus vessels.
  Following the end of the global financial
  crisis, the number of yachts ordered or being
  built on spec has been slowly rising and
  currently there are around 400 superyachts
  over 30m in build. This year has seen a good
  stream of new orders or projects built on
  spec, and the market appears cautiously
  optimistic that this path will continue.
  The general trend of more larger yachts
  being built continues, with several over
  100m (328ft) currently under construction.
  But the 200m (656ft) level, as far as IBI is

aware, has not yet been passed. The average

size of superyacht in build over recent years

has creeped up from around 40m-plus to

just over 50m.

The largest completed superyacht is the

180m (591ft) Azzam and the biggest in build

is thought to be the 182.6m (600ft) Research

Expedition Vessel (REV). Designed by Espen

Oeino with an interior by H2 Yacht Design,

the REV is being built at the VARD shipyard

in Norway for delivery in 2020. She will have

a GT of some 16,000 tonnes.

UNTAPPED POTENTIAL

In terms of the number of superyacht

builders, there are around 100 across

more than 20 countries. At least 40% of all

the contracts are now being built by the

pedigree yards, which include members

of SYBAss (the Superyacht Builders

Association) and other leading yards.

These include Lürssen, Feadship, Azimut-

Benetti, Sanlorenzo, Abeking & Rasmussen,

CHANGING DYNAMICS POSE CHALLENGES FOR

FUTURE OF GLOBAL SUPERYACHT MARKET

WORDS: DAVID ROBINSON

SProject SHU from Imperial Yachts measures 138m and is due for delivery in the Autumn

Building the

DREAM