Feature 4 | MEGA YACHTS Bigger is better
Te financial downturn has taken the veneer off the yacht building market over the past year with figures dropping by 60% in some cases, highlights Italy-based classification society RINa.
T
he yacht industry has been viewed by many in the past as a “recession- proof ” industry, linked with
moneyed people and profits that keep growing. But, as Paolo Moretti, business manager yachting, RINa Services SpA has pointed out that has not been the case for the last year and the yacht industry in Italy has been hit the hardest, with the smaller yacht market the worst affected by the recession. Due to the impact of the recession a lot of
Italian boat builders are now over stocked, comments Mr Moretti, where yards where effectively stock piling designs in 2008 due to the strong financial growth at the time, there are now almost new vessels on offer in an attempt to sell off the surplus stock. Although, the recession has affected
Northern Europe and the mega yacht industry, it has been less affected by the recession than the smaller yacht market, but it will still take a long time to recover, said Mr Moretti. Te size of yachts has grown substantially over the last few years, to vessels that now have to be classed under passenger vessel regulations. He added that the size of vessels will keep growing, but it will be the number of units that will be a problem. He also highlights factors such as port/ marina size, shipyards capable of handling vessels of this size, and the practicality of a steady income for this vessel type due to the infrequency of orders. Currently, RINa has set its sights on
working on a code for large yachts that carry over 12 passengers and will have to meet with the latest regulations for damage stability and SOLAS 2009. The aim of the code is to clarify the latest regulations coming through from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for both yacht owners and designers, say RINa. Mr Moretti commented that: “Te big problem is how to regulate a 3000gt yacht and vessels that can carry 13-36 passengers. Lifesaving equipment [SOLAS 2009] will be a big feature of this and boats that are built of this size will need to conform to the rules.”
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Paolo Moretti, business manager yachting, RINa services SpA.
He continued: “The damage stability
rules are a problem for designers as they have to balance what the yacht owner wants from the design with the latest IMO regulations. Yacht owners do not tend to like seeing the orange life boats attached to the side of their vessels, so alternative marine evacuation systems (MES) are being looked into.” Further research and experimentation
into green technology for yachts is also being carried out. Research into fuel cells and battery powered vessels are a possibility for smaller vessels and other fuel saving measures such as cold-ironing is also being considered, to keep yachts as environmentally friendly as possible. Technologies such as diesel-electric engines
that are being employed on commercial vessels look to be a likely solution for larger yachts that will allow them to conform to green regulations. Tis year Fincantieri will be launching its
first 134m yacht with a second on the building blocks that was ordered in 2008 that will be 140m. Along with this Blohm + Voss has
launched its latest 120m yacht design, which comes equipped with an 8.5m submarine and two helipads. Although, so far this year
T.Mariotti yachts has been the only Italian- yard to see an order for one of its yachts. Mr Moretti points out that there are
three main shipyards that can handle mega yachts of around 100m in size in Europe. Adding that at the same time Turkey’s has seen an increase in the size of the yachts that it is building. Looking forward Mr Moretti has
said that countries such as China, the Middle East and Russia will be the ones to watch, as China has started to build yachts and a potential market is starting to emerge due to it opening up areas of its territorial waters. The yacht market will take a long time
to recover, Mr Moretti has said that the spring 2010 was “terrible” for the yacht market as it didn’t see the orders that it was hoping for. Te market has now swung in favour
of the owner and the waiting game has begun. “In 2007/8 it was a case of buy now or queue for five years for owners wanting to get a yacht, but now that has changed. Te owners are now waiting for prices to drop and yards are waiting for the orders,” comments Mr Moretti. “It will be hard for the market to regain the numbers that it saw in 2007 as the numbers were faked due to designs that were not bought by owners but yards that added to the numbers and gave an inflated idea of the market.” Already this year Italy has seen two to
three yards close due to the economic impact, but Mr Moretti was optimistic that March and May’s figures will be better. Further, he has predicted that the market will be clear of the recession in 2012, but highlights that the current crisis in Greece will need to stop. He believes that 2012 will be the year that will see significant improvement in the market as he hopes that orders will start to come through in 2011. NA
The Naval Architect July/August 2010
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