Recently, many world’s marinas have gone through deep restructuring to strengthen their offering and compete for superyachts' attention. At the core of this pivotal moment for yachting infrastructure, however, stood Porto Montenegro, one of the first purpose-built superyacht hubs. During the MYS 2019, the plans for further development of one of the 10 most stunning European superyacht marinas got revealed.
The project of Porto Montenegro dates back to 2007, when Peter Munk, a Hungarian-born Canadian businessman purchased a site in Montenegro for €23 million, with the purpose of building a superyacht marina that would rival mainstream destinations. With backing from LVMH Chairman, Bernard Arnault, Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska and Lord Jacob Rothschild, the Barrick Gold founder set out to develop the largest private-sector investment in the country.
Located near the coastal city of Tivat, Porto Montenegro's ambition was to become a homeport for some of the world's largest yachts by providing their crew and visiting owners with high end facilities. The development also included the construction of a strong ecosystem around the marina with condos, restaurants and a five star hotel.
Over its several years of development, Porto Montenegro caught the eye of new investors and in May 2016 it was confirmed that the development was acquired the Investment Corporation of Dubai, the city-state's investment arm.
Currently, Porto Montenegro has 450 berths for yachts from 12 to 250 meters in length (with a capacity to expand to 850 berths), 300 sold-out luxury apartments, as well as 60 units of ground floor retail with restaurants, bars, cafes, shops and amenities and a five-star Regent Hotel with over 130 luxury suites and apartments.
During a private event at the Monaco Yacht Show 2019, Porto Montenegro announced it was going to invest over €500 million in further development and new projects on site over the next 10 years.
Danilo Kalezic, Senior PR and Marketing Manager at Porto Montenegro, stated:
We are currently only building on 30 percent of a vast 24 hectares that once belonged to the Arsenal, a former Yugoslav naval base. To date, we have invested €500 million and I believe that in the next 10 years, we’ll invest additional €500 million to develop half of the remaining land. This is difficult to predict because the site study is still being adopted but we’re on the right track.
He also emphasised, that the Porto Montenegro village has been transforming from a summer destination to a year-round regional lifestyle-centre and multi-faceted business hub.
What is more, in 2019 the Regent Pool Club Residences, consisting of apartments and penthouse suites, positioned adjacent to the five-star Regent Porto Montenegro hotel, was completed. The space contemporary design with elements of Venetian and Italian aesthetics, by London’s WATG Architects and MHZ Paris.
In addition, the managers reported the summer season 2019 to be one of the most successful ever for Porto Montenegro. The village hosted such top-level events as the first RC44 regatta, the Gigayacht Captains Forum, the Sunreef Yachts rendezvous and Gumball3000 supercar rally, along with music, fashion and wine festivals.
Danilo Kalezic expressed on the high number of yachts and residential clients:
All berths for yachts under 30 metres were fully occupied this summer and overall occupancy was 11.5% higher compared to 2018. In the winter season, we recorded a 10.5% increase compared to last year.
Alongside continued upgrades to Porto Montenegro Yacht Club, the village also embraces new business dimensions, offering co-working spaces and new office hubs. In 2019, Porto Montenegro also welcomed its first family office for new business residents, with Monte Carlo Yachts, Beneteau, and Sunreef Yachts among them.
Meanwhile, Damen, the Dutch group behind Amels, has entered into a contract with Adriatic Marinas and the government of Montenegro to develop a superyacht repair and refit facility in a former shipyard in Bijela, Boka Bay. It is expected to become fully operational in 2021.
Innovations in megayacht eco-design seem endless. One of the first designers to take a step forward in this direction in 2020 was a marine engineer, Philip Briand. From the headquarters of his studio in London, he presents the concept of sailing in superyachts, which puts zero-emission navigation at the center of all decisions.The latest concept from the French designer appeared after he was motivated to create a “zero-emission yacht”. This is the second concept from the new Briand family of self-contained yachts, which is on the heels of the 90-meter SY300. Briand previously described the SY200 as the "younger sister" of the SY300.The SY200 will travel in two ways: boat sails and underwater turbines, with which it will collect electricity for the 20 batteries that it will carry in its hold.According to Briand, the length of the yacht is 75 meters, and the sail is 2,000 meters, it generates more than 2,000 kW at maximum speed. To do this, he designed a helmet inspired by high-class, shorter sailboats. In particular, he emphasizes his inverted nose and central glass capsule.Ketch is equipped with a carbon fiber mast and rigging, as well as the same modern hull and upturned nose as the SY 300. Briand estimates the power of the yacht is 500 kW when sailing at a speed of 15 knots and 200 kW at a power of 12 knots."I believe we need to embrace ‘lateral thinking’ when it comes to the future of sailing yacht design. We want to work alongside owners to create the perfect renewable energy machine, using only wind, water and solar energy to run the yacht and provide an exceptional experience of peace on board and exploration of the sea.” - Briand said.At speeds of 15 and 12 knots, he expects to add 500 kW and 200 kW, respectively, which will allow him to generate enough energy on board to enjoy her 12 cabins.On board the vessel can accommodate up to 10 guests. Master-suite leads to a large terrace with a jacuzzi and four large guest cabins. The dining table with 16 seats in the cab is protected from the sun and boasts panoramic views.
January 24, 2020
Yesterday, at the Boot exhibition in Dusseldorf, Il Cantiere del Pardo
presented the new Grand Soleil 44 Performance. This is a project of Matteo
Polly, the best designer in the offshore sector, rated, which is designed to
become a reference boat in the racing sector ORC.
The new Cantiere del Pardo challenge is called Grand Soleil 44. To win
this bid, the shipyard turned to a designer who was best able to interpret the
concept of a sports building on racetracks around the world in recent years.
This new 44-foot kit complements the Grand Soleil Yachts Performance
range, designed for more sporty owners looking for a high-performance boat that
can deliver results even in a regatta, located between the GS 34, GS 48 and GS
58.
As already noted on board the Grand Soleil 48, the GS 44 will also be
available in two versions: the layout will be more suitable for cruising, with
a different layout of the sail and deck plan to simplify maneuvers, the other
will be more Race for the best on the regatta. Style and elegance complement
the DNA of this new 44-foot footer, which feels a family of other models in
this line.
Despite the very light and sporty body, the liveliness of the interior
is surprising in how much volume you can use and perceive. Following the trends
of the latest Grand Soleil Performance models, even on 44-foot deck places,
both for racing and for enjoying a boat on a cruise, they are truly remarkable,
the dimensions of the cabin are significantly increased compared to all
previous models.
Among the distinguishing characteristics of the boat is the location of
the mast in a rather opposite direction, which will increase the sail area for
bow sails in order to maximize the characteristics taking into account the
average Mediterranean conditions. A choice that also allowed the cabin layout
to be promoted and thus have a larger cabin than previous models.
The interior layout includes three cabins and two bathrooms. The spaces
below the deck have a generous beam that offers large and comfortable volumes:
the kitchen is located on the left, the dining room consists of a comfortable
sofa with a dining table in the center, which can accommodate up to 8 persons.
Master-suite, with a comfortable double bed, a sofa and a private
bathroom, is really large for a 44-foot case with a sporty character. To make
the interior even more comfortable, there is a wonderful natural brightness
that penetrates through the various windows of the hull and onto the deck.
January 23, 2020
Abeking & Rasmussen have confirmed the launch of their new 68-meter superyacht, Soaring. The yacht had emerged out of her shed earlier this week and has now been lowered into the water for the first time this morning.Designed by Focus Yacht Design and project managed by Superyacht Technical Services, the yacht, which is set to become available for charter in the summer 2020, comes in at a size of over 1,500 GT.Soaring's upper deck features its master suite with a private owner's aft deck and a library. The yacht's remaining 5 guest cabins will be located on the main deck and catered to by a crew of 17.
January 18, 2020
Jaime Botin, part of the Satander banking dynasty, had been caught transporting a Picasso painting on his 67-meter sailing yacht Adix back in 2015. Now Madrid courts have fined the Spanish billionaire for €52.4 million and sentenced him to 18 months in prison.Botin, an active art collector, purchased Picasso's "Head of a Young Woman" painting back in 1977 for his collection. In February 2013, he tried to sell the painting at a Christies' auction in London but the art work couldn't leave Spain at their culture ministry's decision.Spain has some of the strictest laws when it comes to national heritage. According to them, any work of art over 100 years old that is considered culturally important in the view of their culture ministry can be deemed a national treasure, requiring its owner to get a permit in order to transport it out of Spain. Botin's permit was denied back in 2012.In 2015, Botin, according to Bloomberg, had his driver transport the painting from his Madrid home to Valencia where his 67-meter sailing yacht Adix was docked. When setting sail in June 2015, her captain didn't include the artwork on the list of onboard items. Soon after it set sail for Corsica, from where Botin had chartered a jet to ferry it to Geneva where he intended to keep it according to the publication.Tipped off that Botin's permit for the export of the Picasso hadn't gone through earlier, they inspected the yacht and found the painting in the captain's cabin.Adix itself is currently in Australia, finishing up her refit programme at the yard Brisbane. The yacht is set to remain in the South Pacific up to the America's Cup in Auckland in 2021. The painting found onboard the yacht in 2015 had an estimated value of $27 million, with experts saying it could now be even more. It has since become the property of the Spanish State.With a net worth valued by Forbes at $1.7 billion, Jaime Botin is the largest shareholder of Spanish bank Bankinter and a member of Spain's most prominent banking families. His great grandfather had founded Spain's largest bank, Santander.
January 18, 2020
Richard Matthews, original founder of Oyster Yachts, has returned to its board as a non-executive director. This follows Richard Hadida buying the company in 2018. Matthews had founded the sailing yacht manufacturer back in 1973.Oyster Yachts built its first 32ft sailing boat in 1973. From there it gradually extended its range of sailing yachts finding its sweet spot in 56ft to 125ft units designed by Robert Humphreys. In 2008 the company was sold to private equity firm Balmoral Capital for £70 million, before the firm disposed of it to HTP Investments for £15 million in 2012.Following a failure of the internal hull structure on Polina Star III, an Oyster 825 model, which led to the yacht sinking in 2015. This led to a recall of 4 other units and a dent in the builder's cash flow despite a £83 million order book in 2017. The following year, the company went into administration, before being purchased by Richard Hadida.Hadida is mostly known for founding Evolution Gaming, a company that powers most online casino games and currently trades on the Swedish stock market with a market cap of near €5 billion. His fried, yacht owner and automotive mogul Eddie Jordan was formerly also involved in the takeover bid with Oyster but later backed out."It is hugely important to me personally that the founder of the brand [Richard Matthews] I hold so close to my heart has given it his seal of approval by joining our board." Hadida explained. "Having restored the company to its former glory with the support of a fantastic team – from talented craftsmen to dedicated management – this feels like confirmation that Oyster is once again synonymous with quality and excellence, just as it was when Richard founded it back in 1973".
January 18, 2020