search.noResults

search.searching

saml.title
dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
LEGAL


If a yacht owner is not mentally and financially prepared then owning a yacht is perhaps not for that person. Chartering might be the best option


point suggests Kelly: “The focus tends to be very much on the specification and finish of a yacht, and the price for a new build, and the same for charter (price). However that can mean that specific parts of an agreement and limits on what can or cannot be done get ignored. It’s not enough to have an experienced captain or representative on board, you need to know what legal obligations or rights you have too.”


A change of mind during build projects comes at a cost: “I’ve seen plenty of quite substantial redesigns that add millions on to the price and months on to the delivery date,” says Kelly. Make sure to agree things up front. Discussions of work to be done and improvements to be made are fine, but if they are not clearly defined or arranged in terms of cost and responsibility then the bill at the end can be a shock.


Van Steenderen recommends hiring legal advice to negotiate with the shipyard at the very beginning. “To give an example,” says Van Steenderen, “when financial consequences of late delivery have already been discussed, we frequently see that the yard has already reached agreement about relatively modest liquidated damages both in terms of grace period, number of days and cap on the total amount of liquidated damages. Another example is the use of sub-contractors; has the yard built several projects with the same sub-contractors or is it the first time the yard works with the electric sub-contractor? If there is already an agreement on the milestones for payment of the contract price we often see that this schedule of instalments is heavily frontloaded and not very favourable for the owner.”


“Sometimes,” says Galea, “owners forget that the port/flag state rules and legal obligations must be complied with 24/7, not only from any ownership perspective when they buy the yacht, but for the duration of the ownership/operation of the yacht.”


It’s important to be as clear as possible about who is going to be responsible for specific parts of a build project and how any changes will be dealt with suggests Kelly. “Make sure everything is agreed up front. Agreements to defer final resolution to later on in order to avoid delays almost always end up going badly.”


FAMOUS FAUX PAS Puopolo and Tooker both warn of examples in recent years where owners have experienced problems with the financial reliability of some Italian shipyards, especially with respect to the risks of non-delivery of the yacht due to the shipyard’s insolvency. Also the matter of the warranty works and relevant timing/compensation is very sensitive. Says Tooker, “Let’s say an owner wants to build a yacht in Italy and is advised it would be a good idea to have a Caymans Island company to own this yacht and put the Cayman Island flag on the yacht. And he goes to a shipyard in Italy and asks ‘What security will you give me for all of the payments I’m making during construction?’” So the yard agrees that he can become the owner of the yacht while it is being built. “And then,” adds Tooker, “the question is ‘How do I protect my ownership?’”


UPWIND LEGAL The law firm Upwind Legal was founded in Hamburg, Germany by the two partners Julia and Martin in September 2020 as a spin-off. With their long-standing experience at a major international maritime law firm and a comprehensive global network, the specialised superyacht team continues to advise on all matters inter alia related to shipbuilding, sale and purchase, ownership structures (including partial ownership and time-sharing models), owner’s supplies, insurance, employment/ crew, private and commercial registration, flag and class related matters, charter dispute resolutions, warranty claims, damages, accidents, broker commission dispute resolutions as well as all day-to-day operational and management issues. The firm’s comprehensive global network comprises inter alia owner’s representatives, yacht/project managers and naval architects, corporate service providers, sales and charter brokers, surveyors and technical experts, flag authorities and much more. For more details visit www.upwind-legal.de


ONBOARD | SUMMER 2021 | 91


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164