HOW INNOVATION CAN DRIVE SUSTAINABILITY IN THE SUPERYACHT INDUSTRY
My generation has had the privilege of living in an extraordinary world, full of beauty and variety. There is nothing more important than being able to leave our grandchildren behind a world as we have known it, so they have the same opportunity to discover its wonders.
However, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that we are arriving at the issue of sustainability very late. Recent reports show that we are far worse off than we thought on climate change.
The situation has become so critical that even the shortterm goals we have set ourselves for 2030 may no longer be enough. It may be a case of bringing our objectives forward to 2025. It doesn’t mean abandoning targets but maybe we should be dividing them in two; between those long-term issues where we’re still grappling for solutions and the quicker, more viable fixes which can be accelerated.
There are some issues, such as waste management, water treatment and electrification of docks that can be fastforwarded. We have already discussed many of these solutions and set ourselves five-year targets. But given the critical urgency of the situation, we will surely have to accelerate them and solve them sooner than expected. These are all problems that aren’t necessarily easy to resolve, but nor are they impossible.
I recently spent some time in hospital, and it gave me plenty of food for thought. When you observe closely how a hospital works, the amount of waste generated is frightening. It made me think about what we can do in the refit business and how we need to take immediate action to address those things that are within our power to influence. Jettisoning waste into the sea is not only an urgent issue, but it should also be considered a punishable crime. We have to be able to solve this situation now. If we don’t, we are endangering not only the future of our industry, but the world as we know it today.
At MB92 one of the main actions we’ve taken has been in dock electrification. We have invested significantly in providing connections so that all yachts that use our facilities can be connected to onshore electricity that comes entirely from renewable sources.
It’s inconceivable to me that a yacht today should have to be powered by a diesel engine while docked in a refit shipyard or a marina. It should be obligatory for all yachts to be plugged into onshore power by the end of 2022. Given that superyachts spend just 15% of their time cruising, this would drastically reduce their carbon footprint.
I’d love to say otherwise but, unfortunately, I believe that regulations are necessary. Without regulations there will always be someone that is going to try to cut corners to lower costs.
Eliminating emissions during the propulsion of boats is a more complex issue that’s likely to take longer to resolve. But I was hugely encouraged by the news that Team New Zealand from the America’s Cup has developed the first
auxiliary boat powered by hydrogen. This was a project that was initially meant to take three years, but they have done it in nine months. It’s too early to say if it will be a success because they are still conducting sea trials, but I think it definitely shows that hydrogen could be an alternative to diesel for the industry. Team New Zealand have shown that it’s possible to accelerate timelines and that where there’s a will then the pioneers will find a way.
For Team New Zealand, surely their main goal is to develop a sailing boat that can go faster - and yet they have invested time and money on a support boat’s propulsion system. I think that this shows a trend and a determination from the corporate world to find solutions because ultimately the funds to develop this system came from the team’s sponsors. It shows that those sponsors are concerned about these issues and are determined to make solutions happen.
It is my belief and hope that we soon see owners, management companies, shipping agencies, as well as yacht officers and crews, demanding sustainable practices from the marinas and the shipyards where they are moored or carrying out maintenance.
There is going to be increasing pressure and demand from society, and it is my hope that this filters through the entire production and supply chain, meaning that soon if a yacht is not sustainable, it will dramatically lose its value.
WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE THIS SITUATION NOW. IF WE DON’T, WE ARE ENDANGERING NOT ONLY THE FUTURE OF OUR INDUSTRY, BUT THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT TODAY
The findings of this report are based on a panel discussion between renowned experts from the industry and institutions focusing on how technology and innovation can be used to protect the marine environment. After analysing the current state of efforts to come up with solutions that reduce emissions and waste in materials, the panel outlined the way forward to achieve a more sustainable industry. The debate put on the table not only the objectives the sector has set out but also the obstacles to achieving them and possible solutions.
The report also analyses the road ahead in marine environment regulations and what the industry is doing to self-regulate. The findings were presented in an article featuring the point-of-view of several experts. Finally, the report looks at other sectors, such as the powerboat racing sector, to see what they are doing to push ahead with technological innovation.
Charlie Devereux Journalist Lead by Thought
Philippe Groulx Technical Office Manager at MB92 La Ciotat
Michael Breman Sales Director at Lürssen
James Roy Managing Director at Lateral Naval Architects
Pier Posthuma de Boer Refit & Services Director at Feadship
Tobias Kohl Director Application Engineering Marine at Rolls-Royce Solutions
The latest report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlighted the increasing sense that the world is in the last chance saloon. The time left for action is almost up if we are to keep rising temperatures within a manageable range.
Carbon emissions must peak by 2025 and then fall rapidly to almost zero by the second half of this century if the Paris Climate Agreement objective of limiting global warming to 1.5C is to be met. Professor Jim Skea, co-chair of the report, said it’s “now or never” if global warming is to be kept in check.
“Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible,” he said.
That sense of urgency is only just reaching the superyacht sector. The sector is not only arriving late to the problem but is at risk of missing the boat altogether.
“The situation has become so critical that even the shortterm goals we have set ourselves for 2030 may no longer be enough,” says MB92 Group Chairman Pepe García-Aubert. “It may be a case of bringing our objectives forward.”
That’s not to say that the solutions are easy or obvious. To reduce emissions in time, the industry will have to tap into the latest technology and innovation. Industry insiders say there’s a reticence among owners to be the first. Trying out new technologies might make you a heralded pioneer but it could just as easily leave you holding an expensive, failed experiment.
Regulatory targets set by governing bodies are virtually non-existent, or easy to meet. It’s therefore up to the sector to self-regulate, which leaves space and freedom for experimentation. The superyacht business has the money and the people with the know-how to find solutions.
Some ship builders are working on projects that could open the way to zero-emission cruising. Whether the final answer lies in hydrogen fuel cells or methanol is still too early to say but reaching a consensus in the industry about the most viable option will help accelerate the process.
Engine makers are already offering biofuels that can significantly reduce emissions. Superyacht engines could soon be powered by e-diesel and synthetic fuels such as hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Designers are shifting to more sustainable materials, using natural fibres that can be recycled and that reduce the weight of the boat to improve efficiency through the water.
Most of the pioneering work is being done on new builds, where designers have the freedom to experiment with solutions that may require a radical rethink of spaces and volumes. It’s often difficult to retrofit some of these solutions to existing yachts.
But the existing fleet isn’t going anywhere soon, and with life cycles of more than 30 years, there are solutions already available that can help these boats to reduce their footprint.
Yachts can make more efficient use of the power they generate by installing a smart grid system, consisting of a battery bank and power management system that implies the use of smaller generators. Most yachts have oversized generators meaning they need additional power from the engine to reach a minimum load of 70% or higher. This leads to higher fuel consumption (and emissions) to produce energy that’s often not even used.
A smart grid not only improves efficiency in a generator’s use, with batteries supporting moments of high consumption, but also avoids degradation of the engines. The smart grid also offers the option of a ‘silent mode” which allows for supply to be fully provided by the batteries in moments of lower demand.
IMO D-2 STANDARD
The transfer of invasive marine species into new environments via ships’ ballast water is a significant environmental threat. Sometimes organisms within the ballast water can establish themselves in the local area when the water is pumped out, disrupting the ecosystem.
The IMO’s D-2 standard on ballast water, which came into force in 2017, specifies the levels of viable organisms that are allowed to remain in the water after treatment. Vessels with a keel laid before September 2017 must install an approved system by September 2024.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. There are numerous options available to yachts including ultraviolet, chemical injection, pressure vacuum, heat and ozonation that can meet the specific requirements of a boat.
The heat produced by generators can be recycled for use on water for showers or cleaning on the boat, reducing energy costs and carbon emissions while increasing energy efficiency and permitting smaller heaters to boil water.
An estimated 40 million litres of plastic bottled water per year are consumed by guests and crew on superyachts. Installing state-of-the-art water purification systems can drastically reduce the generation of plastic waste while also preventing microplastics from entering people’s bodies, or the ecosystem.
TIER III / EPA 4
When a yacht changes generators, IMO and EPA regulations stipulate that they must include a Selective Catalytic Reduction post-exhaust treatment. This is only enforced when changing generators - which isn’t often – but yachts can do so voluntarily if they want to reduce their emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Yacht owners can also opt to install a diesel particle filter, which removes harmful particles from the burning of fuel.
IMO MEPC 224 (64)
Another regulation that’s only mandatory on new builds or when upgrading the existing plant is the installation of sewage plants that don’t use chlorine to treat sewage before being dumped. Sewage plants that use chlorine can cause sea waters to sterilise when not properly monitored. Newer options use either bacteria or chlorinefree physio-chemical treatments.
Climate change is finally taking centre stage on the global agenda and industries are pouring billions of dollars into researching technologies to accelerate a push to reduce carbon emissions to zero.
In the next decade most of us may be driving electric cars. Industry analysts believe we may have already passed the tipping point and they expect take-up to accelerate as quickly as when the internet suddenly broke into the mainstream in the late 1990s.
In the superyacht industry, there’s just a trickle of emission-free options beginning to emerge and even hybrid alternatives comprise barely 1% of the existing fleet of 30-metre+ yachts.
Clients are the ones that ultimately will be driving the bus and it is our job to tell them what is possible and to try to convince them to take this bold step
- Michael Breman -
A study published in 2021 by Richard Wilks and Beatriz Barros at Indiana University found that out of all the assets owned by billionaires, in almost all cases superyachts were the biggest contributors to their carbon footprints, far outstripping other forms of transportations such as private jets, helicopters and cars. They found that a superyacht with a permanent crew, helicopter pad, submarines, and swimming pools, emits about 7,020 tons of CO2 a year. By comparison the average US citizen’s carbon footprint was about 15 tons in 2018.
So why has the superyacht industry been so slow to take up the mantle?
Perhaps because finding an alternative to diesel that is as efficient and doesn’t occupy half the boat is a risky process of trial and error. The challenge is to find the early adopters who will plough a furrow for the rest to follow, said Michael Breman, head of sales at Lürssen.
“In the discussions we have with customers, very often the guinea pig aspect comes up – what do you do when it doesn’t work?’’ Breman says. “Clients are the ones that ultimately will be driving the bus and it is our job to tell them what is possible and to try to convince them to take this bold step.”
James Roy, managing director at Lateral Naval Architects in Southampton, says he’s currently approached by three different kinds of client. A large part simply wants a boat built and isn’t concerned about sustainability. A second group is interested in exploring ideas that would allow them to reduce their carbon footprint but often reverts to a “vanilla solution” when the complexities are laid bare to them.
But he’s also seeing a third group of clients that are prepared to be the first-movers on innovation to find sustainable solutions, he says.
“These are the innovators who realise that you don’t make a gain without taking some risk,” Roy says. “Our challenge is to make it more compelling for them to take those risks and actually make them realise that they’re not betting everything on red or black. We need to make the benefits more tangible.”
It’s a similar story in the refit business, says Pier Posthuma de Boer, director of refit and services at Feadship in the Netherlands. Feadship is getting plenty of requests for studies to convert yachts to more sustainable energy sources but few of these are translating into orders. He expects this to change “in a year or two”.
“I would have hoped to be repowering half the ships that are returning to Feadship for refits or at least replacing their old diesel engines with more sustainable alternatives, but that’s not the case yet,” says Posthuma de Boer. “Studying it is not enough. We need to get more orders in to actually make those modifications.”
Some might say, what about ditching engines altogether and reverting to a renewable source of propulsion that ships have relied on for millennia: the wind. Indeed, Oceanco is in the process of delivering a 127-metre sailboat with three masts to Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos. Feadship is working with Merveille Yachting on the design for a yacht that uses computer-driven wings to harness the wind and propel the ship.
Roy warns that “depending on how you want to use your boat, putting sails on a boat is not quite the panacea it seems.” Most superyachts are used for coastal hopping. Raising sails over short distances is time- and labour-intensive.
Our challenge is to make it more compelling for owners to take those risks and actually make them realise that they’re not betting everything on red or black
- James Roy -
“If you need a crew of 10 just to get the whole lot up and get down the coast, then the chances are that the systems are not used as readily as they should be,” Roy says.
Putting masts on a boat that won’t use them frequently could even be counterproductive, adding weight and friction that increases fuel consumption. Still, Roy concedes that wind power could be used as part of a cocktail of solutions to reduce a yacht’s carbon footprint.
Many question whether there’s too much emphasis on the emissions from propulsion given that superyachts spend most of their time in stationary mode – either moored in a marina or shipyard or anchored on standby. To really reduce emissions, regulators and designers should focus on how to cut energy consumption while boats are stationary.
The savings could be significant. The average consumption of electricity per yacht at the MB92 Barcelona shipyard is 2,341 kWh per day. By comparison, the average household in the UK consumes 8 kWh/day, according to Ofgem, the state energy regulator.
That’s why MB92 offers onshore power from renewable sources to the yachts that dock at its Barcelona shipyard so that they can switch their diesel engines off.
“The power generation is the main thing, the propulsion is secondary,’’ says Philippe Groulx, technical manager at MB92’s La Ciotat shipyard. “If it can be efficient when it’s in hotel load, that’s for sure the first step to doing something better.”
The solution could be as simple as a switch to hybrid engines that allow yachts to reduce their consumption from a generator through the use of batteries when stationary. But take-up has been slow even if it is rising. Demand for hybrid superyachts has grown by 50% in the past five years, according to figures by Phil Draper Associates. Yet the number of hybrids on the water remains tiny: only 80 out of the existing fleet of 6,000 - just over 1%.
Part of the reason is that the penalties are far from demanding. Regulations for the maritime sector on greenhouse gas emissions lag far behind other sectors and are virtually non-existent for superyachts. The International Maritime Agency has introduced some rules to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide but its target to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050 trails other industries.
In July 2021, the EU announced its “Fit for 55” strategy which proposes reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in the maritime sector by 2030 and with a target of zero emissions by 2050. But regulations only apply to ships over 5,000 gross tonnes and exclude several ship types including offshore vessels, fishing boats and yachts in order to focus on the biggest emitters. While shipping produces 1.7% of total global carbon dioxide emissions, Transport & Environment, a Brussels-based NGO, estimates the exemptions rule out 25.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, roughly equivalent to Denmark’s annual carbon emissions.
The power generation is the main thing, the propulsion is secondary
- Phillippe Croulx -
THE OCEANS
Stricter regulations or even incentives would help yacht owners switch to cleaner forms of energy consumption, argues Feadship’s Posthuma de Boer. But he also warns that there’s a risk that regulations can become so onerous that owners choose to off-set their emissions rather than seek ways to cut them.
“Creating incentives legislation will push our owners to start doing it,” he says. “I believe that will be useful, but then it is extremely important how that is implemented.”
The private sector could also provide the financial incentives needed to convince an owner. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, carried out a report for the European Commission last year in which it criticised European banks for being slow to act on sustainability and having only a limited grasp of their exposure to environmental, social and governancerelated risks. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in an open letter to investors in 2018 that the asset manager would withdraw investment from companies that don’t pay attention to their ESG metrics.
It was with regulations in mind that the Water Revolution Foundation has created a global standard on CO2 emissions for superyachts. The Yacht Environmental Transparency Index, or YETI, is designed to help owners understand the impact of the materials and technologies they can use. The Superyacht Eco Association is working on a similar index.
In the future, the YETI index, which is still being tweaked, is expected to have an impact on a yacht’s resale value, giving owners an incentive to make improvements to their yachts in order to keep up with the latest developments in sustainable solutions.
Ultimately, the motivation to implement change may have to come from inside, says Lürssen’s Breman. The price paid for sustainability is a marginal factor for the world’s richest men; it’s about a sense of responsibility, and even glory, he says.
“This is a decision you take on what your grandchildren are going to tell you when you’re on the boat saying: ‘why do we have a stink pot?’” he says. “I feel like Lord Kitchener every time I speak with a client. I point my finger: ‘I want you. You have to be the first one. Be bold, do it, and you will be immortal in the annals of yachting.’”
The maritime sector is trailing far behind, and that includes superyachts. But solutions are emerging.
In November 2021, the Yara Birkeland set sail. The ship’s builders claimed it was the first commercial batterypowered zero emissions container ship entered into operation and may prove to be a model for future green shipping. The ship was designed for short distance journeys so it’s difficult to see that there will be an equivalent for the superyacht sector in the near future. Future Proof Shipping, a Dutch marine transportation services provider last year decided to retrofit its inland vessel, Maas, to a zero-emission hydrogen propulsion system.
The next few years will also see some exciting new projects unveiled in the superyacht industry. Sanlorenzo plans to deliver the first fuel cell-powered 50-metre superyacht by 2024. The fuel cells will generate enough electricity to power the hotel load when the generators are off. The owner is the Italian shipyard’s chief executive, Massimo Perotti, who hopes the plans will prove to be a prototype for yachts in the 24-metre to 80-metre segment of the market. For larger yachts, Lürssen is also developing a fuel cell system driven by hydrogen reformed from methanol.
A prospective owner can be bombarded by the sheer volume of solutions on offer when making decisions about the designs of a new yacht.
“There is no existing silver bullet,” says Tobias Kohl, head of marine application engineering at Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH. Each option brings its own complications and requires compromises on storage space, range and speed. There are few tried-and-tested examples to use as a guide.
Batteries might seem like a good idea but take up significant amounts of precious space and they still need to be charged by a diesel engine. There’s a reason why diesel is still dominant.
“We find it hard to walk away from diesel,” Lürssen’s Breman says.
Many are touting ammonia as a solution for commercial shipping. Liquid ammonia is easier to handle than hydrogen. Hydrogen has to be stored at -253 degrees Celsius as a liquid or at pressures of around 700 bar as a gas. Liquid ammonia can be stored at a much more reasonable -33 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius and 9 bar as a gas.
It’s also one of the most highly produced chemicals worldwide because of its use as a fertiliser in agriculture. There are several large-scale ammonia production plants around the world.
But Kohl doesn’t see it as a solution for superyachts. “Ammonia is an attractive energy carrier fuel but it’s not applicable for yachts simply because it’s so toxic,” he says.
It is becoming increasingly clear now that methanol - and preferably green methanol - is getting very popular and will assume a dominant position over the next few years
- Tobias Kohl -
Using methanol as a substitute for diesel is one of the most viable solutions, says Rolls-Royce’s Kohl. Methanol’s attraction lies in that it shares some of the same qualities as diesel, The refuelling process is similar. The real difference is that it needs double the amount of fuel to produce the same power, he says.
“It is becoming increasingly clear now that methanoland preferably green methanol - is getting very popular and will assume a dominant position over the next few years,” Kohl says. “But it cannot be the only solution.”
Lürssen is betting on methanol as the most effective fuel to use to convert into hydrogen to power fuel cells because they have found that it’s the fuel that most closely matches diesel in terms of its energy density, Breman says. The company has spent more than a decade researching the potential use of the fuel for its yachts. A pilot project they’re testing and which is due to be delivered in 2025, will allow a yacht to cruise 1,000 nautical miles and operate for three weeks at anchor in non-emission mode.
But methanol is still not as efficient in energy conversion and will require 2.4 times as much storage to produce the same amount of energy as diesel. Compromises will have to be made, not only on the space allocated for fuel storage but also on how far the yacht can travel before refuelling.
Some of the larger yachts aim to refuel just once in a season. When they come to the Mediterranean at the beginning of the summer they will take on one load of diesel that they hope will last until they return to a shipyard for maintenance once the holiday period is over, Breman says.
“The discussion with the client is: how much of a compromise are you willing to do on your spaces, or how much bigger are we going to make the boat for the maintenance of the same spaces? And how much, if any, compromise are you willing to do on range?” Breman says.
Using a certain fuel isn’t only about weighing up energy density; issues of supply may also play a part. While methanol is widely produced all over the world, Breman says that when Lürssen were investigating its use they found that none of their regular fuel brokers stocked it or even had it on their radar. Maersk, the world’s second largest shipping company, has had to find its own methanol. It has signed a deal with Danish renewable energy company European Energy to build a plant to produce 10,000 tonnes of e-methanol to power the world’s first carbon neutral liner vessel.
Just like electric vehicles are struggling with providing customers with a large enough charging infrastructure, so too will the superyacht sector have to resolve issues of supply of new fuels.
I feel like Lord Kitchener every time I speak with a client. I point my finger: ‘I want you. You have to be the first one. Be bold, do it, and you will be immortal in the annals of yachting.
- Michael Breman -
Zero-emission cruising is still a long-term prospect, but naval architects and yacht builders are confident a solution will eventually be found. But what about the existing fleet? Yachts are built to last; they can typically remain in operation for more than 30 years but retrofitting them with new propulsion systems is often too difficult.
But there are other solutions that can reduce their carbon footprint. Diesel engines can be modified to use biofuels such as hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), biomass-toliquid (BTL) fuel and gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuel can significantly reduce emissions of carbon and particulates, says RollsRoyce’s Kohl.
Rolls-Royce’s mtu 2000 and 4000 series engines will be ready to use e-diesel and synthetic fuels such as HVO by 2023.
Another solution that’s taking hold in the passenger ferry sector is the use of dual fuel engines in which cleaner fuels such as hydrogen or liquefied natural gas are combined with diesel. Japanese shipbuilder Tsuneishi and Belgian maritime company CMB last year delivered the HydroBingo, a ferry that runs on diesel and hydrogen. The manufacturers claim technology reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 50% compared to a conventional diesel engine. Advocates of the use of LNG claim it’s a cleaner fuel than diesel for carbon emissions and significantly reduces nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide pollution.
Given the complexities of retrofitting, MB92’s Groulx doubts the existing fleet will be retrofitted with hydrogen propulsion systems. But there’s also plenty that can be done to make existing propulsion systems more efficient and cleaner.
“I see a lot of extravagant usage: generators running when not necessary, engines not being properly maintained, cruising at RPMs that aren’t efficient,” he says. “A lot of the immediate work that can be done is just double checking how everything is run. Small changes in behaviour can make a big difference.”
There are adjustments available now that can be done to a yacht during a refit that can help reduce its footprint. Installing a smart grid system in which a battery bank supports the use of a generator during moments of high consumption, not only allows for the use of smaller generators but also reduces wear and tear.
The heat produced by generators can also be recycled and used to warm up the boat’s water supplies for showering and general use. Water filters can eliminate the use of plastic water bottles and the waste they generate.
Owners can also voluntarily improve their ballast water treatment systems to avoid inadvertently introducing new species into ecosystems, change their sewage treatment plants to avoid using chlorine and improve their exhaust systems with catalytic reduction treatments to reduce their emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
With teak alternatives, sometimes it works, sometimes we have some challenges with quality or with installation, there are risks for shipyards, but we need to take them
- Pier Posthuma de Boer -
New regulations will force the superyacht industry to scrutinise the materials it uses. For example, an outline for a new EU directive currently being considered by its parliament that should come into effect by early 2023 will oblige companies with annual turnovers of more than 50 million euros to carry out due diligence on their supply chain to ensure they meet social, environmental and governance standards. In short, companies will have to take responsibility not only for their own sustainable practices but also those of their providers.
Interior designers are already shifting to more sustainable materials. They’re increasingly using natural fibres such as linen that are more recyclable, as they take into consideration what will happen to yachts when their life comes to an end.
They are also working on materials that lighten the overall weight of the boat to improve efficiency, using materials such as cork and honeycomb to replace synthetic materials.
One of the most widely used materials in superyachts is also one of its most controversial. The 2013 European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) prohibits traders in Europe from selling illegally harvested timber and the EU in 2017 ruled that it is impossible to guarantee that timber from Myanmar had been legally felled, effectively making timber from Myanmar illegal. Last year, the EU imposed sanctions on trade with Myanmar following the February coup d’etat that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.
But superyachts continue to use the hardwood, relying on existing stocks or even illegally imported shipments, reportedly via Italy.
Feadship’s Posthuma de Boer says it is difficult to persuade clients to shift from teak when refitting their yachts because the alternatives aren’t yet as reliable.
“With teak alternatives, sometimes it works, sometimes we have some challenges with quality or with installation,” Posthuma de Boer says. “There are risks for shipyards, but we need to take them.”
Eventually, stocks will run out and shipyards will have to find a substitute. Lürssen has developed a sustainably farmed substitute called Tesumo that is heat-treated to adjust its colour and then impregnated with a water-based resin to improve its hardness, durability, and resistance to cracking. ***
A lot of the immediate work that can be done is just double checking how everything is run.
- Philippe Groulx -
In their quest for luxury, superyachts have been getting bigger and wider, losing some of their efficiency in the process. Lateral’s Roy thinks a push for sustainability may see a reverse in that trend.
“There’s this sort of perception that more luxury means more features, it means more space,” Roy says. “Maybe luxury means being smarter in design so that actually we’re using less space, less volume, less weight, so that the boat needs less power.”
A sustainable future for superyachting is still a fuzzy picture. New, exciting technologies are emerging, but which one will win out? It may end up being a mixture of technologies. Owners need to be persuaded to take risks that can push the needle forward for the benefit of the industry but also the wider maritime sector. As the new-build sector presses ahead in its search for innovative solutions, the existing fleet can make tweaks and adjustments now that can significantly reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.
Lateral’s Roy believes that innovation in the sector can ultimately contribute to global efforts to halt climate change and the destruction of biodiversity.
“I’m engineering a product which the world doesn’t really need,” he says. “In a world where resources are depleting, how do I justify that to myself when I look in the mirror every morning? And the answer is that we are coming to work to advance science and technology and make things better and more efficient as part of a bigger collaborative picture of moving humanity forward.”
In a world where resources are depleting, how do I justify that to myself when I look in the mirror every morning? And the answer is that we are coming to work to advance science and technology and make things better and more efficient as part of a bigger collaborative picture ofmoving humanity forward
- James Roy -
Today’s technology can be implemented on leisure boats and small yachts of up to 15 or 20 metres
Alejandro Agag, the founder of electric car racing championship Formula E, and Rodi Basso, an engineer who designed the secondgeneration batteries for the competition, were discussing why the marine sector lags so far behind the automobile industry in adopting electric power. Why not follow in Formula E’s footsteps and create the world’s first electric powerboat competition to help foster innovative competition?
“The automotive industry is at least 20 to 30 years more advanced in the electrification process,” Basso, who is CEO of the series, says. “By transferring this know-how to E1, we can accelerate the process of electrification in the marine industry, because people will be able to see that it is actually possible.”
The two friends got to work. They quickly secured a 25-year licence from the Union Internationale Motonautique and began talks with coastal cities to host races. Monaco and Saudi Arabia are already signed up and there are advanced talks with Miami, Venice and Rotterdam. They plan to stage between eight and ten races starting in 2023 between 12 teams.
The teams, each consisting of two drivers – one man and one woman – come from the yacht manufacturing sector, motorsports and even athletics, Basso says. For the first three seasons they will compete using the RaceBird, an electric powerboat on foils that can reach speeds of 50 knots that he designed with Sophi Horne, a former superyacht interior designer. In the fourth season, the teams will be able to start tinkering and tweaking the boat design to see how they can improve on the technology.
Horne, a 29-year-old Norwegian, teamed up with E1 after setting up SeaBird Technologies, which she created to provide affordable leisure boats for hire for people of her generation. She began asking herself why there was no electric offer in the sector. After seeing how Formula E had succeeded in making electric cars more appealing, she approached Agag about designing her own electric speedboat, using inspiration from hydrofoil surfboards.
“I had the foiling system in mind as well as what Formula E did with their cars, making them sleeker and sexier and bringing a wow factor that will make consumers choose these kinds of product,” she says.
The result is the RaceBird, a speedboat that wouldn’t look out of place in a science fiction film, which Basso and Horne believe will eventually be able to challenge for the unofficial world speed record for an electric boat of 70 knots. With input from power craft designer Victory Marine, the RaceBird uses an engine taken from supercar racing and a special battery based on power density rather than energy density to provide for maximum acceleration.
The E1 Series has greater ambitions than just racing. Basso says they plan to leave an infrastructure behind wherever they race to promote electrification and sustainability. The charging stations used by the boats will be donated so that they can be used by leisure vessels – at first they expect that to be ribs and small motorboats and eventually bigger yachts.
E1 will use special technology to test the water on the racecourse for acidity, which can be an indication of the presence of microplastics, to measure the impact of the competition on its environment. This technology will also be left behind for local authorities to use.
E1 is also looking to secure sponsorship to fund sustainability projects that will restore coastland biodiversity within 10 kilometres of cities where they race, Basso says.
Horne plans to take technology and design of the RaceBird and apply it to her business renting out 8-metre day cruisers to young people. She thinks that access to this kind of technology will encourage people to go electric when buying their own boats.
“The strategy is for the SeaBirds to have the same design DNA as the RaceBirds,” she says. “They will have everyone feeling like this is for everyone, but also like they’re actually cruising around in a raceboat.”
As a former superyacht interior designer, Horne has been keeping her eye on developments in the business. She thinks the sector should be focusing on hydrogen technology as the best way to reduce its carbon footprint.
Basso says a technological solution for superyachts might still be a decade away, although the acceleration in other industries gives him hope that it could come sooner.
“Today’s technology can be implemented on leisure boats and small yachts of up to 15 or 20 metres,” he says. “When you go to a larger scale, you need to wait for the technology to develop in solid-state batteries and green hydrogen, which will happen within ten years. But given what we’re seeing in the market these days, I reckon it could accelerate to less than that.”
The maritime sector has long been considered a laggard when it comes to environmental regulations.
While the automobile sector faces a regulatory onslaught, progress in the shipping world has been sedate. The car industry is facing a de facto deadline of 2035 imposed by the European Union to phase out the combustion engine.
The shipping industry, by comparison, has dragged its feet on commitments to reduce emissions. As things stand, the IMO has set a target of reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2050, leading to criticisms that it will fail to reach the Paris Climate Agreements target of limiting global warming to 1.5C. In its last meeting, a proposal to set a target of zero emissions by 2050 was rejected by a group of holdouts including Brazil, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
But campaigners and industry experts believe that could change in the next few years. The shipping industry - including superyachts - could face an accelerating program of new rules as pressure mounts to reduce emissions.
“The target at the moment is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement and needs to be revised,” says Lucy Gilliam, Senior Shipping Officer at Seas at Risk, a Brussels-based NGO that lobbies for policies that protect the marine environment. “We’ll get to zero by 2050 in some form, and there’s going to be a debate about whether it’s net or not.”
Gilliam says she’s noticed a change in attitudes toward regulation in the shipping industry in the past three or four years. Before, the argument was that shipping was too important for global trade.The target of zero by 2050 proposed by the Pacific Islands had the backing of some heavy hitters, including the US, the UK, Japan and Canada.
The pressure is also coming from other regulatory bodies to accelerate and tighten regulations. In 2018 the IMO adopted a measure that obliges ships over 5,000 tonnes in weight to collect and report consumption data for each type of fuel oil, emulating the EU’s Monitoring, Reporting and Verification Regulation, or the MRV, adopted in 2015.
The data allows for more transparency. Transport and Environment, a Brussels-based NGO, uses it to produce a ranking of shipping companies by emission of greenhouse gases and comparing them to other high-carbon emitters such as power stations.
Lorenzo Pollicardo, technical and environmental director at the Superyacht Builders Association, thinks the same will happen with a new policy introduced by the EU as part of its ‘Fit for 55’ policy, a plan which aims to cut net emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The policy includes a “well-to-wake” criteria that considers not only the emissions generated but also the carbon footprint of producing the fuel in the first place.
The target at the moment is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement and needs to be revised
- Philippe Groulx -
“The European Union is pushing the international community to recognise and to adopt different regulations in relation to the different fuels,” Pollicardo says. “It will push the IMO to take care of the life cycle assessment of fuels which, as you can imagine, is extremely good for our industry.”
But even the EU’s regulatory plan has its deficiencies. Critics say the way it is designed will push companies to use less sustainable alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas and biodiesel.
The transition to cleaner fuels will not be easy, given the quantities required, says German de Melo, a professor in the department of nautical science and engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
Right now, alternative fuels “don’t have the same volumes, nor are they as easy to produce as fossil fuels,” de Melo says. “For this to work, these fuels need to be available everywhere.”
“Authorities will need to take a bet on which fuels to use so that engine manufacturers can adjust,” he says. “Given that ammonia is already produced in large quantities for the agricultural sector, it’s probably the most likely fuel for shipping,” he says.
The superyacht sector has also so far avoided most of the regulations. The EU’s “Fit for 55” program will only regulate ships above 5,000 gross tonnes. Superyachts, fishing boats and warships are excluded. Seas at Risk and other NGOs are campaigning for the weight limit to be lowered to 400 gross tonnes.
“We just think that the rules should apply to all vessels and that actually they should apply more so to superyachts because clearly they’ve got the money to use the new technology and to clean up faster,” Gilliam says.
And the current IMO regulations that do apply to superyachts are too easy to comply with, says Pollicardo. They just need to slow down, and that’s easy to do because superyachts rarely sail at full capacity and they don’t have the commercial pressure to reach their destination at full speed, he says.
“Our members recognise that the full design speed is used by the owner in extremely limited cases,” Pollicardo says. “What is the result in terms of environmental benefit? Nothing.”
The current regulations don’t consider how superyachts operate. Most superyachts spend just 10%-15% of their time cruising, according to data compiled by the Water Revolution Foundation, an NGO that advocates for a more sustainable superyacht industry. The rest of the time is spent either at the shipyard undergoing a refit, moored in a marina, or at anchor off a beach.
The SYBass is pressing for IMO regulations to reflect that difference in operational behaviour, says Pollicardo. Regulating a ship’s activity while stationary, such as measures to encourage more efficient use of air conditioning, would be more effective for the environment, he says.
“Reducing air conditioning temperature by one degree is far better than reducing the speed by five knots,” he says.
The lack of apparent urgency to regulate the shipping industry is compelling some stakeholders to self-regulate. Maersk, the world’s second largest shipping company, last year committed itself to achieving net zero emissions by 2040. The International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80% of the global shipping industry, has committed to net zero emissions by 2050.
Self-regulation may be the way for the superyacht sector too. The Water Revolution Foundation is working on a set of tools to help owners make more sustainable decisions when building or refitting their yachts.
The Yacht Environmental Transparency Index, or YETI, is aiming to become the standard used in the industry to compare the sustainability of boats against each other, says Robert van Tol, executive director at WRF. The index is designed to help owners understand the impact of the materials and technologies they can use, van Tol says. Without it, it’s far easier for an owner to jettison the ideas that are more expensive without understanding their environmental benefits, he says.
“Eventually we’ll have categories or energy labels like the ones you see when you buy a fridge or a car,” van Tol says.
Van Tol says WRF have been approached by financiers, insurers and marinas who are interested in giving additional benefits to yachts with a higher score on the index. WRF is still tweaking the tool to ensure its accuracy, aware of the impact that a boat’s score is likely to have on its resale value in the future.
“This becomes an additional incentive for clients to climb the ladder or to commission a project that is in the higher zones of this index,” van Told says. “It therefore needs to be very robust and inclusive.”
Many superyacht owners want to do their bit and are experimenting with new ideas to reduce their carbon footprint. Regulations are often behind the curve of technological innovation, but they are important because they create a level playing field for all. If the superyacht sector is going to clean up its act, it’s going to take a combination of stricter regulations and owners using their own initiative.
This becomes an additional incentive for clients to climb the ladder or to commission a project that is in the higher zones of this index,
- Robert van Tol -
Data compiled by Superyacht Group, a publisher focused on the superyacht market, estimates that the total fleet of yachts over 30 metres in length will continue to grow at a healthy clip over the foreseeable future to 7,500 ships in 2031, compared to 6,270 at the end of 2021. Secondly, after 20 years of steady industry growth, the maintenance and refitting needs of the fleet are rising, as owners seek both to modernise their vessels and to reduce their environmental footprints.
MB92 is the largest superyacht refitter in the world. At its facilities in Barcelona and La Ciotat, 330 employees and more than 1,750 indirect employees focus exclusively on maintaining and refitting boats. This makes the firm a key part of the industrial fabric in Barcelona and La Ciotat, given its constant need to hire highly skilled specialists for projects. The shipyards have also invested heavily in infrastructure to be able to handle the largest ships in the industry. A shiplift in Barcelona, with a capacity of 4,800 tonnes, is the largest of its kind in the world, and another one in La Ciotat, with capacity to lift up to 4,300 tonnes, will be ready in Autumn 2022 for a total investment of 45 million euros.
450m2
200+ of artificial fish habitat installed as part of the La Ciotat shiplift project
Direct employees
7,650,000
330 kg of CO2 saved in 2021 due to the conversion to green electricity supply
1,700
Projects >100m LOA
30+ Projects per year
100,000
kWh generated by on-site solar panels since October 2021.
Indirect employees
THE COMBINATION OF MB92 BARCELONA AND MB92 LA CIOTAT PROVIDES VIRTUALLY LIMITLESS DOCKING SOLUTIONS:
3 travel lifts/ high capacity crane
600t crane
300t travel lift
150t travel lift
4 shiplifts
4,800t: 9 slots
2,000t: 4 slots
2,000t: 4 slots
4,300t: 6 slots coming in Autumn 2022
2 dry docks
220 metres
200/350 metres
WE MUST USE OUR STRENGTHS AS INNOVATORS AND PERFECTIONISTS TO SHOW THAT WITH A SHARED PASSION WE CAN DRASTICALLY LESSEN OUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND OUR OCEANS
It’s evident that change is coming to our industry. As a result of the current crisis, yachting is under more scrutiny than it’s ever been. We must respond to the negative perception of the sector and use it both as an incentive and an opportunity to accelerate the drive toward a more socially and environmentally-friendly industry.
There are developments coming soon, but there are also things we can do now. We have clearer proposals for our clients in terms of what biodiesels they can use and what changes may be needed to convert engines to alternative fuel technologies.
We are only a small part of a much larger maritime sector and there are many ways in which we differ from the commercial shipping industry. When it comes to alternative fuels, shipping can count on large ports around the world for the volumes it needs, whereas in yachting it’s about lots of different, smaller places and that raises supply issues.
The other difference we might begin to see is that yacht owners could opt for solutions that aren’t necessarily commercially viable and just pay for it out of their pocket. If there’s an option that costs twice as much but only reduces CO2 by 50%, then you know that commercial shipping won’t consider it. But yachting could.
Perhaps we also need to look to the past and how our yachts have evolved. They used to be long and narrow, making them very efficient through the water. That obviously involved a compromise on volume but increasing exterior shaded spaces with reduced interior volumes will improve efficiency. Small reductions in length and beam would also
reduce consumption. Perhaps such a fundamental design approach is the easiest way to offer reductions without asking the owner to take any technological leaps.
The hot topic in our industry now focuses mainly on powering alternatives. There are lots of solutions being proposed right now. Some of them are even being built now. Each of them has their pluses and minuses but, in the end, it might be that one idea wins out over another due to superior supporting infrastructure. Remember when Betamax and VHS were vying to become the industry standard for video format?
A concerted approach within the industry would help accelerate the process. At the moment, some people are pushing for hydrogen cells while others are betting on methanol, and then you have some who want to stick with diesel but implement power saving design features and peak shaving.
More collaboration would help us narrow down which solution is the most viable, both technically and commercially. A consensus on what new technologies are most feasible should help push our industry forward.
We also need to find solutions that are cost-effective. We can’t have a situation where it’s cheaper for owners to offset than to reduce their carbon footprint. How can we move towards a future where using alternative fuels is both sustainable and affordable?
How to make the powering of a yacht more sustainable is really the hot subject in yachting at the moment. But I think
everybody recognises that it’s only part of the issue. We need to educate ourselves and crews on how to improve our practices.
We also need to educate people about the circle of sustainability and the benefits of superyachting - the downstream effects it creates. The yacht building and refitting sector employs over 10,000 employees. In La Ciotat, yachting has had an enormous impact on the local community, which was devastated by the demise of commercial ship building. In its place you now have a high tech, innovative business that has created over 1,000 jobs.
Many people are uncertain or even unaware about alternative powering solutions that could potentially be implemented on their existing or future yacht, and maybe that’s our fault. We need to collectively study, propose and support solutions that we can present to vessel owners that clearly outline the benefit versus cost curves. A strategic alliance of the key decision makers in our industry must take a collective responsibility to drive our industry forward. In this time of doubt, we must use our strengths as innovators and perfectionists to show that with a shared passion we can drastically lessen our impact on the environment and our oceans. After all, our livelihoods depend on it.
THANKS TO
German de Melo, a professor in the department of nautical science and engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia | James Roy, Managing Director at Lateral Naval Architects | Lucy Gilliam, Senior Shipping Officer at Seas at Risk | Lorenzo Pollicardo, technical and environmental director at the Superyacht Builders Association | Michael Breman, Sales Director at Lürssen | Phil Groulx, Technical Office Manager, MB92 La Ciotat | Pier Posthuma de Boer, Refit & Services Director at Feadship | Robert van Tol, executive director at WRF | Rodi Basso, co-founder and CEO of E1 | Sophi Horne, founder of SeaBird Technologies and designer of the Racebird speedboat | Tobias Kohl, Director Application Engineering Marine at Rolls Royce Solutions
info-barcelona@mb92.com
info-laciotat@mb92.com
mb92.com
Passeig Joan de Borbó, 92
08039 Barcelona, Spain
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