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.
The Magnum 60 Furia was launched in 2001, designed by Magnum Marine and Ceo Catherine Theodoli. They say that this is the most successful of the Magnum models.Back in 2001, the 120-kilometer 60 Furia Magnum was named the fastest yacht of this size in the world and after extensive repairs at the Perini Navi Hammer shipyard reached higher speeds.Changes include new air intakes in the engine compartment along with a customizable display on the control panel.The new Magnum 60 concept is attractive to the original design, but much more pleasing to the eye, with distinctive details throughout the American style of the 50s. The owner’s room has individual storage solutions on either side of the room to ensure clean space.Marnix Hoekstra from Vripak says that they kept the overall layout and tuning of the boat, but improved it where it was possible, for example, expanding the companion from the saloon in the middle to the double and twin cabins. They also added daylight, and in the interior they used the same tree that was used in the construction of the boat, painting it in matt white.
February 20, 2020
The simultaneous growth of the megayacht segment and 20-30-meter space, combined with a strong deceleration of everything in the middle, led to the dominant consolidation in the space of superyachts. More than 63% of the gross tonnage of the yacht is currently delivered by only 10 shipyards, which are either in the range of megayachts, or in the range of day boats, or both.This is mainly due to the fact that the shipyards focused on closing yachts 40-60 meters long or a significant decrease in production due to falling demand and a very slow recovery. In fact, only in the last few quarters the demand for this range began to increase slightly, primarily due to larger versions of yachts of 20-30-meter models from these yards.In addition, banks are now afraid to finance yachts and especially shipyards after the events of 2008, which led to factories such as Baglietto had a negative capital of more than 100 million euros. Financing of enterprises in the field of yachting is currently mainly carried out by UHNWI, which decided to actively participate in the market.Some of them intervened to acquire shipyards, such as the Malaysian Genting Group, which acquired Wider Yachts after its owner first bought a yacht from them. On a larger scale, Mohammed Al Barwani, an Omani billionaire, acquired Oceanco in 2010, turning it into the powerhouse he is today.Most of the leading players in the field of yachting actually have strong financial power, which allows them to be less dependent on the credit lines of banks, be it Princess LVMH or Sunseeker Dalian Wanda and others.The same can be said not only about yards, but also about enterprises located in the services market. Camper & Nicholsons, one of the leading brokerage agencies, was acquired by Fincantieri and Lai Sun Group in 2014. Earlier this year, Fraser Yachts was acquired by the public American company MarineMax. Even new companies are now created by owners, such as Ahoy Club, created by Australian Ian Maluf, the owner of the 54-meter naughty and 72-meter Coral Ocean.Although all of these trends may seem unusual for the sector when viewed over the past few years, in reality it all happened earlier in times followed by economic downturns.
February 20, 2020
The 72.8-meter project 705 by Feedship was first taken out of its canopy in the Netherlands. The project is a joint project of the Dutch builder and the British design studio RWD together with the naval architects De Voogt and interior by the Italian design house FM Interior Architecture & Design.
February 20, 2020
A motor yacht built from aluminum as one of the Admiral S-Force series is due to be delivered at the end of May 2020.The accommodation is designed for 12 guests in six cabins, including the main suite of the main deck with a full set of VIP suites and four more cabins under the deck, all with fully equipped bathrooms.On the upper deck there is a large round area for sunbathing, which can also be used as a helipad.In the open air in the center of the yacht is a cinema, as well as an open bar.
February 20, 2020
The new generation of 20-30-meter yachts is easier and cheaper to attract and attract a wide range of owners looking for one-day boats and short routes without the hassle of operating a superyacht.Another attraction of smaller yachts for this base was the ability to move faster from bay to bay with cruising speeds almost twice the speed of superyachts, and the ability to dock closer to shore. Sanlorenzo, the Italian shipyard, the most active in the range of up to 30 meters, was unveiled earlier this December with a market capitalization of 550 million euros and revenue of 355 million euros in 2018.The shipyard created such a series as Bluegame Sanlorenzo.Bluegame yachts are built in accordance with the latest and most advanced construction technologies from composite materials.The BGX project is the result of a prestigious collaboration between Luca Santella, the head of Design & Style and the head of product strategy at Bluegame, together with the design studio Zuccon International Project.These yachts focus almost entirely on outdoor and recreational spaces, minimizing the importance of dining rooms and large cabins.Another common feature of yachts in this new assortment is oversized tender and water facilities for the size of ships, which emphasizes the interests of the new generation of owners. After this trend, its key players saw that their ratings rose sharply compared to those stuck in the middle.
February 19, 2020