Yacht news

Metrics for the superyacht market are trending up, with sales and charter revenue up across most brokerage firms in 2019. Yet, owners and buyers are getting increasingly cautious, bracing for an economic slowdown. With yachting still far off its 2008 heights, anxiety grows over whether the sector can sustain another crisis. A decade ago, the yachting market lost half its turnover. Sales plummeted as American and European markets tumbled, pressuring owners to sell and buyers to hold off, resulting in a drop of nearly 40% in brokerage yacht prices. Abandoned new builds and rare new orders lead to yard collapses that rippled throughout the industry. Figures now show the market has recovered only 56% of what it lost, before inflation, which puts it at less than half of previous volumes.Owners and buyers alike are now becoming increasingly cautious as signals of a possible economic slowdown are multiplying. US Government bonds clearly indicate this anxiety in the market with 3-month yields at 2.27% and 10-year yields at 2.1%, an inversion that so far only occurred ahead of a recession.Indicators of anxiety in yachting are also clear. Speculation builds have returned in the past 18 months, with several small to midsize yards increasingly financing the construction of their own yachts in the hope of finding a buyer along the way. The last time the market saw this at a significant scale was in 2008.Several new builds over 70-meters have now been sold for more than their construction costs. Another throwback to 2008 when yacht flipping hit scale and completed yachts were selling at 15 to 20% premiums over new build orders.Ferretti Group, the Italian yacht building conglomerate, is now thinking of going public according to Reuters. The last time the group considered such a move was in 2008.As the market grows increasingly reminiscent of 2008, some industry players have started heading for the exits, providing an interesting opportunity for capitalists. Whilst M&A talks across yachting have skyrocketed in volume in the past 12 months, some deals have already been closed.US broker MarineMax acquired Fraser Yachts, a leading brokerage previously owned by the Azimut-Benetti Group, leaving several brokerages still on the market for consolidation. Dutch yacht builder Moonen has also disclosed it is bringing in a new investor, whereas Wider Yachts was acquired by a group involving Zepter, owner of the 50-meter yacht Joy Me.Global Yachting Group, which went public in 2017 with a market cap of over £50 million, now trades at half that market cap as traders remain skeptical of yachting's performance in the event of a new recession.Recessions in itself are a normal component of any open markets, cyclical in their nature. Yachting, however, will cruise in unchartered territory as the sector is still far off from having recovered from its 2008 levels and lacks the required capital to sustain a new correction. Despite the recent uptick, many yachting firms remain unprofitable.A slowdown could also equal opportunity for larger players looking to expand their market share. Combined, the 10 largest yards already account for over 60% of active new builds. History has shown scale and efficiency were amongst the rare factors that could make a yachting organization profitable, even in a recession.Even if it were to avoid a slowdown, yachting still seems to be poised for deep changes. The private aviation market over the past decade has seen commissions for brokerages rapidly decrease with a liberalization of information and the entry of tech companies.The latest of which, Central Jets, now lets users subscribe for €199/month and charter any jet direct from its owners with the platform taking only a 3% processing fee, a steep discount from the 50% margins traditional brokers used to charge.In aviation, the advent of such business models eradicated a large part of small traditional brokerages and slashed earnings for larger groups, handing back savings to the end users. Whilst yachting is still in its early days of seeing such models come in, a restructuring of current 20% charter and 10% sales fees could be hard to process for most organizations.

US yacht market player Voyager Maritime Alliance Group (VMAG), has announced the successful completion of the largest superyacht conversion on the territory of the USA. VMAG project managed a complex refit of a 90-metre commercial ship initially launched in 1997, to become a fully integrated ocean-going superyacht named Voyager.The transformation work on the vessel began at Leevac Shipyards in Louisiana in 2015. Back then, Voyager was bought by Hornbeck Offshore, a company that provides logistics support and specialty services to the offshore oil and gas exploration and production, mainly in the USA. Then, a three-year conversion into an explorer yacht was ordered.First works done on Voyager included the lengthening of the platform, redesigning the bow area, and adding several superstructure decks for a completely new look. Then, Voyager was towed to Fort Lauderdale’s Dania Cut. During completion works, the superyacht was impowered with the new generators and took a complete interior rejuvenation. Overall, the vessel now boasts six decks with a helipad, spa room, dive centre, and extensive storage for tenders and water toys. Due to the complexity of the project, the delivery was postponed several times from December 2016. VMAG fitted the vessel with over 3,000 monitored points, a customised console with touch screen technology, multiple screens at the bridge enhancing view angles and displaying readability, integrated video switching that shows strategic areas of the vessel using laser detection sensors. David Leone, President of VMAG commented: With our team of technical engineers, I knew we could accomplish this particularly complex project. Impeccable Project Management was a key element to control the early stages that encompassed customised carpentry, welding, fabrication, vessel infrastructure cabling and detailed CAD design utilising naval architecture design and services. Very little was left untouched throughout the vessel, so it was crucial to manage each section of the refit, in the right order, to avoid any delays and additional costs.

Greek builder Technohull has introduced its fasted ever boat 38 Grand Sport, with several units currently at the moulding stage, due for delivery at the end of summer. During pre-production testing, the 11.6-metre model hit an impressive speed of 103 knots.Thanks to her Dynastream hull design, the vessel promises to guarantee stability and comfort for her guests even under the maximum speed. Pre-production models tested last year achieved a top speed of 103 knots over the ground, equivalent to 118mph.Combined with its relatively narrow 3.1-metre beam, and a super-sharp semi wave-piercing bow, the intended speed specifications seem remarkable. The boat packs two Mercury Verado 300/350/400/450hp outboards as options on its notched transom, or three 450hp motors in the super sport version.38 Grand Sport features sporty appearance thanks to new deck layout with a sun pad at the bow and twin loungers aft, plus a streamlined, low profile helm console. The yard’s proprietary shock-mitigating bucket seats offer comfort at speed, or there are Shockwave or Ullman seats available on spec.The vessel was equipped with other comforting hallmarks. Besides the high-quality solid teak decking, there is also an electric toilet, external shower and the option of a snug cabin in the bow. There is all-round LED courtesy lighting, too, and a bathing ladder which deploys and adjusts at the touch of a button.The model’s patented Dynastream hull took five years to develop with a dedicated in-house team of naval architects. This hyper-ventilated hull shape is 10-15 per cent more efficient than previous Technohull designs, offering lower fuel consumption for higher speeds.Technohull is a Greek company known for their fast and high-end RIBs.
The company has been set up in Athens, where RIB owners were looking for a better option for their concept of performance related luxury. Today, the yard offers a complete product mix, with more than 30% annual growth and 60% of turnover coming from exports.

Dutch yacht design and naval architecture company Jinlong has shared news on the launch of a 46.48-metre flagship superyacht of Chinese builder Jinlong. The vessel was designed for her owner, the martial arts movie star and producer Jackie Chan, who was also present at the ceremony.The order on the new 46.5-metre vessel was signed in October 2017, with production taking place at Jinglong’s Huludao Yacht Industry Park facility. Mulder design was responsible for both exteriors and interiors of the yacht, as well as her naval architecture.The full-aluminium vessel was built to RINA classification standards. Propelled by twin MTU 16V 2000 engines, the yacht will demonstrate a top speed of 21 knots and is designed to cruise at 19 knots. At a 12-knot speed though, she will be able to cover an impressive range of 3,000 nautical miles.Jackie Chan is considered one of the highest-payed actors in the world. Thus, in 2015 Forbes listed him second in the Highest Paid Actors ranking with $50 million earnings in 2014, seconding only to Robert Downey Jr. In 2019, Jackie Chan has earned $58 million, according to Forbes. Except for appearances in movies, he earns extra from a vast array of endorsements, producer credits and even his own line of movie theatres, states Forbes.In 2017, Jackie Chan took delivery of a 38.1-metre yacht by Chinese builder Ruiying.

Lexus, luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota, has made one more step towards yachting industry. The company has shared a teaser of the in-built LY 650 yacht presented in October 2018. LY 650 is expected to be completed later this year, according to a tweet from the company.The Japanese brand first shared their plans regarding the yachting realm back in 2017, revealing a concept of a fast boat christened Sport Yacht. Later, a serial version of the Sport Yacht Concept has been presented, referred to as LY 650, where ‘LY’ is the Luxury Yacht, while ‘650’ might stand for the boat’s LOA of 65 feet or nearly 20 metres.With a 5-metre beam, the newest Lexus yacht will boast a distinguished style reflected in the strong, pronounced bow, curved deck accents and accentuated aft hips. Viewed from the profile, the elegant rise and fall of the yacht’s distinctly Lexus roofline flows into rising, broad hips of the rear section. LY 650 will offer her guests three cabins with six beds, a flybridge with a hardtop and a large bathing platform.The vessel will be propelled by two Volvo Penta IPS, donating 1,600 horses for two. Long crossings enthusiasts would be also excited about a 1,000-gallon fuel tank (3,785 litres) and a tank with fresh water supplies of 225 gallons (852 litres).Construction of the model takes place at the North American shipyard Marquis Yachts, based in Pulaski, WI. Work on the first hull has already started, with the launch planned later this year. It has not been revealed yet, how many units the brand is planning to build, as well as the price has not been announced.