The timescale the print media works at is at odds with the pace of life. This cliché has been true since the invention of the printing press, but this year, more than any other, it has been felt acutely. For those of us who thought we were due a little normality and a more pedestrian pace to life after Covid-19, the frenetic start to 2023 has eroded that dream.
The stark warning from COP27, and the opportunities presented by new regulatory frameworks, as discussed within this report, were intriguing and impactful. The volatility of European geopolitics and global supply chains has been in full flux. However, despite stark warnings, the order book has remained strong and the market relatively buoyant.
In the time it has taken to commission and write this report, we have also seen a seismic shift in our understanding of the role technology will play in our future. Late last year nobody outside of Silicon Valley understood the transformative power of Generative AI and Large Language Models. The way that they, in the past few months, have fundamentally altered the way we generate and understand text, images, audio, video and even computer code is generationally defining.
In November last year, it stumbled over basic maths questions, by February it was passing the BAR exam in the 90th percentile. It feels redundant to even write about it in print (and no, this is not one of those gotcha moments when I reveal that this was, in fact, written by ChatGTP.)
media is slow, the new-build cycle is glacial. In the five years it may take a yacht commissioned today to hit the water, it may be splashing down in a very different world.
For this New Build Report, we have chosen, in part, to highlight a few of the future-focused projects that have the flexibility to change with it. Methanol runs through these pages also. The future fuel of choice for many of the top newbuild yards, it is evident that it will play a fundamental role on the road to carbon neutrality. It is also representative of the superyacht industry’s entry into a significantly more complex market for technology and fuel.
Collaboration and data-sharing are once again at the forefront of the conversation, and it was enlightening to learn more about the ground-breaking Foundation Zero and its zero-fossil-fuel superyacht that is actually putting this into practice via its distinct open-source platform.
The majority of the projects that are adopting these technologies are big, 90-metre-plus yachts from top yards with the budgets and literal on-board space to integrate the required technology. As enjoyable as this edition was to write, there is a vast array of other vessels that will require an equally divergent set of technologies to stay sustainable.
BY JACK HOGANIt is fair to say that there is a disconnection between the speed at which the world is changing and the superyacht industry’s timescales. If the print
2030 is more than an arbitrary date that suited marketing campaigns; it’s a green wall that we are steaming towards while still arguing about the seating arrangements. I doubt that when it is time to write the next New Build Report we will have been reflecting on a simple and quiet 12 months in the world. The question is whether we have the agility as an industry to move with it. JH
Editor Jack Hogan explores how the superyacht industry needs to respond to the ever-shifting role of technology.
Where are we headed in 2023? 7 Captain Malcolm Jacotine reflects on the contradictory views of industry CEOs and the implications this has for our sustainability aspirations.
‘We need to be an industry of environmental champions’
Stephen Hills, commercial director at Pendennis and chairman of Superyacht UK, on the challenge of meeting emissions targets.
Project Zero
Marnix Hoekstra, co-creative director at Vripack, joins TSG to take a closer look at this 69-metre Vitters ketch which is nearing completion.
55
Project Domus – because why not?
The three men behind the concept are shunning current design trends and say that turning their sleek non-conformist creation into reality is entirely feasible.
62
It’s not all about the aesthetics!
76 Veteran designer Tony Castro reveals the reasons for creating a range of sailing yachts built specifically for exploring the Antarctic and other remote parts of the globe.
The rebirth of a true hybrid 82 TSG joins Hanse Explorer, along with the team from EYOS Expeditions, to experience how this legend is bringing its Polar pedigree to the Pacific.
69 and philanthropy
We look at the capabilities of these two boats with a range of 7,000nm, and at the build philosophy of the company that hopes to help reframe the ownership model.
The reinvention of Benetti’s 50-metre yachts 89 Comparing the brand new Benetti superyacht Iryna with Alexandra, delivered by the Italian builder more than 20 years ago.
The energy carrier conundrum 94 TSG editor-in-chief Martin H. Redmayne argues that we must adopt an emissions strategy to future-proof the fleet before regulation impacts the industry.
Q1/2023
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Front cover: Lürssen build Project Cosmos launching at their facility in Rendsburg, Germany in March 2023.
Photo by Tom van Oossanen.
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In 2022, two statements stood out for me that highlight the attitude towards climate change and the future of yachting: ‘But superyachts are clean!’ by a CEO of a renowned brokerage and ‘Adapt or die!’ from a CEO of a North European shipyard. There’s still a large gap between those who believe we can continue with ‘business as usual’ (BAU) and those who believe that the environment and climate change represent an existential threat to the superyacht industry.
To provide some context to these conflicting viewpoints, the graph (overleaf) of superyacht emissions based on IMO data and projected growth demonstrates how much work there is to do with a BAU pathway.
As the industry likes to position itself and its client base at the forefront of maritime technology, should we not be showing leadership and setting a target of approximately 45 per cent reduction in CO2 by 2030 compared to 2012 (the earliest available data from the IMO) to align with the Paris Agreement?
The IMO target is based on a 40 per cent reduction in ‘carbon intensity’ or
‘work’, something that is proving difficult to define for yachts, so a net reduction in emissions is a better choice and more easily measured – if only we had the data!
Interestingly, up until 2021, the total CO2 emissions from shipping were relatively flat. Our steeper slope is because, unlike shipping with a replacement cycle of about 20 years, our fleet continues to age and grow year-on-year, with very few yachts going for scrap. Also, the regulations driving efficiency gains and CO2 reductions in shipping are not yet applicable to yachts.
This year-on-year growth and lack of measurable efficiency gains mean we have a much harder job of reducing overall emissions. To compensate for growth, ever greater efficiency gains and/or low-carbon fuels would be required just to flatten the slope because as each year passes without action, the more difficult it will become to reach the target.
Of course, the graph is not perfect. For example, the IMO data does not include shore power or automotive gas oil (AGO), and it’s mainly based
on automatic identification system data and bunker receipts of marine diesel oil and marine gas oil, so the total emissions may be somewhat underestimated. 2020 and 2021 would also have seen reduced emissions due to Covid, and we don’t know if yachts that have come into the fleet after 2018 are more efficient and, if so, by how much.
Fuel consumption and emissions for commercial shipping are more up to date due to the IMO’s Data Collection Service (DCS – 2019) and the EU’s Mandatory Reporting and Verification (MRV – 2015). Neither of these applies to superyachts due to vessel type and size.
This is where our own ‘verified’ data could help. It would provide us with a baseline and the necessary evidence to prove the industry is taking responsible action and reducing CO2 emissions. Without this data, it would be impossible to counter claims made about the industry.
The same goes for energy-efficiency ratings. The more data we provide to the likes of Water Revolution
Guest Column with Malcolm JacotineCaptain Malcolm Jacotine, creator of superyacht
consultancy Three Sixty Marine, reflects on the contradictory views of industry CEOs and the implications this has for our sustainability aspirations.
Foundation, YETI and The Superyacht ECO Association (SEA) Index, the more accurate and useful their tools will become. There’s no doubt that prospective owners and charterers, as well as lenders and insurers, will be interested in energy-efficiency ratings in the coming years.
Most of the data is already in the hands of captains and management companies. Fleet-wide data could be anonymised to avoid any confidentiality issues. This would help provide a more accurate figure of the industry’s emissions and improvements over time and is crucial to support the industry’s commitment to align with the goals of the IMO and/or the Paris Agreement, surely something that’s well overdue and needs to happen.
While there’s a lot of noise and, dare I say, ‘greenwashing’ around the topic, there’s also a collective silence on any measurable commitments. Where do the major shipyards, brokerage houses, management companies, designers, shipyards and associations such as SYBAss, MYBA and ISS stand on decarbonisation?
It’s not as if we don’t have solutions.
There are already some innovative yachts, both in-build and proposed, that will help prove the alternative solutions, technology and fuels; these will no doubt help to define the future of yachting. There’s also much that can be done today through the smart use of energy via operational changes as well as efficiency gains offered by new systems and technology.
We’re also seeing the more widespread availability of second-generation bio-diesel such as HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil), suitable for many legacy yachts and yachts in build that still need diesel fuel, and this can make an immediate and significant impact.
Will 2023 be the year the industry finally comes together and acknowledges that ‘business as usual’ is not sustainable and that we must work collectively to ensure the future of yachting? Will we finally see climate goals being set and the use of data from individual yachts and the fleet as evidence that the industry wants to be part of the solution and not part of the problem? MJ
Guest Column with Malcolm Jacotine
There’s much that can be done today through the smart use of energy via operational changes as well as efficiency gains offered by new systems and technology.
Stephen Hills, commercial director at Pendennis and chairman of Superyacht UK, says the global mission to meet emissions targets is the real challenge facing our industry rather than the current state of the economy and the ongoing energy crisis.
Despite the bleak economic news at the end of 2022, my assessment as chairman of Superyacht UK is that for most companies within the sector, business is good, order books are strong and pre-Covid profits are in sight again.
A feature of the superyacht supply process is that, generally, projects take time. Great endeavours of the highest quality are rarely quick to achieve, so while the consumer post-pandemic boom in discretionary spending has now moved to concerns about high inflation and soaring energy costs, the impact on British yards is still to be seen. Most projects already started have some way to run, and from the discussions I’ve had with UK business, the loss of Russian trade has had limited impact.
The difficult challenge for the UK superyacht industry now is to decide how, and if, those broader economic pressures will influence the behaviours of our clients and prepare accordingly. The past year has, almost without exception, seen companies growing with determined recruitment drives in response to very strong order books. At present, demand appears to be healthy.
For the UK superyacht sector, I remain convinced that to protect our industry we should continue to focus on investing in our people and facilities in order to deliver service, quality and innovation so we develop and maintain our unique place within the global industry. Most
projects include some UK input, be it from our surveyors, legal teams, classification societies, finance, brokerage, insurance, designers, equipment suppliers, crew, management or in new-build or refit facilities. It’s fair to say British companies are recognised as leaders in what they do because they offer the best service, quality and innovation.
As the market adjusts, I’m an optimist and believe our clients will still be in a position to create strong demand, and while the post-Covid peak may drop back to pre-pandemic levels, this should be a sensible reset rather than a catastrophic drop-off. However, I think the real threat which we must respond to is our impact on the environment.
As an industry, we need to present our product in the correct context and take steps to reduce the impact of what we do. We’re not big enough in the UK to lead the development of alternate technology but we have the resources to be active and reduce wherever we can.
Clients will increasingly expect these behaviours coupled with a readiness to embrace and demonstrate new technology. Failure to respond to this challenge is more likely to have an adverse effect on our business than current economic issues. Our customers are generally well placed to deal with economic downturns, but no one is immune to the risks of environmental change and, potentially, legislation. Our
critics argue that luxury goods are the least justifiable, and we need a response.
But don’t wait for someone to solve this problem. Each business needs to establish its own credentials. The required change will come as companies increasingly recognise this fundamental shift in the marketplace and take real steps to improve – not greenwashing, but demonstrable reductions achieved through real investments.
We’ll see a significant increase in customers who assess the environmental credentials each company offers, and those offering the best proposition will emerge as the new leaders. In due course, I expect environmental credentials will rank above – or as a fundamental pre-qualification criterion before – time, cost and quality in the client selection process.
At Superyacht UK, we’ll be looking to facilitate debate on this topic, to support the exchange of ideas and initiatives and represent the industry as a whole. If each company is not stepping up to the challenge, there will be little to publicise and we’ll be fuelling the arguments of our critics.
We need to be an industry of environmental champions. While we offer customers luxury experiences, we should do this in a way that is fully on board with the global mission to meet emissions targets. SH
Guest Column with Stephen Hills
‘We
The trend of advertising to promote what are, in effect, relatively hypothetical ‘top speeds’ in large yachts has thankfully tailed off somewhat in recent years. The ostentatious roosters’ tails are still prevalent along the Mediterranean coastline, but boasting about speed in the marketing of yachts, less so.
As life-cycle assessment tools such as YETI from Water Revolution Foundation gain traction, so should the honest understanding and communications around the impact of each yacht, starting with the relatively simple equation of fuel consumption.
There are some incredible projects within these pages that will hopefully break the diesel status quo, but the reality of the order book and the historical fleet’s construction dictates that the majority of yachts will still be running on fossil fuels for a generation. How fast this fleet moves directly relates to how much carbon it releases.
Exponential growth curves are funny things. As a yacht pushes more and more water ahead of itself, the energy required to push against the bow wave increases dramatically. Marginal increases in speed lead to enormous
amounts of fuel being consumed. A hulking superyacht scrummaging its way through the water, burning astronomical amounts of fuel to push the boat from 15 to 16.5 knots, may have been acceptable in the past but this behaviour is very hard to justify outside the industry echo chamber.
Everyone has the right (for the time being) to own a 120-foot jet drive, but let’s leave the speed merchants to one side. The top speeds for large yachts with conventional mechanical diesel propulsion are a theoretical curiosity, not a feature. As we measure a yacht’s impacts more accurately, one of the most meaningful measures that can be made is to simply travel at the most efficient speeds.
The shipping and cruise sectors are neurotically focused on efficiency, for commercial reasons initially, but increasingly attention is turning to the carbon consequences implied by this efficiency and fuel-saving. Speed reduction is a significant factor in these sectors’ decarbonisation strategies, but is consciously absent from the strategy of the superyacht industry (insofar as we have one).
As a journalist, I’d much rather exalt the efficiency of movement as a metric for a large yacht than dwell on how much fuel is being consumed to move a 90-metre yacht at 22 knots. Google Earth and a calculator are dangerous in the wrong hands. If we continue to normalise the fact that these yachts have the capability to cruise at these speeds because it’s technically possible, anything slower feels like it’s wasting the owner’s time and the charter broker’s money – especially when they are told how long a crossing will take.
Slowly weaning ourselves off any mention of ‘top speed’ for large yachts – outside of the classroom – can allow the industry to shift its attitude to be in line with the rest of the world. We are redefining why we travel, and it’s not enough to just say ‘because I want to’ anymore.
The superyacht industry is mistaken if we think we’re immune from this shift. Burning far more fuel than is needed, to save a day on a three-week crossing or pick up the next set of guests, will not be a good enough reason either. JH
With the amount of fuel consumed by superyachts so clearly in the media spotlight, thorough water efficiency should be central to the industry’s design, operations and marketing strategy, says Jack Hogan.
The new-build market is in a perpetual state of one-upmanship, with each brand vying to create the next big thing, but there’s a danger this will move the focus away from vessels that are safe and sustainable.
Some people or, more specifically, people who don’t work on boats look at aspirational design concepts and feel a sense of awe and inspiration. Others, especially those who do work on boats, tend to have a more apathetic approach. Where some see incredible glass structures and multifunctional spaces, others see little more than another gimmick, another hydraulic with the potential to fail or break, or something that’s going to be an absolute pain in the backside to try to keep clean.
To the best of my knowledge, I don’t know of a single design concept that hasn’t been lauded by the media. This is strange because some of them are absolutely ridiculous. The media is partly to blame for this, although it can be hard to understand the difference between concepts that have genuine potential and those that are simply created to generate attention online.
I do see the benefits of extreme concept designs. I see how they are necessary to help people visualise just how creative and innovative superyachts can be. When I first began reporting on superyacht designs, my main issue was with the enormous gulf between the boring, yet feasible, concepts and the
wild and wacky ones that were nowhere near any definition of ‘feasible’. The gulf in the middle is where the rarest breeds reside: the ‘conceptual concepts’. These are the golden nuggets that offer genuine innovation.
The top of the superyacht food chain is a ruthless place, with companies stuck in a state of having to constantly capture the imaginations of the financial elite. It seems that as of quite recently, the most popular method of doing this was to attach a brand’s name to an inspiring design concept. Having a design concept is not just about attracting clients, though; it has also become the shipyards’ passive way of competing with one another in an attempt to show the rest of the market how good they are and to indicate a benchmark for their future aspirations.
This quest for innovation and originality has created a virtuous cycle of creativity and competition, with each new design raising the bar for the next. As the world’s wealthiest seek to stand out from their peers, they demand evermore ambitious and daring concepts, challenging designers to explore uncharted territories.
The new-build market is in a perpetual
state of one-upmanship, with each brand vying to create the next big thing, the most outrageous design, the most ludicrously priced item. It’s an endless game of who can outdo who, and it’s all done to stand out from the crowd. But there’s value in asking if it’s really necessary to design a superyacht that looks like it belongs in a science-fiction movie just because it’s ‘different’.
When manufacturers start competing with each other using inconceivable design concepts, they lose sight of what luxury is really all about. There’s the potential to fall victim to creating something that will make headlines but forgetting about the most important thing of all: the customer.
Luxury should never be about gimmicks or publicity stunts. It should be about creating something of real value, something that will enrich the lives of those who own it. Inconceivable design concepts might make for a good headline, but when they begin to stray into the realms of fantasy, they start to become dangerous.
Lürssen, Feadship and Oceanco are most probably the frontrunners when it comes to stand-out concepts: the 98m Alice concept, the 82m Pure concept
and the 131m Aeolus concept. When comparing these, it’s clear that each yacht has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. Lürssen’s Alice is ideal for guests who value modern design and ample outdoor space. Feadship’s Pure, on the other hand, is perfect for those who prefer a more classic and elegant design. Finally, Oceanco’s Aeolus is the yacht of choice for those who value cutting-edge technology and futuristic design (see feature on pages 47-53).
The people behind these designs will vehemently argue that they are all possible, but without a proper and honest feasibility study, their true value is fractioned.
As a crude example, take the world’s tallest building, the 2,722ft Burj Khalifa in Dubai, widely regarded as a towering symbol of human achievement, yet it doesn’t have a proper sewage system.
The building’s height creates something of a logistical nightmare, meaning that the amount of pressure needed to pump sewage up to the top of the building is astronomical and would create too much of a strain on the city's existing waste-water treatment system. So one of the most impressive-looking buildings in the world needs to have its waste taken away by a small fleet of sewage trucks.
This is the antithesis of innovation. It’s bizarre to think that the Roman Empire was building better, efficient and sustainable sewage systems more than 2,000 years ago than the world’s top architects in the 21st century with their unlimited finances. But this is what happens when the environment is almost too aspirational and competitive. If oversights such as this can occur on land, they can also certainly be made at sea.
When superyacht builders compete with one another through their design concepts, they’re forced to come up with new and innovative ideas. This means that they’re constantly pushing the limits of what’s possible in terms of engineering, materials and technology and, as a result, we’re starting to see more and more impressive superyacht concepts that actually have a lot of thought put into them. However, there’s the danger of the focus moving away from creating vessels that are safe, functional and environmentally sustainable.
The pressure to constantly outdo one another can potentially create an even stronger culture of secrecy and exclusivity, with builders unwilling to share their ideas and innovations with others in the industry. MS
Last year’s Superyacht Forum in Amsterdam hosted an unprecedented meeting of minds when Peter Lürssen, CEO of Lürssen, stepped on stage with Henk de Vries, CEO of Feadship.
Peter Lürssen leads one of the most ambitious superyacht manufacturers in the world. Lürssen, a shipyard that has presented so many of the largest and most groundbreaking motoryachts ever constructed, is now looking ahead to the delivery of its first zero-emissions methanol-powered project and the next evolution of the legendary shipyard.
“My grandfather built the world’s first motorboat in 1886. My dream is to be the first to build a yacht without a combustion engine,” says Lürssen.
The shipyard has a 148-year-old history that bears witness to its commitment to breaking records in the newbuild sector. On its website, the company details how it built the first motorboat in 1886, the world’s fastest commuter yacht in 1927, the longest yacht in the world in 2015 and the biggest yacht in the world in 2016. Therefore, as reputations in the new-build sector go, it’s not a bad one.
Feadship was founded in 1949, and since then the company has built well over 300 yachts and it is one of the main instigators of the saying ‘If it ain’t Dutch, it ain’t much’. It was under De Vries’s leadership that Feadship became a true global leader in the industry. Since he took over as CEO in 1996, Feadship has gone from strength to strength.
De Vries is the fourth generation of his family to take a leading role in the construction of superyachts at the storied shipyard, and the Feadship CEO is now guiding the iconic builder into the future. Deliveries such as the hybrid pioneering Savannah and Viva have made waves in the industry, and the shipyard is now moving forward with boundary-pushing concepts such as Slice, which debuted at the Monaco Yacht Show 2022.
The superyacht industry is one of the most exclusive and luxurious industries in the world, with a global economic impact that is worth billions. Having influential figures such as De Vries and Lürssen come together to share their ideas and insights can only help to foster collaboration and cooperation between stakeholders.
Both are integral partners of Water Revolution Foundation and share a vision
for a sustainable future for the sector; therefore, much of the conversation is centred around sustainability. A discussion between two millionaires about environmentalism at a superyacht event that 600 people travelled to get to may seem counter-intuitive, but the candour and transparency provided would surely have been of benefit to many delegates and their own aspirations for a sustainable future.
Lürssen admitted, “The problem is almost too big for any one of us to solve. When Henk sent me an email about the Water Revolution Foundation I thought, ‘Oh dear God, not another club’.”
De Vries replied, “Only three years ago, I think the majority of yachties were still completely conventional in their thinking about propulsion, energy, fuels and things like that. That is changing rapidly. And I take great pride in the little foundation that we started. I look at big industries because I have an economic background. I look at them with great interest and I look at governments with great interest. But most of the leaders of these enormous firms and nations, regardless of what they say, don’t have a clue.
“However, I believe that we are not so clueless. What helps us is that we are dealing with the most powerful and most inspired people in the world as our clients. Some billionaires we work with earn more in a single hour than we make in an entire year. So we are in a unique position. Not only can our clients afford it, but we can challenge the things that they want to purchase. And, in that interaction, beautiful things can happen.”
Lürssen added, “At the end of the day, if you want to experience luxury, then you are going to have to pay for it because you are putting a burden on the planet. And it’s not only about paying for it because you can afford it. It is simply not smart to not make products that aren’t as clean as possible. Realistically, when you’re really old, do you want to look at your children and say, ‘I didn’t really try to do the right thing’? That’s part of it.”
The conversation peaked halfway through when De Vries poignantly stated that the theme for the event should not be ‘Evolve or Repeat’ but rather ‘Adapt or Die’. When it comes to making the newbuild sector more sustainable, a large part of that responsibility obviously rests on
millennials are not as interested in philanthropy as other generations in the ultra-high-wealth bracket. This is down to the fact that they are more likely to be focusing on their careers during the early professional stages of their lives.
However, as their net worth rises along with their age, they become increasingly likely to want to spend their accumulated wealth on personal and emotive ambitions. The drive to give back to society and leave a legacy tends to come to those who are wiser and more experienced.
Lürssen even went as far as to float the
has been a dramatic rise in the number of global UHNWIs, while the superyacht fleet growth has been comparatively incremental.
Therefore, the performance of the financial elite is not a barometer for the success of the yacht market, and while many businesses will continue to dazzle with full order books and high turnovers, profit margins will continue to be squeezed by high inflation, the energy crisis and ongoing issues with the supply chain.
In a recent interview with Chris Anderson for TED, Musk was questioned
on the disparity between billionaires and the average US citizen. Musk replied, “I don’t own a home, I stay at friends’ houses. I don’t have a yacht, and I really don’t take vacations, so it’s not as though my personal consumption is high. I mean, the one exception is a plane, but if I don’t use the plane, then I have fewer hours to work.”
If there’s one thing that a billionaire can’t buy, it’s image and reputation, and these are particularly important if you have a high public profile and rely on your charismatic entrepreneurial personality to influence change. It appears that Musk, who utilises his fluency in the language of the internet to appear relatable, has deemed yachts as being something purely for personal consumption and, therefore, not fitting his own raison d’etre.
Of course, the opinion and lifestyle of one individual won’t have an impact on the entire superyacht industry which has a proven record of accommodating some of the biggest philanthropists in the world. Many of the most innovative superyachts aren’t used only for leisure; they are floating homes, offices, expedition platforms or even laboratories in some instances.
It would be relatively pessimistic to say that there isn’t a chance the industry can evolve and become more appealing to someone such as Musk in his later years. The late Steve Jobs, another
famous workaholic and visionary, was only a few years older than Musk when he commissioned Feadship to build the iconic Venus
Similarly, Jeff Bezos, the second richest person in the world, appears undeterred by the current struggles that may come with owning one of the world’s largest sailing superyachts. Even Leonardo DiCaprio, arguably Hollywood's biggest spokesperson for climate change and environmental relief, enjoys an annual charter in St Barths.
After this riveting opening keynote discussion between these two industry giants, Lürssen, who was also our headline partner, once again referred to the work of Water Revolution Foundation. “Feadship are real competitors. I would like to have some of his [De Vries’s] clients, and he would like to have some of mine but, initially, it was a leap of faith from both sides to say, ‘OK, let’s do this together’.”
It’s somewhat indicative of the superyacht industry’s rigid nature that this was the first time the two have shared a stage. On a more positive note, it’s also evident that there’s now much more communication at the top of the yachting food chain. The collaboration of the industry’s top brass is essential to its evolution, and in the coming years we can hopefully begin to see the benefits of this new-found appreciation for transparency and candour in yachting. MS
“Feadship are real competitors. I would like to have some of his [De Vries’s] clients, and he would like to have some of mine but, initially, it was a leap of faith from both sides to say, ‘OK, let’s do this together’.”
The Extinction Rebellion Group offered food for thought at The Superyacht Forum 2022 event after turning up on the final day to protest against the very existence of the industry.
The group had arrived with a megaphone and banners to peacefully protest against the complicit behaviour of stakeholders in yachting. They also made it clear they would not be using superglue or throwing tins of tomato soup. We invited the group on stage to speak candidly to the nucleus of the industry about their reasoning and motivations.
Below, we provide the full unedited transcript of what Extinction Rebellion had to say at TSF:
Martin H. Redmayne (chairman, The Superyacht Group): Elodie, the microphone is yours. Elodie is from Extinction Rebellion. What this means is that the superyacht market is on the radar, as we have said several times. And I’ve just had this protest happen in the Forum as we would have expected the protest to happen. But why not listen to the protest as a group … and maybe respond? So I have asked them to speak for 10 minutes, to bring their banners on stage and have their say. Elodie, have your say, but please don’t shout, speak nicely. You can
Elodie (Extinction Rebellion): I’m good standing. OK, so I totally understand why you’re inviting us on stage right now. This, of course, looks much better than kicking us out. And I really want to avoid being used as a greenwashing opportunity. I really want to be clear that what we’re saying here is not that you should make this industry more sustainable. It’s not that we need to have electric superyachts or hydrogenpowered superyachts or I don’t know what. It’s that this industry has no place in the energy transition. For all the people that are here, the message we really want to get across is that you, as an industry, you’re going to lose your social licence to operate whatever you’re doing. And if you really, truly care about sustainability, there is no place for that in the superyacht industry. Jump ship.
We need boats, but sustainable boats are not superyachts. And if you stay in
When members of Extinction Rebellion turned up at TSF 2022 to protest against the very
this industry, the only thing you’re going to continue doing is greenwashing the hobbies of the super-rich. I can fully understand why you find superyachts very interesting. I used to find them absolutely amazing when I was a kid. I went to an engineering school where they did naval engineering. I ended up doing ocean physics. I’m now working in climate sciences and I’m really, really, really scared when I see already the climate crisis unfolding before our eyes. We’re now at 1.2 degrees.
The sorts of changes that we’re seeing, we’re not exactly expecting for them to happen so fast. There are already people losing their lives in floods, for instance, as we saw in Pakistan. And most of the people that are already dying, they are not responsible for most of these emissions. And what you have to understand is that superyachts, they’re the most caricatured example of that injustice. They only exist as super toys for the super-rich. They only exist for them to lavishly spend all the money that they got from highly polluting industries.
By continuing to work for them, you’re giving them the possibility to do that. By working on solutions to have
more sustainable, I don’t know, pools and chairs or whatever, you’re just giving them the possibility to continue doing this. So this is what we’re here to say today. Just stop working for this industry. There are a lot of other things that you could do with a background in naval engineering or whatever or being a crewmember. And we don’t think that there is a place for the superyacht industry in the future. Yeah … ban superyachts!
Martin H. Redmayne: OK. No shouting, no shouting. All right, listen. I’m not going to have a long discussion on this because we haven’t got the time. We have a programme to keep to, but I want to make sure you understand. We hear you.
The market is trying to change dramatically. What I think is important –we are not bad people. We’re very smart, fun-loving people that do a lot of good stuff. All the things we do with our yachts, right, as an industry, typically do more good than most other expensive fuelconsuming assets in the world, believe it or not. You do not know the full picture, but I would love to work with you to get the full picture about how much good
“Stop working for them. Stop greenwashing their hobbies. Jump ship. There is no place for you in the superyacht industry if you truly care about sustainability.”
and how many people are employed by this industry. Several thousand people are employed by this industry and do a lot of very positive things, and we all understand your message, and we thank you very much for coming on stage.
Elodie: Yeah, I just want to add that we fully know that these kinds of events are done to be able to, you know, to keep your social licence to operate. You know that more and more people are getting angry at this, you know that as people are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, seeing the super-rich, thinking that they can escape what’s happening in the world by going at sea with these huge luxury boats, people are going to find it more and more unacceptable. So that’s why you’re trying to look more sustainable. And even more, something like from my own experience, because I work in sea research, you’re even doing science washing, which is extremely funny, inviting oceanographers, for instance, to come on board or to design ships.
Like, there is this very big ship that’s going to be used for part of the time as a superyacht and for part of the time as a research ship. And, of course, if you work in the Arctic, like I do, it’s really nice to think, oh yeah, I’m going to be able to have a pool on my research boat instead
of having an old research boat like we usually do. But this is all intended just to be able to continue doing this. And we think there is no way that you can continue making superyachts.
And it is not only because of their highly polluting behaviour, it is not only because of the amount of resources, not useful resources, that it uses, it’s also because of the model of society that it shows, a model of society where if you have the money you can just get whatever you want. You can get submarines, you can get helicopter pads, you can have a carbon footprint of a thousand times, a million times bigger than the average person and get away with it – and this is the model of society that we want to protest.
So, again, I understand you are nice people. I studied with people that are very similar to some of you, actually. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I recognise someone here in the room, and that’s why I want to get that message across to you. Just stop working for climate wreckers. Stop working for the super-rich that don’t give any s**t. And sorry, I’m not being super-polite anymore, but stop working for them. Stop greenwashing their hobbies. Jump ship. There is no place for you in the superyacht industry if you truly care about sustainability. Thanks.
Martin H. Redmayne: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Various chants of ‘No more superyachts’ and ‘Extinction Rebellion’ are heard as the protest group exits the stage.
Martin H Redmayne: OK … now close your eyes. That was all a bad dream. All right. So, listen, that wasn’t a staged wake-up call. That was a real wake-up call. And I think this is something we’ve always, always thought will happen one day. And thank God it happened here. *
Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement and its aim is to use non-violent civil disobedience to compel government action. Although their methods may be highly controversial, this event should at the very least serve as a warning to the superyacht industry. This group, in particular, should be applauded for their formality because it won’t be long before these protests become far more frequent and far more significant. The TSG editorial team is in contact with members of the Extinction Rebellion Group and will aim to broadcast the wider perception of the industry to our readership over the next 12 months in order to open a dialogue that previously did not exist. MS
“The market is trying to change dramatically. All the things we do with our yachts, as an industry, typically do more good than most other expensive fuel-consuming assets in the world, believe it or not.”
Would the bold proposition proposed by Farouk Nefzi, chief marketing officer at Feadship, realistically improve the wider opinion of yachting?
How do we change the perception of the superyacht industry? That was the title of the workshop session at last year’s Superyacht Forum moderated by Farouk Nefzi, chief marketing officer at Feadship. His solution is to create a ‘World Yachting Day’ in a bid to stimulate positive engagement between the general public and stakeholders of yachting.
The title ‘World Yachting Day’ might sound slightly cringey, but the intention is pure: to showcase the breadth of the industry beyond the end product and general facade. Through the medium of social media, stakeholders could invite the public into their shipyards or offices in an open-house format so people could see with their own eyes what it actually takes to build and maintain a superyacht.
The proposition divided the room; while some applauded Nefzi for coming up with an actual solution that could feasibly be implemented, others suggested it was akin to putting lipstick on a pig. The superyacht industry’s perception problem cannot be solved solely through the use of PR and marketing campaigns, even if these do have a large part to play.
As a crude example, my opinion of Coca-Cola doesn’t change even it does release another iconic Christmas advert and sponsor COP27. To my mind, it’s still a giant multinational corporation that uses fossil fuels to produce three million tonnes of plastic packaging a year, equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute.
That said, I think that the idea of a World Yachting Day deserves consideration. In the best-case scenario, it will help to break down the barriers between yachting and the ‘real world’, and the number of extra eyes on the industry, if every shoreside business in yachting did this globally, would be nothing short of monumental. It could also open new dialogues between yachting and other comparable industries to share ideas and listen to alternative perspectives.
However, we must also ask ourselves this question: Is the superyacht industry really ready to open itself up to the potential onslaught that could follow?
International days on the calendar are typically reserved to spread awareness or to acknowledge those who have been historically disenfranchised from society (World Mental Health Day, World Refugee Day, World Human Rights Day, for example), and yachting on its own will never receive the same kind of empathy and recognition that such other groups deserve.
I can’t help but feel that even if the industry does try to implement this, it will be difficult to encourage people to get enthusiastic about superyachts in the same way it would also be for private jets or the oil industry or banking. World Yachting Day could easily be snatched away from the superyacht industry and weaponised by groups such as Extinction Rebellion, and instead of it being a day to celebrate, it would become a day to condemn the industry even further.
Moreover, there are already several international days on the calendar that the superyacht industry could squeeze a bit more juice out of: World Seagrass Day (1 March), World Wildlife Day (3 March), World Water Day (22 March), World Oceans Day (8 June), Day of the Seafarer (25 June), World Maritime Day (28 September). Therefore, instead of adding yet another day into the mix, would it not be easier and more effective if businesses in our industry simply had more engagement with what the rest of the world is doing?
I’d go as far as to say that the vast majority of people I’ve met who are employed by the industry are actually quite relatable and down to earth. Every now and then you get the odd condescending ego-maniac who doesn’t have a personality outside of yachting but, relatively speaking, most of the people are actually quite … normal.
The industry can do a much better job of platforming the craftsmen, seafarers and labourers and explaining what it actually is that they do. Less flash, less sleaze, less Monaco and a bit more wholesome and honest content would go a very long way. This side of the industry can be shown through raw data, in press releases, in social media and marketing campaigns … and even through something similar to the idea of a ‘World Yachting Day’. It’s not that other people don’t understand the industry, it’s that the industry isn’t properly explaining itself.
The idea of the superyacht industry versus the mainstream media needs to be eradicated. The narrative of the media is ultimately predicated on the interest of public opinion and confirming existing biases, so it will win every time. The industry needs to work with the media by taking on board what this perception is. It must acknowledge that things need to change and then, and only then, can businesses use raw data and meaningful PR to persuade people to consider the other side of the coin. MS
The proposition divided the room; while some applauded Nefzi for coming up with an actual solution that could feasibly be implemented, others suggested it was akin to putting lipstick on a pig.
Daniela Duck, new-build division coordinator at Camper & Nicholsons, shares her insights into the challenges presented by a buoyant but testing market.
BY JACK HOGAN
The market for new builds, as we keep hearing, is booming. Long lead times are stretching towards 2026 and beyond, and slots at top shipyards are increasingly hard to come by. Added to this, raw-material costs, supply-chain issues, labour shortages and inflation are further complicating an already challenging process.
Managing a new build involves a fair amount of plate-spinning at the best of times. Based in the Geneva office of Camper & Nicholsons, Daniela Duck joined as new-build coordinator in 2021. With 15 years’ experience at Perini Navi in Viareggio previously, she has a deep understanding of the new-build process.
Duck joined TSG to discuss how her expertise fits into the Camper & Nicholsons framework, effective newbuild management in a complex economic climate, and how the new-build sector is reacting to a challenging but busy market.
What makes a great new-build manager in your opinion? And what drew you to the role at Camper & Nicholsons?
The skill-set of an effective new-build manager certainly overlaps. A strong technical background and an understanding of naval architecture and engineering are great. Then, if this person also has commercial skills, diplomatic skills, they may also be able to operate on the owner’s side.
Perini Navi was a great experience for me. Over 15 years there I saw some fascinating and challenging projects. In my time, I was involved with the various 56-metre and 60-metre custom
builds, S/Y Seahawk and many others. The majority of shipyards I am now involved with work on semi-custom productions that have significantly more in-built predictability. Working on so many full custom projects with Perini was a wonderful challenge and one that prepared me well for my role here.
Campers has a one-stop-shop philosophy. If a client approaches us, we have the expertise that extends from well before the contract-signing stage right through to the management and operation of the yacht once delivered to her new owner. We consequently have a lot of consultation and interaction between our new-build division and our yacht-management division. Also, our charter management division provides us with further first-hand experience of what the market is requiring in terms of charter yachts.
How do you see the current newbuild market and what are the most challenging aspects as a new-build manager?
There’s still a healthy appetite for new builds. Obviously, having such full order books leads to rather little inventory in the short term, but it is still a very active market. The recent increase in price of raw materials as well as energy led to an inevitable/organic upgrade of the shipyards’ price lists. This trend is, of course, also supported by the already relatively full order book of most shipyards, with earliest availability in summer 2024 and, most of the time, even later.
While the appetite for new construction is still substantial, the record-
breaking numbers of 2021 and 2022 are unlikely to be replicated. Since the market has seen an important number of first-time owners of new builds during the past few years, some clients hope for a fast resale by those who might have underestimated the running costs of a superyacht, this way avoiding a long wait time for a new yacht.
How does Camper & Nicholsons manage the client’s expectations based on pricing contracts that may have been set against a different economic backdrop?
The construction contracts, which have been signed prior to increasing inflation, guarantee the owner the maintenance of the agreed final price. In fact, from this perspective, inflation can be seen as an advantage for those who have signed a construction contract in 2020 or 2021 as at the end of the build they will have a brand-new yacht with a higher market value than the one they’ve purchased it for.
Such favourable conditions might be blended with prices aligned to the new market logics for potential modifications and/or change orders required during the build which, consequently, might result in being fairly more expensive than only a few years ago. Then, of course, it is up to the owner to decide whether to proceed with the modification or not, and as their technical consultant, we would advise the owner how best to safeguard the value of their asset.
Anecdotally, we have heard that change orders are becoming less common and that some yards have
been less willing to accommodate them. What has your experience been with respect to this?
While it is true that many yards cannot necessarily offer the flexibility they once could due to full order books, they are still accommodating. There is the initial construction programme, which is inserted into the shipyard’s overall logistic programme. Juggling these various projects to get them out of the shed is complex. Modifications, especially in the advanced stage of building, can be disruptive.
Change orders still happen, however, and they can actually have a positive effect both ways. The relationship with the client can be developed in a proactive and positive way.
At what point do you see your role as the new-build manager as ‘handing over’ a vessel to the yacht-management division? The collaboration and interaction between new build and yacht management is active a long time before the management team takes over. Conversely, the new-build division is always on hand to help the management team with anything they need that flows the other way. There may be a ceremonial handover in some ways, but the reality is that it is a long and detailed process.
We want our operators to feed us back vital information. How does this work in reality? What other inputs can you give us? What would you change about the engine-room layout? This information guides our next new build and strengthens the process. JH
“Change orders still happen and they can actually have a positive effect both ways. The relationship with the client can be developed in a proactive and positive way.”
The first superyacht to run on fuel-cell technology
This will be the first superyacht to run, at least partially, on fuel-cell technology
Project Cosmos and its groundbreaking propulsions system has hit the water in doublequick time. While details remain scarce, TSG takes a closer look at the partnership that supports its zero-emissions ambitions.
More than a few heads turned when German shipyard Lürssen announced in 2021 that it would be launching a superyacht with a 1,000mile range at net zero that could also run off these same fuel cells for 15 nights at anchor.
Not least among the doubts was the fast turnaround for such an ambitious project. However, Project Cosmos, previously known as Project 13759 and a secretive build still, saw its technical launch at Lürssen’s facility in Rendsburg, Germany in March. The associated photographs show off the first lines of the distinctive design from Australian Marc Newson. However, it’s what lies within that is likely to have a wider impact on the future of new-build yachts.
This will be the first superyacht to run, at least partially, on fuel-cell technology. In this case, Project Cosmos will use liquid methanol as its hydrogen carrier. Methanol can be stored at ambient temperatures and pressure, giving it significant advantages over other alternative fuels such as ammonia or cryogenic hydrogen.
All green fuels have their Achilles heels, and one is the lower energy density, but methanol is the best green alternative due to reasonable storage space and easy handling. Built around a 114-metre platform and a calculated volume of more than 6,000gt, Project Cosmos has the luxury of having the space to experiment with energy generation. As the industry grapples with the downward scalability of these technologies, it’s the largest project to date that is advancing them.
While these may be pioneering in the superyacht space, they are not entirely new systems, but rather integrations of existing innovations. According to Lürssen, methanol is also an important base material for the chemical industry and has been an option to be used as a clean fuel for decades. When produced from renewable sources such as CO2 captured from the atmosphere and green hydrogen, methanol can be completely climate-neutral.
Lürssen has been actively involved in the German government-sponsored research programmes into the application of fuel-cell technology. Together with research and development partner Freudenberg e-Power Systems, Lürssen has set up an innovation laboratory to simulate and test the integration and operation of a marine hybrid fuel-cell system on board a yacht powered by methanol.
Since 2009, Lürssen has been a partner of a national research project called ‘Pa-X-ell’ with Besecke, Carnival Maritime, DLR, DNV, EPEA, Freudenberg and Meyer Werft. The aim of Pa-X-ell is the development and testing of a hybrid energy system with a new generation of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells and integrated fuel reforming for yachts and seagoing passenger vessels.
Lürssen committed to a strategic partnership with Freudenberg, one of the leading experts for maritime fuel cells and a global technology group. “With Freudenberg we have a strong partner at our side. We both have the aim to bring fuel cells on board ships in the near future and revolutionise the yachts’ energy and propulsion system,” explained CEO Peter Lürssen at the time.
“We don’t just want to use the latest technology on our yachts, we want to advance the status quo. And, in order to change things, we have to be active. That is why we have teamed up with several top partners.”
Dr Max Gisbert Kley, CEO of Freudenberg e-Power Systems, added, “We are pleased to enter into a long-term partnership with Lürssen, the leading, innovative shipyard in the yacht sector. Together we will set standards for sustainable, carbon-neutral mobility for yachts.”
Lürssen’s and Freudenberg’s concept is a fuel cell driven by hydrogen that is continuously reformed from methanol. The choice of methanol, rather than elemental hydrogen, has been made due to its higher energy density, simplicity of handling and worldwide availability. Perhaps most importantly, however, methanol can be stored in structural
Project Cosmos launching.
tanks in the double bottom of a yacht in contrast to pressurised or liquefied hydrogen which requires valuable space above the tank top and extensive tank structures.
Dr Manfred Stefener, Managing Director of Freudenberg Fuel Cell e-Power Systems, explained “Based on our vast knowledge in fuel-cell systems and hydrogen generation by reforming methanol in connection with Freudenberg’s proven industrialisation expertise, we are committed to realising innovative power and propulsion solutions for the maritime industry.
“We are happy to have Lürssen as a partner for bringing the combination of the mature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFC) with an efficient conversion process of methanol into hydrogen on the first yacht worldwide.”
Peter Lürssen added, “Due to the low dynamic capability of fuel cells, the system layout and the combination with other energy converters and storages is the key to a successful fuel-cell power system. The yacht will be able to stay more than 15 days at anchor with the night-time power supply being a net zero emission mode. And the yacht can reach about 1,000 miles’ slow cruising with net zero emission.”
According to Lürssen, the modular construction of the methanol fuel cell system can be adjusted to a customised yacht such as Cosmos to keep space requirements and costs as low as possible and the system’s efficiency as high as possible.
While a significant step forward, as is highlighted in elsewhere in this issue, the methanol dream and full net zeroemissions cruising is still way over the horizon. The nascent infrastructure network is still rudimentary for the migration patterns of typical superyachts. A 1,000-mile range on methanol/fuel cells is significant, but still nowhere near ocean-crossing.
However, with a growing network in the Mediterranean and Europe, and hypothetical expansion further afield to connect with existing bunkering infrastructure in Asia and other shipping hubs, the percentage of time operation on methanol will likely increase. Cosmos, while trailblazing, will still rely on traditional diesel combustion engines for additional range, but it has taken a significant leap forward in the race to zero carbon cruising. JH
The modular construction of the methanol fuel cell system can be adjusted to a customised yacht such as Cosmos to keep space requirements and costs as low as possible and the system’s efficiency as high as possible.True heavy-duty fuel cell stack.
IT IS MORE THAN JUST GLASS.
The demand for highly sophisticated custom-built superyachts has grown significantly over recent years, with shipyards competing for contracts from clients demanding cutting-edge design and technology.
Shipyards specialising in these builds face immense pressure to produce a high-quality, customised vessel on time and within budget. The reputational risk for shipyards failing to meet these expectations is significant and has long-lasting negative implications. As a result, shipyards must be well-equipped with the latest technology to meet the demands of this growing market and maintain high levels of communication throughout the process.
Pinpoint Works provides project managers with a customisable solution designed to help large teams and owners manage and collaborate on their projects from start to finish. The user-friendly platform replicates existing Excel spreadsheets, accompanied by a vessel’s GA (general arrangement), creating an interactive worklist – with the benefits of including photos, locations and realtime tracking of a project’s progress. A range of features allows users to see an overview of costs and project timelines, manage crew, track progress and much more.
James Stockdale, superyacht captain and Pinpoint Works founder, highlights, “There is a massive amount of information flowing back and forth between all parties through the build process, which can be overwhelming if systems and lines of communication are not in place to manage this efficiently.”
Pinpoint Works streamlines communication by enabling all third parties to stay connected and up to date on project progress. It also allows users to create tasks quickly, assign them to specific users and track progress in real time. This ensures everyone is on the same page and makes it easier to identify potential problems or delays before they become an issue. “A shipyard should be able to communicate openly with third parties, the crew and owner and do their very best to deliver the product that the owner has signed for, as well as be proactive in resolving any issues that may arise during the warranty period.”
Pinpoint Works has been adopted and
implemented by 400-plus superyachts, hundreds of smaller pleasure yachts and dozens of companies within the superyacht industry, including some of the world’s largest, most prestigious shipyards. Using the latest technology in web and mobile apps, the platform can be utilised during all lifecycles of a yacht: build, warranty, operation, refit, repaint and surveys.
If you’re not already leveraging an intuitive digital solution to manage newbuild projects and shipyard periods, it’s time to get started.
To learn more about Pinpoint Works or request a free 14-day trial, contact stuart@pinpointworks.com.
In the race towards a decarbonised future, the superyacht industry is likely to follow in the footsteps of the wider marine sector, which in turn is subject to the movements of the energy industry. Of all of the energy carriers suitable for superyachts, methanol appears to be the most likely solution to support the larger end of the fleet in moving to low- and ultimately net-zero carbon operations.
Various high-profile yachting projects, a few of which are featured in these pages, have opted for methanol as their future fuel of choice, both in conventional combustion engines and also with the eventual adoption of hydrogen fuel-cell technologies in mind.
The Methanol Institute (MI), founded in 1989, serves as the global trade association researching and advocating the use of methanol as an energy carrier for the future. Over the past 20 years, COO Chris Chatterton has worked at an executive level across the power, oil and gas, biofuel and chemical sectors. Having joined the MI in 2015, Chatterton has charted the rise in methanol’s prominence across all sectors and has assessed the outlook for the wider marine sector and where the superyacht industry may follow.
The supply of renewable, as well as carbon-neutral and lower-carbon, methanol has grown exponentially over the past five years, from small pilot projects to almost three million metric tonnes per annum of production forecast by 2024. This growth is creating a fascinating and encouraging market for green hydrogen molecules.
“Having methanol at ambient temperature solves a lot of technical hurdles in a marine environment and provides hydrogen alongside whatever application that is required,” says Chatterton.
“In the case of a superyacht, the relative ease of transport, transfer and bunkering are significant advantages. The technologies that support it have come a long way over the past 20 or 30 years.”
Although, as Chatterton points out, “all alternative energy carriers have
Chris Chatterton, COO of the Methanol Institute, offers an outside perspective of a growing energy market and some key indicators for those new-build yards that have opted to go down this particular route to decarbonisation.
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their Achilles heel”, methanol has advantages over other fuels, such as being easier to handle and more widely available than ammonia, for example. Methanol is also easier to bunker, with a variety of supply options and established best practices either in development or already in place.
“On an energy-equivalent basis, methanol has been competitive with marine gas oil for the past five years,” explains Chatterton. “Methanol also provides shipowners with flexibility in introducing a low-pollution, lowercarbon fuel that is the closest to a dropin available in the market.”
The elephant in the chemistry lab remains its lack of availability. However, as Chatterton highlights, inroads are being made at a rapid pace across the wider commercial marine industry.
He says, “Several bunkering enterprises are already examining their methanol services with systems that are about the closest thing possible to yacht bunkering, here in Singapore as well as Rotterdam being two examples.
“There are currently two 4,000 deadweight methanol bunkering vessels launching this year, with the additional expectation that several other major suppliers will be launching larger methanol bunkering vessels in 2025. There is a clear plan in place now for stepping away from fossil fuels, and at the same time companies like Maersk are formulating joint bunkering guidelines.”
While running a methanol-powered superyacht between Rotterdam and
Singapore would be a great way to test a vessel’s ocean-going credentials, it’s unlikely to win many charters. Overland transport options are many; the oftenrepeated conundrum for the superyacht sector is to what extent these major suppliers would extend the network to fit the needs of the comparatively tiny superyacht market.
Conversely, how many owners will take the risk of investing hundreds of millions on a yacht that may be hamstrung in its area of operations for at least a decade?
“That’s the million-dollar question. Or in your case, probably the $2 billionplus question,” says Chatterton. “When you start funnelling that question into the analysis, it comes down to how much visibility the owner of a vessel has over the production of a green hydrogen molecule in the field. Who’s going to produce it, and where, and then, crucially, at what price will they hold it?”
Viewing this as an issue of supply and demand driving infrastructure development is overly simplistic. The infrastructure network, or lack thereof, is relatively easy to conceptualise. There are more nuanced forces at play, however, both in terms of prospective availability and the green credentials of methanol as an energy carrier.
Methanol is the simplest alcohol molecule and is liquid at room temperature. The majority of methanol today is produced from natural gas but when used as fuel, it has lower carbon emissions, produces no sulphur
“It comes down to how much visibility the owner of a vessel has over the production of a green hydrogen molecule in the field. Who’s going to produce it, and where, and then, crucially, at what price will they hold it?”
emissions and has very low particulate matter and nitrous-oxide emissions. Its ease of transport and storage, in comparison to other hydrogen carriers, gives it broad appeal across all sectors seeking to decarbonise. This utility, both as a fuel and petrochemical building block, creates a complex market for these molecules across all energyintensive industries – a market that the superyacht and marine industry may not fully understand.
Chatterton stresses that as the supply of renewable methanol expands, the well-to-wake (WTW) accounting method for methanol as a fuel will become a key determinant in its theoretical development as the dominant future fuel in the marine sector. WTW integrates the entire process of fuel production, delivery and use on board ships, and all emissions produced therein, and while significant gains have been made, important questions remain regarding the global capacity for carbon-neutral or carbon-negative methanol production.
Chatterton highlights the ‘Fit for 55’ package as the EU regulation framework that is likely to have the broadest impact on the development of the methanol supply network in Europe. This package, presented in July and December 2021, is designed to realise the European Climate Law objectives: climate neutrality by 2050 and a 55 per cent reduction of net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.
“The European regulations around the production of renewable fuels are quite strict, almost to the point where it could actually backfire. If it becomes difficult and expensive to produce, we will see the potential fuel producers going outside the EU,” adds Chatterton.
The energy transition is also the transition away from a relatively stable market for heavy fuel oil (HFO) and cleaner, but still polluting, marine diesel, to a dynamic and more technologically complex set of energy sources that are highly sought after by a range of end users and produced from a wide range of sources.
Chatterton explains, “We now have maritime fuel-supply specialists that are very used to dealing with a product [HFO] that had very little value outside its utility as a marine fuel, save for, say, asphalt or similar. Now they are interacting with a market where these new energies are highly sought after across all industries, and the markets are significantly more complicated.”
The Methanol Institute has played a crucial role in the research and implementation methanol projects worldwide. It has actively engaged across the marine spectrum, as well as the superyacht sector. While many paths are being taken towards a low and net-zero carbon future, parts of the superyacht industry will need to lean on global trade organisations such as MI to effectively transition to this future fuel. JH
“Now maritime fuel-supply specialists are interacting with a market where these new energies are highly sought after across all industries, and the markets are significantly more complicated.”
Sustainability scientist Dr Vienna Eleuteri lays out how the superyacht industry must seize the ‘fantastic opportunity’ to become actively involved with climate contribution programmes … and therefore secure its future.
“If we don’t embrace change, we’ll disappear. It’s that simple”
The superyacht industry may make up only a small fraction of the maritime sector, which itself is just a small subsect of the overall emissions spectrum, but whether we care to admit it or not, what is discussed at COP (United Nations Climate Change Conference) will shape the industry’s very survival.
Much like the dizzying array of acronyms that are employed to describe it, the outcomes from each COP (last held as COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt last November) and, crucially, how they impact the superyacht/maritime industries, can be hard to correlate.
Thankfully, the superyacht industry has an ace up its sleeve. Dr Vienna Eleuteri is a sustainability scientist as well as the initiator and vice-chair of Water Revolution Foundation (WRF). Eleuteri’s research has been fundamental to the development of both WRF and the implementation of many of the research programmes discussed at the various interactions of COP over the years.
While many commentators bemoan a lack of concrete and truly ambitious announcements, the opportunity is often in the detail. While not immediately relatable to the superyacht sector on a technical level, the UN Loss and Damage Fund, and the related Climate Contribution model, has been identified by Eleuteri as the most impactful outcome to come from COP27.
More rooted in climate justice than the black-and-white emissions regulations and their metric of tons of C02 per year, or hypothetical carbon capture technologies, the creation of this fund and its implications for the maritime and superyacht sectors could be immense.
The fund will have a series of programmes based on the regenerative development concept that proposes a
way to reduce a vessel’s carbon intensity by contributing to EU-designated climate projects. In line with the concept of regenerative development, these projects are designed to actively regenerate the environment, not merely to halt or slow environmental destruction.
“Most of the actions related to ‘going green’ are not moving fast enough,” says Eleuteri. “We have a problem as an industry, not just the slow rate of progress, but the ethical problem of our image and justifying our industry in the court of public opinion.”
As we saw at the small demonstrations in Antibes before the Monaco Yacht Show 2022, and then again far more intensely with the Extinction Rebellion protest at The Superyacht Forum in November 2022, we’re caught in the crosshairs.
“COP27 started our transition towards active climate contribution as part of our emissions and carbon-intensity reductions,” says Eleuteri. “It has transformed the idea of traditional offsetting, which in my view has failed. By evaluating all aspects of, in this case a superyacht’s, carbon footprint, we can reduce, sector by sector, these impacts.
“Crucially, this framework now allows us to contribute to climate projects that restore and protect ecosystems, forming a holistic framework for carbon-intensity reduction. We are working on the emissions reduction targets, which is of course vital, but it is not proactive.”
Eleuteri adds, “In order to be taken seriously as an industry, one that is investible, we need also to put in place programmes that feed back into a regulatory framework from positive regeneration and climate justice. The Climate Contribution programme gives us that chance.”
The black-and-white targets have
been laid out by the IMO. From 1 January, 2023 it has been mandatory to calculate the energy efficiency of a vessel (400gt-plus benchmarked against a ship index). This index, defined in 2008, is the baseline for the Fourth IMO GHG (greenhouse gas) Study 2020. This is the first IMO greenhouse gas study published since the adoption in April 2018 of the initial IMO Strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships.
The Initial Strategy provides a highlevel international policy framework, setting out a clear pathway to reduce GHG emissions from ships, envisaging phasing out GHG emissions from the maritime industry as soon as possible in the 21st century. It also identifies levels of ambition related to a 2008 emission baseline:
• Reduce CO2 emissions per transport work (carbon intensity) by at least 40 per cent by 2030
• Reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050
“This study was vital, but in my view overly focused on emissions,” says Eleuteri. “With the Climate Contribution programme, we have the space to not simply feel like the bad guys with our high emissions who are doing terrible things for the planet. We can be proactive and get involved with some incredible projects, projects that are, crucially, supported by rigorous scientific data.”
The need for this data and science cuts both ways and, as Eleuteri explains, the simplistic model of measuring carbon output is outdated. “It is not all about the fuel use or the infrastructure or new technologies,” says Eleuteri. “A portion of the fleet sailing with bioethanol is a great start but we are still looking at a very small percentage in the short to medium term. It will play a part, and I think that the superyacht fleet will
be going in a few divergent directions on its journey to a decarbonised future.”
Water Revolution Foundation has worked hard to change the vocabulary around sustainability issues, and Eleuteri and others have stressed that regulatory changes, however innocuous they may sound, will have major downstream impacts on the superyacht industry.
A clear example has been the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities. The classification system established a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities. The EU taxonomy will provide companies, investors and policymakers with appropriate definitions as to which economic activities can be considered environmentally sustainable and, crucially, drive away investment from companies that fail to meet the standards defined.
The Taxonomy Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 22 June, 2020 and came into force on 12 July, 2020. As discussed at that time, what will happen if the rules come into force with clearly defined parameters and the superyacht industry is still setting individual targets with definitions supported by individual stakeholders with their own agendas and misconceptions?
Will the UN be understanding when we try to explain why there’s no accountability or continuity across the sector to give substance to our environmentally focused marketing?
The scientific community and the UN are in the process of defining projects that will contribute to the Climate Contribution programme, to then form an international registry.
With the implementation of landmark treaties such as the one protecting the high seas announced in early 2023, the scope of marine protection, for example,
is widening. Although it’s vague in its definitions, Eleuteri highlights the correlation between this development and the potential for the superyacht industry.
The cumulation of more than a decade of talks, the treaty, signed by 193 nations, lays out an overdue legal framework for the protection of the ‘high seas’. These areas sit outside the territorial waters of any one nation and host a wide array of ecosystems and resources. At present, only 1.2 per cent are protected.
The cliché that we know more about the surface of Mars than the bottom of the deep seas remains frustratingly true, and this lack of data is one of the major hurdles that has inhibited the implementation of effective international regulations. There is a fantastic opportunity here for the superyacht fleet, and its nascent, but growing, relationship with the scientific community, to take a more active role in research and monitoring.
“We will not get to the 40 per cent reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 by being too narrowly focused on emissions,” says Eleuteri. “An entire holistic view is needed across the vessel’s lifecycle. We need to work simultaneously to restore the functionality of the natural ecosystems from which we draw our refocuses and operate our vessels”.
Eleuteri concludes with a sombre warning. “If we don’t embrace these changes, our future is very simple. We will disappear. I don’t say this to be alarmist, I am a scientist. I am not an activist that simply wants to see something happen. It is a question of mathematics. Understanding and embracing programmes such as Climate Contribution is vital for climate justice, our public image and a way that the superyacht industry can be transformative, disruptive even, but in a very good sense.” JH
“An entire holistic view is needed across the vessel’s lifecycle. We need to work simultaneously to restore the functionality of the natural ecosystems from which we draw our refocuses and operate our vessels.”
Hidden inside this bold new concept from Oceanco lies a three-stage transition platform that hopes to bring carbon neutrality to the 90-metre-plus sector. Here, engineering expert Lateral Naval Architects explains how it may look in practice.
The 131-metre Project Aeolus represents a pathway towards Oceanco’s vision of a carbon-neutral future. The Giles Taylor-designed motoryacht is both elegant and bold, and the design highlights a contemporary interior, with renderings that show off all the features that we’ve come to expect from one of the world’s pre-eminent shipbuilders and a motoryacht of this scale.
However, it was page 22 of the extensive brochure (see image below) that really caught my eye: The Energy Transition Platform (ETP), developed by Oceanco and Lateral Naval Architects in partnership with technical partners ABB and MTU, “offers a future-proofed pathway to net zero”.
As the superyacht industry and the wider marine sector seek to decarbonise, they are entering into a significantly more complex energy market and associated technologies. The adaptable architecture of Aeolus has been designed to enable it to anticipate future changes in fuel types and associated technologies, allowing for upgrades that will integrate these technologies and alternative fuels in the least invasive way possible.
As such, Aeolus’s ETP will be configured in three stages: the initial stage, with a 100 per cent diesel-electric system (with batteries); the mid-life upgrade in stage two, which is upgradeable in
line with available fuel-cell technology developments, making it dual-fuelcapable with a reduced carbon footprint; and the final stage three, which will have no diesel on board, and full range and speed capabilities maintained via fuel cells and internal combustion power generation.
Arguably we, as an industry, should have been designing yachts with this kind of platform a generation ago. EU and IMO regulations have been constricting the maritime sector, and by extension the large-yacht sector, in a predictable way. The need for fuel flexibility has not exactly crept up on us. The ETP sounds great, but a few lines in a brochure belies the ambition, and difficulty, of implementing such a transition platform.
Speaking to Lateral’s managing director James Roy, chief engineer mechanical Simon Brealey and principal naval architect Adrien Thoumazeau offers some invaluable insight into this fascinating project and how the ETP may work in practice.
“Any yacht built today will have to span the energy transition, a period of significant change in available fuel types and associated technologies,” says Roy. “This demands an adaptable technical architecture that can accommodate the alterations to layout, configuration and specifications needed to integrate future
technologies and alternative fuels in the least invasive way possible. Lateral and Oceanco have developed the ETP to ensure multiple technical pathways can be pursued as technologies mature during the energy transition timeline.”
The first conundrum, often repeated across these pages and at industry events worldwide, is that while clients ask about future technology and energy transition to net zero, and are interested to learn, very few are actually prepared to make the investment if there is no fuel availability. As Roy puts it, “The reality is that when you get to the commercial signing of up to 300 million euros of your hard-earned money, people get cold feet pretty quickly.”
The idea of the energy transition platform is to pre-engineer a technical architecture that can span the energy transition timeline. As the divergent pathways develop towards net zero, the ETP is designed to have the in-built flexibility to pursue different solutions.
What Lateral is proposing is a fully warrantied, commercially available, lowerrisk product today that also does not lock the client out of future technologies. According to Roy, this also has a significant positive impact on the potential resale value of any vessel. Anecdotally, many of the reasons for hesitance around these products is the justifiable concern as to whether an owner can resell such a high-value asset in 10 or 15 years.
Like Feadship and Lürssen, Oceanco, with Aeolus, has opted for methanol as its future fuel of choice. As is highlighted elsewhere in this report, the energy density of methanol, and its storage at ambient temperature and pressure, make it easier to integrate, relatively speaking.
The point that Brealey stresses is that this ease of integration has a knockon effect on the design considerations.
“What we can do with methanol is design a yacht [of this size] that is recognisable as a yacht. The tankage is going to be more than we would require for diesel but overall the yacht retains the look of a superyacht, and that is attractive for clients.”
Stage one of the ETP is relatively selfexplanatory. While state of the art, the diesel-electric system combining two MTU 16V2000 M72 main diesel engines with a battery bank and ABB Azipods is relatively conventional for a vessel of this size. It’s stages two and three where the
truly intriguing challenges begin.
Yachts are built around their engine blocks. As such, even mid-range motoryachts will require some seriously invasive engineering to replace an engine or generator. This is the looming hurdle that one can see at stage two of the ETP. Although not as scary as it may seem, the prospect of cutting through the fairing and hull below the waterline is a daunting one.
Roy stresses that the engineering required to adapt the yacht to methanol must be integrated during the build because without these considerations, the refit to methanol will be very technically complex and perhaps one barrier too many. For these reasons, Aeolus will be designed with all diesel and ballast tanks capable of conversion to methanol by including the necessary cofferdams and methanol systems for fuel, bilge, tankventing and inerting.
“We have taken great care to ensure that we are not running cable trays or tanks between the existing path for any of the components that may have to be removed,” explains Roy. “Looking ahead to stage two also requires careful calculations of loading considerations relative to the requirements of future machinery. Additionally, the requirements of future adoption of fuels cells with respect to the ventilation systems have also been considered.”
It’s still unavoidable that a hull cut will be required to change machinery; however, this will be pre-engineered with removal routes via dedicated soft patches considered in the machinery layout.
Having the freedom to design this type of system is supported by such a large internal volume. One pressing question for the future is how might this be applied to the rest of the fleet?
“That is the 64-thousand-dollar question,” says Brealey. “How small can we take this? Of course, a large yacht like this is an easier platform to work on. If we take our performance metric as metre square of luxury per gross tonne, the smaller the yacht, the more impact methanol will have. In the 90-metre-plus class, of course, this makes total sense. Smaller than that, it is still a compelling proposition but then the product has to change a bit. The full focus then has to be on efficiency.”
“When we say that Aeolus is quite easy, that is a relative term,” says Thoumazeau.
“A large yacht like this is an easier platform to work on. If we take our performance metric as metre square of luxury per gross tonne, the smaller the yacht, the more impact methanol will have. In the 90-metre-plus class, of course, this makes total sense.”
The adaptable architecture of Aeolus has been designed to enable it to anticipate future changes in fuel types and associated technologies, allowing for upgrades that will integrate these technologies and alternative fuels in the least invasive way possible.
“There is still some compromise and with Aeolus we have a calculated range of 4,500 nautical miles. To get this there is some compromise in terms of tankage.”
Thoumazeau explains that the issue with coming down in size is not necessarily the technicality of the backbone of the ship. A significant factor in the downward scalability of a system such as the ETP is the reliance on the availability of hardware such as gensets, for example. “Building a methanol-ready 60-metre is technically possible, but the supply of hardware in these size ranges is much more limited,” he says.
While Aeolus can be built on the regulatory and technical developments stemming from the commercial shipbuilding sector, Roy says the idea of approaching an energy transition in this way is actually quite yacht-specific. Many of today’s new builds in shipping are being designed as duel-fuel methanol ships. However, in most cases this is simplified as there is good availability of large two-stroke dual-fuel methanol
engines in this size range, while yachts generally require smaller machinery.
Brealey quips, “Cruise and shipping vessels tend to have a very different idea of overhead heights in engineering spaces.”
“If we look at the alternative energy carriers in shipbuilding today, LNG is still the number one but it is rapidly being overtaken by methanol dual-fuel ships, primarily in the container shipping sector,” says Roy.
To this point, he adds that there are Class notations from the shipping industry, and Class societies such DNV already describe many of the transition scenarios, especially for methanol, that superyacht designers and shipyards are now grappling with.
This leads to the next major hurdle, one that, crucially, the superyacht industry is not alone in tackling. The technical challenges of the build, at least for stages one and two, are in many ways secondary to the complexities of the fuelsupply market in which it will enter.
“What we really need is a spot-fuel market for methanol,” says Brealey. “When we buy fuel today it is offered on an open market. There is a lot of supply competition met with a lot of demand. While we cannot say for certain, the current markers and indicators for methanol suggest that it will get there eventually, but it is complicated.”
While the scientific and economic theory may be nothing new, its application to the marine sector certainly is. Wading through the literature and navigating biases presents another fascinating challenge. If an academic or institution has spent 10 years studying or advocating for a particular pathway or outcome, this is often where their conclusions will land. In academia this is termed ‘confirmation bias’, the tendency to seek, interpret and remember information in a way that confirms one’s pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses while ignoring or downplaying contradictory evidence.
“There are very few independent sources of information out there,” adds
Brealey “Pretty much everyone you speak to in the alternative-fuel sector has some form of bias, unconscious or not. A big part of what we do is to try and cut through this. However, notwithstanding these reasons, we still see methanol as the easiest alternative fuel to integrate into a superyacht design.
“Understanding the fuel network is key. You can go on to a few websites today and see a graphic that shows a collection of methanol or LNG bunkering sites across Northern Europe, for example, but it is not that simple.”
I’ve seen these graphics, and the nodes on the map do look enticing. However, as Brealey explains, they very often have ‘take agreements’ in place, whereby there is a contract between a fuel supplier and a buyer, and the supplier agrees to provide a certain amount of fuel at a fixed price over a specified period. The buyer, in turn, commits to purchasing the agreed-upon amount of fuel within the specified time frame.
“If you show up on your superyacht expecting to bunker, it most likely won’t work,” adds Brealey. “These sites are designed specifically for a certain carrier,
such as a cruise or container ship, that will come through at a certain time. They are not producing surplus on the off chance that a yacht may come through. They want to maximise their utilisation of the plant or storage facility, which have significant CapEx and often government subsidies, as is the case in Spain.
“This presents an interesting discussion for the superyacht industry about how we, as clients, approach the issue. We are entering into a transition period before a spot market is created, and because of the CapEx very few, if anyone, is thinking about building a methanol bunkering station for the yachting market on the off chance the ships will appear.”
An interesting corollary is that certain dual-fuel LNG cruise ships never use LNG due to its lack of availability. While adopting some of the technologies and regulations, the superyacht sector and projects such as Aeolus are likely to diverge once again from the commercial sector. The idiosyncrasies of its operational profiles and areas of operations will necessitate further innovation on its own pathways to carbon neutrality.
“The shipping industry is being very creative with how it achieves its carbon targets, and some of the solutions may not actually be that green,” concludes Brealey. “We need to be better than this standard. When we design and build yachts like Aeolus, we need to recognise that as an industry we have a lot of attention on us. We have high-profile clients and conspicuous assets. With the rise of investigative journalism and attention on the industry, as well as data transparency, there is nowhere to hide.”
“We shouldn’t forget that methanol is a carbon-based fuel,” adds Roy. “So its use as a zero-emissions solution is contextual, more accurately it’s a net-zero fuel. And for that there has to be some accountability and transparency. When you buy the fuel, you have to know if it’s in a net-zero state.”
When asked to forecast the next developments, Lateral gave a broad timeline for the feasibility of stages two and three, with the energy transition to methanol depending on a variety of factors such as the availability of fuel cells, reformers and methanol engines with the appropriate performance, as well as the infrastructure to support yacht operations worldwide with a supply of green methanol.
It’s anticipated that these technologies will be available towards the end of this decade. However, the wider issue of infrastructure is somewhat difficult to predict, and the superyacht industry may need to invest in developing a viable fuel network.
The desire of owners to be early adopters of new technology will also be a significant factor driving the timeline. If a yacht such as Aeolus is contracted today, Lateral explains, some owners may decide to jump straight to stage two immediately, while others may wait and install stage two during a refit two to five years after delivery, perhaps around 2030.
Conversion to full methanol in stage three could then be imagined in the latter half of the 2030s. This timeline may vary and is subject to change based on technological developments, infrastructure availability and owner preferences. This is where the flexibility of the ETP comes into play, allowing Aeolus to transform in step with the evolving landscape of decarbonisation technologies and infrastructure. JH
“When we design and build yachts like Aeolus, we need to recognise that as an industry we have a lot of attention on us. We have high-profile clients and conspicuous assets. With the rise of investigative journalism and attention on the industry, as well as data transparency, there is nowhere to hide.”
The concept of a zero-fossil-fuel superyacht has seemed a bridge too far for much of the industry despite the imperative placed on it by encroaching regulatory frameworks. There are many different roads to reach this target. The zero-emissions arms race may have been slow out of the blocks, with more than a few false starts, but one project may be half a boat length ahead.
BY JACK HOGANMany of the leading motoryacht manufacturers have intriguing projects in the pipeline. This side of the industry has the advantage of looking to developments in the commercial sector for inspiration, with methanol, cryogenic hydrogen and ammonia just some of the solutions in various stages of development across the leading commercial suppliers and shipyards.
The majority of ‘sustainability solutions’ are less ambitious than zerofossil fuels. Despite the unambiguous nature of emissions targets, impeding regulations and dire environmental warnings, many developments and concepts require more than a little mental gymnastics to reframe as being green.
Traditional motoryachts adhering to design conventions are destined to be integrators of incremental solutions offering limited gains, adapting through the piecemeal adoption of disparate technologies. A battery bank here, a methanol conversion kit there, each giving partial solutions that, collectively, are often less than the sum of their parts.
Foundation Zero is ‘on a mission to make sustainable marine travel and hospitality solutions a reality’. Created by a group of impact investors and a team of leading physicists, computer and data scientists, battery specialists and cutting-edge naval architects, with the objective to build the world’s first fossil-fuel-free superyacht.
Project Zero is the centrepiece of the Foundation Zero mission, developed by a group of investors in collaboration with Vripack Design Dykstra Naval Architects, Vitters Shipyard and a wide array of technicians. Intriguingly, Foundation Zero is also open source, with all of the technology available in the public domain. The secrecy surrounding projects with what is in reality a low product variance is
With the 69-metre Vitters ketch nearing reality, Marnix Hoekstra, co-creative director at Vripack, joins TSG to take a closer look at this ambitious project and the foundation behind it.
maddening at times, to have something this potentially paradigm shifting open to all may be the most ground-breaking innovation.
Marnix Hoekstra, co-creative director at Vripack, says, “It sounds simple, but the biggest eye-opener has been that from day one we’ve said that there isn’t going to be a combustion engine on board. We’re not going to have fuel tanks, engine room or generators, they’re just not there. It’s strange but liberating.
“There are a lot of projects today that claim to be electrical, and they get published by the yachting media. However, when you [dig] a little deeper there is always a 350kW generator or something in the back disguised as a range extender, or words to that effect. It’s just a combustion engine that burns fuel and then stores the power in it at the end of the day.”
Project Zero is going all in. Along with the technical challenges presented by this build is trying to holistically approach the interplay between design and operation. Hoekstra explains that Dykstra Naval Architects, for example, has invested heavily in weather route predictions and algorithmic modelling to analyse 30 years’ worth of weather data. With near total reliance on wind
propulsion, Project Zero is going to be at the mercy of the elements.
“That is arguably the most interesting aspect of this project [the outside of the industry influence],” adds Hoekstra. “To give another example, we have physicists who, relatively speaking, may not know much about yacht design. However, with the extensive data that we can provide, they can use computer modelling to examine the thermodynamic properties in incredible detail.”
Diesel is a really beautiful energy carrier, as Hoekstra frames it. It is, in many ways, the metronome by which the industry keeps its rhythm. Reliable, cheap and dirty, its availability and characteristics have shaped the design conventions and rhythms of the superyacht industry for generations.
Without it, or another similarly reliable energy carrier, Project Zero can’t be over-engineered to handle everything with redundancies in the same way as a traditional superyacht. Hoekstra explains that Vitters Shipyard has played a pivotal role in the early testing of ideas and concepts, with spaces such as the roof of the shipyard used to test prototypes.
The equally challenging aspect of the build, according to Bas Peute of
Vitter Shipyard, is the myriad of small energy savings that are needed to bring Project Zero’s energy demands down. “A conventional sailing yacht this size would have an average energy consumption of 60kW. The target that is set for Project Zero is in the 25kW region”, says Peute.
“This can only be achieved when no stone is left unturned. For example, we are looking into the hull paint and its reflection so see what effect the paint reflection has on the heating of the interior, which then in turn needs to be cooled by the air conditioning.”
“Another area where we have put focus is the solar panels. Apart from electrical energy produced, these panels also generate heat, heat which could then be used elsewhere in the yacht.”
Sailing conventions are honed from thousands of years of testing. Form follows function in ways that can’t always be totally reimagined. The aesthetics of a design still play a significant role. As such, Project Zero will be a ketch with a relatively conventional rigging configuration.
The maximum height allowed for a vessel transiting the Panama Canal is 57.91 metres above the waterline. This is the clearance available at the Bridge of the Americas, which is the lowest
point of the canal’s main navigation channel. This Panamax designation is also the limiting factor for Project Zero. While a taller rig may provide more power, the faster and safer transit through Central America makes more sense than a trip around Cape Horn for what is essentially a prototype.
The key to the system is the ability to generate and store energy. Pioneering builds such as Black Pearl from Oceanco have paved the way; it’s now up to Project Zero to take the plunge.
The analogy that Hoekstra uses for hydrogeneration is that of an electric car and its kinetic breaking generation. The electric motor can be used as a generator. As the throttle is released and the electric car is going downhill, it converts the car’s kinetic energy into electrical energy that is fed back into the battery, slowing the car down also.
The same principle is applied to the hydro-generation system on Project Zero. The calculations, as they stand, imply that it will lose around 1.5 knots of boat speed under optimal sailing conditions to generate the requisite energy storage. Much like the loss in speed when a car is coasting downhill, this energy feeds back into the system.
The amount of wasted energy on board the majority of the fleet has come into focus in recent years. The detailed analysis of on-board systems and operational profiles has revealed the extent of this wasted potential and the overcapacity of stored energy and production capacity on board to compensate for this loss.
A common misconception about sailing yachts is that while under sail they are blissfully slicing through the waves in silence. While this may be true of small traditional yachts, something the size of Project Zero requires a lot of energy, especially while sailing.
The heating and lights may keep everyone comfortable, but it’s the operation of the machinery that keeps it functioning. A one-ton anchor at the end of 120 metres of chain, for example, is very hard to lift up from the sea bed. Hoisting a main and mizzen sail simultaneously to Panamax height, while keeping the yacht steady upwind and running the various winches, draws significant power.
Below deck, the engines and gen-
erators are running at high capacity which means Project Zero will need a lot of battery power. To meet this, Project Zero’s belly will be filled with an enormous battery bank that produces fivemegawatt hours of power, fed through an electric-motor-driven system.
This amount of weight down low below the waterline has added benefits for a sailing yacht. A sailing yacht’s stability is determined by a complex interplay of factors, including the weight and shape of the keel, the yacht’s hull design, sail plan and rigging. However, by placing this much weight low down, the distance between the centre of gravity and the centre of buoyancy is increased, which in turn increases the righting moment.
Having an effective Class society that is open to new ideas is fundamental to the development of such a project. For Project Zero, Lloyd’s Register has taken up the challenge, and Hoekstra says LR has been involved from day one.
“LR was great. Before we even knew what was possible we had them at the table and we said, ‘OK guys, let’s start the conversation. Tell us what we can and cannot do’, and from there we tried to push the leading edge of what is possible. Ambition is one thing but we have to send a safe boat to sea when completed.”
Removing the centrally located engine room and engine control room (ECR), along with a completely rethought-out tank deck and engineering space, opens up areas for a designer to create a layout that few have dared to dream of. But there are some things that are where they are for a reason.
Hoekstra explains, “Early on, there were some truly wild ideas regarding layout but comfort and convenience dictate certain conventions. Having the master cabin further aft is one such thing. It’s the most comfortable and quiet part of the boat, especially while sailing, so that is where we settled. This boat is going to do a lot of sailing, so we kept that front of mind.”
Hypothetically, limitless sailing and power generation are great, but realistic expectations are more complex. “Our aim is to achieve 14 days completely off the grid,” says Hoekstra. “By our calculations, if can sail for two hours a day, we could be theoretically free of the grid 365 days a year.”
“Our aim is to achieve 14 days completely off the grid. By our calculations, if can sail for two hours a day, we could be theoretically free of the grid 365 days a year.”
“It sounds simple, but the biggest eye-opener has been that from day one we’ve said that there isn’t going to be a combustion engine on board. We’re not going to have fuel tanks, engine room or generators, they’re just not there. It’s strange but liberating.”
The 1.5-megawatt generation capacity is roughly equivalent to a wind turbine with a 70-metre diameter. Immensely promising, it’s still worth reflecting on the reality of Project Zero’s likely operational profile and associated emissions load.
While the proposed cruising patterns of Project Zero are unspecified, it will undoubtedly have reliance on shore power and, subsequently, the national grid of the country in which it resides. This may be splitting hairs but it will remain, at least partly, reliant on fossil fuel and non-renewable energy.
The Mediterranean, for example, is a diverse region in terms of its energy mix, and the share of renewable energy in its power grids varies across countries. According to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the share of renewable energy in the power mix of Mediterranean countries ranged from less than 10 per cent to more than 40 per cent.
Countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece have made significant progress in developing their renewable energy resources and increasing the share of renewables in their power grids. For example, Spain had a 41 per cent share of renewable energy in its power mix
in 2019, Italy had a 19.3 per cent share and Greece had a 15.4 per cent share. However, there is still significant room for improvement to meet the EU’s goal of achieving a 32 per cent share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2030.
Operating outside of these constraints will undoubtedly remain the lionised goal of this ambitious project. However, yachts, no matter how advanced, spend a lot of time in marinas and shipyards. Project Zero will probably not be free of this constraint.
However, from a consumption and emissions point of view, this project is at the forefront. Removing all the fossil fuels is just the start of a decadeslong journey to truly emissions-free operations in the superyacht industry.
If this collection of innovators can pull this one off, the marker may be laid down for many more to follow. The custom sailing-yacht market has lagged behind a huge growth in scale and volume from the motoryacht manufacturers. If Project Zero can become a test case for zero-fossil-fuel operations, it may be the stimulus the sector needs to realise its obvious advantage in the race to zero-emission yacht operations. JH
Above: Energy balance for a conceivable operational scenario.All these new builds can fit comfortably along side in IGY Séte Marina. Perfectly located for any of your major 60m - 160m+ projects starting their new build journey in the Mediterranean.
The three men behind the concept are shunning current design trends and say that turning their sleek non-conformist creation into reality is entirely feasible.
Rob Doyle, Pieter van Geest and Mark Small are veteran yacht designers fuelled by the lack of innovation in their professional landscape, and their latest concept, Project Domus, embodies their striving for true innovation. This concept is sleek, modern and incredibly individual, but it has also got a whole bunch of attitude.
It’s a defiant non-conformist that doesn’t want anything to do with other ‘trendy’ yacht designs circulating in the media. Love it or hate it, one thing Project Domus does very well (as every great concept should) is question the status quo. Why a trimaran? Why just one deck? Why hydrogen fuel cells? Why the enclosed protective space? And the answer to all these questions is, in a sense, a reflection of the concept’s very nature: Why not?
“‘Domus’ is a word that originally derives from Ancient Rome. They were a type of townhouse occupied by the upper classes and featured a single-storey house
built around a courtyard known as an atrium,” explains Van Geest.
The trimaran version of this space is designed to heel at two degrees to allow the weather hull to come out of the water, therefore reducing drag and increasing the performance, something that wouldn’t be possible if it had been replicated as a catamaran. This version of a 40-metre multihull is also faster than a typical catamaran, easier and cheaper to build, and offers substantially more space.
It’s somewhat frustrating how many future concepts claim to be ‘fully sustainable’ and ‘zero emission’ when, in reality, the technology they are proposing hasn’t even been properly tried and tested and could never be achieved. That said, Doyle argues that Project Domus could be the first truly zero-emission yacht over 750 gross tonnage.
“If the right person came along and said that they wanted to build this yacht, and there was a shipyard willing to do it,
“We strongly believe if you want the benefits of multihulls at 40-metresplus size, the only practical solution is a trimaran.”
then yes, Project Domus could be built. It is completely feasible,” says Doyle.
The bespoke design combination of solar power, hydro regeneration and hydrogen fuel cells gives Domus an unlimited range with zero emissions. An optimised system of solar power and battery storage allows the yacht to motor during daylight hours and then transfer over to the battery system at night. This also means the vessel would be fully silent with zero emissions while at anchor.
Small, technical director at Rob Doyle Design, clarifies the green credentials of the concept. “The vessel is really making its own fuel and then storing it in hydrogen or batteries,” says Small. “So it is a real true hybrid, it’s not just dieselelectric that actually only has diesel as the only input of fuel. That is partly why we can be very confident when we say that this will be a zero-emission vessel.”
To be clear, this claim doesn’t also mean the entire project is carbon-neutral because it doesn’t take into account the building and refitting of the vessel.
Managing and optimising space is a major component of superyacht design, and recently Doyle, Small and Van Geest have been searching for the holy grail of space management. Project Fury, their most recent monohull sailing-yacht concept, increased interior space by five per cent. The designers claim that the Domus design doubles the interior space compared with a typical 40-metre catamaran. With just one main deck, without any steps, there’s a distinct
villa/bungalow feel to the on-board experience.
Recently, there’s been a nauseating trend to make every yacht ‘at one’ with nature and its surroundings. Yes, of course, when you’re out on the water in pristine locations it’s great to feel connected to the environment, but when you consider the connotations of family, privacy and even seaworthiness, then exposure to the elements isn’t what usually springs to mind.
The atriums in the interior of Domus allow for free-flowing movement while respecting individualism and privacy. Every space in the yacht also features a view of the outside, so the connection is not altogether lost between the interior and exterior spaces.
When you boil it down to its core, this concept is almost a monohull with outriggers. Obviously, this is a major simplification, but the concept holds and allows for a much simpler construction process. However, the designers behind the concept are wary of the current trend for large luxury catamarans.
In the press release for the concept they say, “We believe that the current trend to design large superyacht catamarans is fundamentally wrong. We strongly believe if you want the benefits of multihulls at 40-metres-plus size, the only practical solution is a trimaran. The extensive design research and analysis we have undertaken for 80 to 90-metre and a 40 to 50-metre multihull superyachts clearly shows that a trimaran is the best option.”
As the beam of the concept is so large, one could question how easy it would be to find space in a marina. ‘Why not? Because there isn’t enough marina infrastructure’ is probably the gist of many past conversations between brokers, potential clients and designers. But Doyle believes there is a relatively simple answer to this. “The infrastructure grows with the demand. And a lot of these boats like sitting out on the hook because they are away from prying eyes or away from getting damaged on the dock. So if it’s going to go on to the dock … well, marinas are capable of taking boats of this size now.
“The majority of its time could be offshore with crew alongside just monitoring the boat and doing updates. The owners probably wouldn’t want to spend much time at the dock. With the size of the tenders we have on board, the convenience of staying offshore is far, far greater.”
Domus exists because the designers undertook diligent studies on possibilities of the smallest-size vessel that one could design with a single-floor layout without making it look too bulky. While Rob Doyle Design has been focusing on naval architecture, performance and structural feasibilities, Van Geest Design was the brains behind the styling and layouts.
The team behind the Domus project have been involved in the design of more than 60 superyachts and has extensive detailed design experience, knowledge and data that allows them the confidence to undertake such a challenging project. JH
Over the past 30 years, TILSE has worked on more than 300 superyacht projects, most of which are custom or one-off builds. During this time, TILSE has pioneered many of the techniques that have allowed glass to become fundamental to boundary-pushing yacht design.
As part of the ISO working group dedicated to glass manufacturing and safety, TILSE has played a leading role, along with other leading glass suppliers, in the formation of safety standards that have underpinned this evolution of glass as a medium in superyacht construction.
Henning von der Thüsen, managing director at TILSE, has seen many trends come and go in the world of superyacht design – starting with the move away from framed windows towards bonded glass, and then towards ever larger windows on the superstructure. He explains that in recent years, many designers and naval architects have been looking below the waterline as a new design frontier for glass.
TILSE has completed many belowwaterline installations for some of the industry’s leading shipyards, and von der Thüsen has some fascinating insights as to the technical challenges associated with safety underwater. “When you design and build a house, once completed, you can expect it to remain stable,” he says. “For a modern superyacht, this is just the start. As it sails, it is constantly interacting with its environment in unexpected ways. Vessels sag and hog in complex ways. This has equally complex effects on the glass that is installed.”
This movement is often measured in millimetres, but its associated interaction with a material as brittle as glass
is a vital consideration. An issue for all glass on board, this interplay is amplified by below-water installations.
“The water pressure calculations are, comparatively, relatively easy,” adds von der Thüsen. “What is significantly harder to quantify is how the subtle movement of the hull across different temperatures and conditions will affect the glass.”
The technological advancements that have made these installations possible have not been limited to the glass itself. To confidently produce these underwater installations, TILSE relies on equally advanced computer FEM
(finite element method) modelling to precisely test the complex lifespan of an underwater glass installation.
FEM is a popular method for numerically solving differential equations arising in engineering and mathematical modelling. Typical problem areas of interest include the traditional fields of structural analysis, heat transfer, fluid flow, mass transport and electromagnetic potential. For TILSE, it’s the complex web of interactions between glass and the surrounding hull below the waterline.
Underwater installations are required by Flag and Class to be in a section of the vessel that can be sealed via watertight doors and is not integral to the overall buoyancy calculations of the vessel. With careful design, these somewhat unsightly watertight doors can be hidden creatively.
While this redundancy is a key safety feature, the real security for a yacht is knowing that any glass installed underwater from TILSE is of such a high safety rating that it’s actually rated higher than the surrounding steel or aluminium. The compound glass structure, which may have as many as 13 component layers, is not your typical glass window. Even if an underwater object is hit hard enough to break an outer layer, the glass will retain its structural integrity.
“There has been significant pressure from clients for more creative underwater installations,” concludes von der Thüsen. “We are working hard, along with the other members of the ISO working group, to find solutions. We are pushing the Flag states and Class societies, who are pushing back in a way that is constructive and safe, which is the most important consideration.”
With the ever-growing trend towards the installation of underwater structural glass, Henning von der Thüsen, managing director at TILSE, shares his insights on the challenges of below-waterline installations.
“There has been significant pressure from clients for more creative underwater installations.”
The debate as to what constitutes a true ‘exploration’ yacht is somewhat semantic in the traditional superyacht industry. If it’s just about cruising remote regions, the majority of today’s fleet have the capability to visit almost anywhere that the owner and crew wish.
Large yachts, with transatlantic ranges, multi-purpose tenders and, in many cases, helicopter support, can cruise extensively. The fairing and paint may suffer for it, and the tender outboard leg may take a few knocks as unseen reefs are clipped but, by and large, they can get the job done. Most then become explorers by default. Designed for transatlantic crossings and Mediterranean cruising, these tried and tested hull shapes and engine configurations can then be applied for more remote cruising.
The explosion in popularity of exploration-style vessels has felt partly like the traditional superyacht market turning its focus to a new design trend. The Range Rover analogy has become cliché, but it rings true – matte paint, axe bows and a submarine around what, when listed as a spec sheet, amounts to a fairly unremarkable set of numbers.
True exploration yachts are a different breed and constitute a far smaller subsection of the fleet, scientifically outfitted with design considerations taken from hardened research and commercial vessels that have been tested in the harshest conditions on earth for generations.
This small sub species of yacht is growing in number but it still exists
in the upper echelon of the pricing structure. A 50-metre-plus exploration vessel also requires a large crew and associated operating expense, with high fuel consumption and, crucially, an inevitably high impact on the regions they visit.
The top-down reapplication of superyachts for exploration purposes is a fundamentally inefficient (and expensive) approach. The Arksen philosophy is more specialised: designing vessels from the ground up that are specifically tailored to maximise capabilities and minimise extravagant design inefficiencies to ensure the environmental impact is as low as it can be within the operational requirements.
However, Arksen is pushing the responsibility of its vessels and prospective owners further by developing a series of scientifically supported philanthropic programmes to help a circular ownership ecosystem that actively engages with vital conservation efforts.
Arksen’s 85 may offer a new entry into the exploration market. In a yachting industry driven by a relatively small market with a low product variance, Arksen aims to shake this up.
“I believe that we will see a fundamental shift over the next few years,” says company founder Jasper Smith. “I meet hundreds of CEOs and founders each year, and I don’t recall meeting a single person under 30 who had any interest in owning a big white yacht for the Med. In my view that model is dead already, it’s just taking a while to die. As the audience trends younger, the
model shifts to experiential, to shared ownership, to rental, to adventure and, above all, to supporting climate-change mitigation.”
The Arksen 85s may soon occupy a fascinating niche within the superyacht industry. The brochure and detailed statistics, layout and capabilities make for impressive reading – but they don’t tell the full story.
“The 85s are over-engineered versus any other boat in their class,” says Dominic Byrne, sales and marketing director at Arksen. “In terms of safety, redundancy and every aspect of safety we have double, and sometimes triple, systems in place. We expect that these and future models will be pushing the limits of what to expect from a vessel in this class, and we have built a vessel that is up to the challenge.”
The capacity for adventure in a motoryacht is built on having a range that can truly explore the world. Islandhopping through Southeast Asia or the Mediterranean is vastly different from safely tackling the Polar regions or the expanse of the Pacific. “The 7,000mile range, as listed, is a conservative calculation,” adds Byrne. “The reality is that in good conditions and at efficient speeds it may be even longer.”
It’s worth considering where this places the Arksen 85 among the superyacht fleet. With the caveat that range is a subjective measure dependent on many external factors, The Superyacht Agency has supplied the fleet averages, taken from the listed cruising range from nearly 6,000 yachts on its database:
As the first two Arksen 85s near their launch dates, TSG takes a closer look at the capabilities of the 27-metre boats that have a range of 7,000nm, and also at the build philosophy of the company that hopes to help reframe the ownership model.
• 30-50m: 2,367nm
• 50-90m: 4,827nm
• 90m+: 6,970nm
While these really are just numbers on a page until completed in the field, I suggest playing around with these distances on Google Earth. (As a side note, this is also how a surprising amount of passage planning happens on exploration yachts, just don’t tell the Flag surveyor.) Using the measurement tool set to nautical miles, in five minutes at my desk I ticked off the following hypothetical expeditions in my imaginary 85:
• Panama to the Antarctic Peninsula –4,546nm
• Darwin to Oman via Cocoas Keeling Islands and the Maldives – 5,081nm
• Baha California to Auckland via French Polynesia and the Cook Islands –5,479nm
Of course, not every crewmember or owner is qualified or prepared to make these voyages. Industry-wide, there’s a fundamental misunderstanding as to how likely an owner of a typical yacht is to cross a significant way on board their typical yacht. In fact, the operational cycle of the traditional industry requires that they don’t. Crew need holidays, interiors need to be stripped down and the galley needs a break from full service.
Long crossings often provide the chance to do all of the above. But the 85 is not a typical vessel. Sitting at the inflection point between an owneroperated large launch and a fully crewed large exploration vessel, the 85 seems poised to break the status quo.
Ambitiously listed as having the capacity for up to 14 guests and crew, the levels of interaction will likely be more reminiscent of a 100-foot sailing yacht, with less strict demarcation between guests and crew. With the rise of lowEarth-orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity approaching ubiquity, an ambitious owner and yacht may indeed tackle these distances as a team.
The first of the two hulls due to launch this year has been designed with the optional hybrid battery system. For this, Arksen has teamed with Praxis Automation Technology to produce a hybrid system that will provide around 24 hours of battery hotel-load operations, as well as a 30 to 40-mile range of cruising which can be further augmented by the use of solar panels on the superstructure.
Limited by existing battery technology, and its associated weight considerations, this is less than that offered by its much larger hybrid cousins. It is, however, enough to explore in emission-free silence the varied and isolated coastlines and inlets for which it is designed. The 85 will have the advantage of unprecedented access to these areas because of its low 1.55m draft. Previously, the realm of sailing multi-hulls and tenders, the 85 will undoubtedly get close to the action. The low draft and wide beam also give high levels of stability for this size of vessel because the 85 is also designed to right itself if capsized.
The idea of maximising the throughwater efficacy of motoryachts is not often high on the marketing campaigns. In a world of abundant fuel and powerful engines, style often triumphs over function. Most boat brochures from similar sized vessels that filter across my desk still have top speed listed like a badge of honour. However, simply put, most motoryachts are inefficient in their use of power.
Stubbornly pushing bow waves against their will and with fuel-consumption rates roughly equivalent to a forest fire harkens back to a naive age and an industry disregarding its impacts
on the environment in which it operates.
The 85s, and Arksen, have taken a more future-focused approach, working with Humphreys Yacht Design, a race specialist, as opposed to a traditional motoryacht naval architect, to maximise hull efficiency and fluid dynamics. The wide beam has created a large aft deck and a distinctive space, with modular design options created to be both utilitarian and comfortable, as well as support the use of the vessel as a scientific platform.
Waste reduction is a key part of any sustainable circular economy. In the case of a shipyard, this is usually framed and marketed with respect to the build process and operation. In the case of Arksen, Smith says this is also about not wasting the capabilities of these assets. By providing sea time for scientists and designing the vessels for a multi-use lifespan, prospective Akrsen owners are encouraged to proactively engage and support the research that can conserve the ecosystem in which they operate.
The seatime pledge, whereby each Arksen sets aside part of its operational cycle to scientific research, is a key pillar of this. “We feel that as an owner you have a responsibility to use at least part of its sea time to support scientific research,” says Smith “It is a relatively
simple step which can have a large and long-lasting impact on the future of ocean health. The more owners sign up to this, the more it will become the social norm. This is why we design our vessels to enable a wide variety of research, to encourage our owners to donate time.
“If you have the top one per cent of income earners accounting for 15 per cent of emissions and 10 per cent of the world’s population responsible for nearly half of the world’s carbon pollution, it makes sense to start with the niche segments. Also, if you can change the minds and habits of a few influential and well-connected individuals, you can start to form a social shift.”
Arksen has also established the ‘10 percent for the ocean’ charity, providing an easy way for people to understand and engage with marine-focused projects that urgently need support. Hopefully, a new generation of owners will push this fascinating fleet to its limits and the Arksen philanthropy can positively disrupt the lingering industry apathy towards conservation efforts and the ecosystems in which they operate.
The first two 85s will be hitting the water at the Wight Shipyard near Southampton in spring and summer before embarking on expansive trips with experienced owners. JH
By providing sea time for scientists and designing the vessels for a multiuse lifespan, prospective Akrsen owners are encouraged to proactively engage and support the research that can conserve the ecosystem in which they operate.
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BY MAX STOTT
Coco Chanel once said that luxury is not the opposite of poverty but the opposite of vulgarity. The yachting industry is widely considered to be the pinnacle of luxury, and a superyacht is perhaps one of the most expensive personal assets that an individual can own.
It’s also an industry that has marketed itself to people for whom money is no object and has told them ‘If you can dream it, we can build it’. While this notion has led the market to financial prosperity, it also leans towards opulence, exuberance and – in some unfortunate cases – vulgarity.
The niche world of superyacht design is plagued by connotations of impracticality, wasted spaces and unnecessary features. It’s a painful reality to grapple with for industry design veterans such as Tony Castro, whose previous works include design that won the 1981 One Ton Cup and became the first yacht to win all five races in the World Championships.
In celebration of Castro’s 40-year anniversary in yacht design, we spoke with him at METSTRADE about the ever-evolving landscape of the sector and to pay homage to Pelagic Yachts, a range of vessels designed to explore the Antarctic and other remote parts of the globe.
Pelagic Yachts is known for its highperformance sailing yachts that are designed to be fast, comfortable and seaworthy. The company has designed and built vessels ranging in size from 50 feet to 82 feet, and its yachts have been recognised for their innovative design and engineering. In addition to its custom-yacht-building business, Pelagic Yachts also offers yacht design services and consultations for clients who are interested in building their own exploration vessels.
The flagship yacht in this range is Vinson of Antarctica, currently moored in the Falkland Islands. This extreme expedition yacht, which can sail in the most demanding oceans in the world, was designed by Castro and renowned adventurer and expedition sailor Skip Novak. The success of this yacht design has led to Castro collaborating with Novak on further designs to give opportunities to more adventurous sailors to explore the remote and untouched waters in the world.
“It was quite a nice, fresh challenge for me to design a boat that is purely just about making it as practical and sustainable as possible,” says Castro. “Every single little thing is about minimising the use of energy on this boat. We use as much salt water as possible, so even when you shower you use salt water, and then when you are ready to rinse off the soap and shampoo you use fresh water, and you come out feeling just as fresh and new.”
Castro adds, “If you’re climbing from one point to the other, then you always need to be able to hold on to something , so the chances of you being bounced off are really minimised. There are quite a lot of interesting things which were quite a joy because it’s a challenge for the designer as well.
“It’s quite an interesting thing not
to be driven by aesthetics all the time, and it’s extreme because if I don’t do something then Skip will notice it and call me out. The whole idea is that you don’t use water unless you absolutely have to. It is almost like a little game, a challenge. How little energy have I managed to use this week? And now suddenly there’s a whole new purpose and dynamic to the yachting experience.”
The principal feature of the interior is to push the day area, with the main salon seating, up to a spacious deckhouse while also incorporating the galley. Instead of hiding the galley in the bowels of the ship, it becomes a part of everyday living and remains true to the Pelagic philosophy of guests pitching in with the crew on cooking and galley duties in order to form a cohesive team in the expedition spirit.
The vessel itself is robustly built of aluminium, with a centreboard rather than a lifting ballast keel. The flexibility of draft reduction for safety and ability to beach (fundamental characteristics of the previous Pelagics) is achieved by a stub keel carrying the ballast as the forward point of a tripod, completed by twin skegs supporting fixed rudders. The twinengine configuration creates increased manoeuvrability under power and also provides redundancy.
The boat has been designed for clients who want to get into yachting but who also want to actually enjoy and take part in the hobby of sailing. “People want to get out on the water and pull the lines,” says Castro. “They want to trim the sails and stand at the helm so that they can handle things. There
“People want to get out on the water and pull the lines. They want to trim the sails and stand at the helm so that they can handle things.”
is something appealing about being a team member and sharing the cooking. I think that a lot of people just want to go back to the basics.”
The vessel was conceived as the logical next step for a cost-effective expedition vessel that would voyage to both high-latitude destinations and remote tropical venues. The 82-foot Pelagic Explorer represents a step up in comfort and sophistication to address what is recognised as a new market profile. The vessel is intended for charter in the same fashion as the 74-foot Pelagic Australis and would also be ideal for a fractional ownership syndicate.
Rather than increasing all the guest numbers in line with the 74-footers, Pelagic Explorer can accommodate the same eight guests in more or less four symmetrical cabins, all with an en suite as well as a private communications facility. The crew would be increased to four, billeted in two cabins aft outboard of a lounge/library area. A single owner’s cabin can be realised by removing the bulkhead between a set of cabins on either side.
There’s a definite shift in the market towards a more wholesome and soulfilling definition of yachting. Pelagic Explorer may not be a vessel that is typically associated with the superyacht industry, or even yachting for that matter, but it’s a lifestyle that is more likely to resonate with a younger, more dynamic pool of clients who are bored of sunbathing in St Tropez and partying in the Caribbean.
Castro’s radical venture into unchartered waters, away from the opulence and glamour of the superyacht industry, signifies the modern spirit of luxury at sea. MS
The vessel was conceived as the logical next step for a cost-effective expedition vessel that would voyage to both high-latitude destinations and remote tropical venues.
Expedition knowhow meets likeminded owner
TSG joins Hanse Explorer, along with the team from EYOS Expeditions, to experience how this legend is bringing its Polar pedigree to the Pacific.
BY JACK HOGAN
Hanse Explorer is a hybrid superyacht in the purest sense, not in the overused and misappropriated way that ‘hybrid’ has been co-opted to denote sustainability in the superyacht industry. Indeed, Hanse Explorer is an intriguing mix of two very different species of vessel.
Starting life as an imminently capable Polar research vessel, it staked its reputation early in the extreme latitudes. Its utilitarian design may not win awards at flashy ceremonies, but I doubt this matters. Its looks stem from its requisite ability to thrive in harsh conditions and, as such, 48m Hanse Explorer can support the kind of challenging operational profile that very few of today’s growing fleet of exploration yachts can match.
Launched in 2006 at the Fassmer yard in Germany, it quickly became known as a pioneer of Polar chartering when, in 2008, it was the first commercial vessel to develop the ‘fly-in fly-out’ model that so many have now followed.
The high commercial Ice Class hull surrounds a platform that has an 8,000mile range, far enough for its MaK diesel engines to take the (purely hypothetical) journey from the Arctic Circle to the edge of the Antarctic ice sheet. It was in those regions that the legend was born, but it’s the vast area in-between that it now sets its sights on, and this is where the current owner’s relationship with the vessel began.
“I first became involved with Hanse Explorer in 2008 when I chartered it for two expeditions to the Southern Line Islands and Cocos with a friend of mine from National Geographic,” says the owner, who wishes to remain anonymous. “They have an organisation called Pristine Seas, which is dedicated to the creation of very large marineprotected areas. They have now been responsible for the protection of over five million square kilometres of such areas.”
Maintaining the relationship with Hanse Explorer, its current owner purchased the vessel after it came on to the market in 2019. It was still very much a commercial vessel, and there were a few key areas of change that drove its most recent major refit.
“When I purchased Hanse, I thought it felt quite closed in terms of the interior, so we wanted to open it up and connect the inside and outside of the vessel as much as possible,” he explains.
Tasked with this next evolution, Partner Ship Design and Aros Marine, with interiors from Miescke Design, oversaw a major refit starting in 2020. “We also wanted to create some really cool exterior spaces,” adds the owner. “Originally, the top deck was a workspace and guests never really went there. It is such a great area, so we outfitted it with cabanas and installed a jacuzzi to encourage guests to utilise the space, especially in the tropics.”
However, the most significant structural change came below the waterline. The owner says, “One of the first things I said was that I wanted to install stabilisers, full zero-speed stabilisers. The ship would roll in certain situations, and the previous owner insisted that the water ballast system worked, but in my view it really did not. Installing the stabilisers made a big difference to the on-board comfort.”
This new top-deck layout can be seen opposite (along with a few of the fortunate journalists and guests who made the journey down to Tahiti to join the vessel in late 2022). The omnipresent black Zodiacs, seen on the crane aft of Hanse Explorer, give away its exploration pedigree. They also represent some of the EYOS Expeditions influence that underpinned our visit – and the majority of the expedition charters – on Hanse Explorer.
As with all of the best-in-class brand
“
Hanse Explorer is a real hidden gem in the yachting industry. It has led an extremely successful life for over 10 years as a Polar charter vessel and has been wildly successful doing Antarctic and Arctic charters.”
Hanse Explorer ’s new top-deck layout.
marketing campaigns, the word ‘Zodiac’ has become shorthand for any RIB with outboards. It’s the originator and what can be seen here is the legendary Mk IV Zodiac (so perfectly paired with Yamaha 4-stroke engines).
“Zodiacs are indispensable everywhere you go. It’s not just the Polar regions,” says Ben Lyons, CEO of EYOS Expeditions. “Zodiacs are a true workhorse that are absolutely vital for any real expedition. They don’t look like a superyacht tender but they have the best functionality of anything you can have on board.”
Having been connected closely with the current owner over many years, Hanse Explorer has come to represent the coming together of a wealth of expedition knowledge from the team at EYOS with a like-minded and equally experienced owner. The vessel now offers this history and pedigree to a wider charter market via a truly unique experience on a oneof-a-kind vessel.
“Hanse Explorer, I think, is a real hidden gem in the yachting industry. It has led an extremely successful life for over 10 years as a Polar charter vessel and has been wildly successful doing Antarctic and Arctic charters.
“What I like about expeditions and, what I think is embodied well in Hanse, is the camaraderie that forms,” says Lyons. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Antarctica or French Polynesia, there is a natural esprit de corps that forms among all of the guests.”
Hanse Explorer has been outfitted with the expectation that charter guests will be close to the action – moving the boat at night, waking early, packing light and pushing the Zodiacs further into isolated coves and beaches. There are, very intentionally, no jet skis on board.
The market for high-end expedition cruises is growing. However, with the cost at the top end of this market remaining high, many clients may assume that a private experience such as this may be out of their price range. However, this may be a false economy.
Lyons concludes: “Hanse is very commercially priced, as you can see from its charter record. I think you get to a point where a family could look at this and say ‘You know what? If we’re dividing the cost between 12 people and comparing it to a really expensive ultra-luxury cruise or something onshore, the costs become fairly comparable’.” JH
Left: Hanse Explorer with its indispensable Mk IV Zodiac. Below: Ben Lyons, CEO of EYOS Expeditions.
Photo: Stein Retzlaff & Mosaic Studios
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BY MAX STOTT
How does the brand-spanking-new Benetti
B.Now superyacht Iryna compare with Alexandra, delivered by the Italian builder more than 20 years ago?
Iryna has been in the media spotlight for quite some time now, and for good reason. It’s the first in a family of four B.Now models and, in Benetti’s own words, is a yacht that ‘rewrites history’ while also boasting qualities that ‘set it apart from any other yacht’.
This may be true, but how can we know for sure, and how do we know this isn’t anything other than PR jargon? Well, by comparing the 50m Iryna to Alexandra, a 50-metre Benetti yacht built 20 years ago, we can tell how much the brand has truly evolved and how much history has actually been rewritten.
Iryna is a very well-designed yacht; not groundbreaking, but stunning nevertheless. In a recent survey conducted by The Superyacht Group, it was revealed that Benetti’s B.Now range is actually the survey respondents’ favourite 50-metre Italian-made superyacht, mostly because of its design.* Iryna has much more glass and significantly more exterior living space. The design is considerably more admirable than that of Alexandra, but then it would be. But what about the rest of the specifications?
Here’s what hasn’t changed. Both yachts are 50 metres LOA, with a ninemetre beam; they both have steel hulls and they both accommodate up to 12 guests. Both also have two big MTU engines. Iryna has a maximum speed of 15 knots, while Alexandra actually goes a bit faster and is capable of reaching 16.5 knots. This might come across as slightly uninspiring, but the true evolution of the yacht is not entirely obvious. Iryna is far more sustainable, intelligent, efficient and attractive – and here’s why.
The B.Now range offers an advanced e-mode hybrid system that combines traditional and electric propulsion systems. The entire boat can be powered in electric mode through the simultaneous combination of diesel generators and electric motors, supported by advanced lithium-ion batteries.
On custom yachts, it can function in parallel hybrid mode (PTO/PTI) or serial hybrid mode with diesel-electric, depending on size. Based on an annual use of 1,000 hours, comprising 400 hours
*Respondents were asked to choose from six Italian superyacht models (selection based on semi-custom Italian-made motoryachts with an LOA of 50 metres).
Proportion of respondents who based their choice on whether the similarity between the models is apparent or each model stands out for its unique selling pointThe similarity between the models model's unique selling points mixture of both
IRYNA
RANGE AT 12 KNOTS – 4,500 NAUTICAL MILES
Launched: 2021
Delivered: 2021
Length: 49.9m
Beam: 9.2m
Draught: 2.6m
Gross tons: 499
Exterior designer: RWD Ltd
Interior designer: Benetti
Naval architect: Benetti – Pier Luigi
Ausonio Naval Architecture P.L.A.N.A.
RANGE AT 12 KNOTS – 3,800 NAUTICAL MILES
Launched: 2002
Delivered: 2002
Length: 50.0m
Beam: 9m
Draught: 3m
Gross tons: 496
Exterior designer: Stefano Natucci
Interior designer: Terence Disdale
Design Limited
Naval architect: Benetti
underway and the rest at anchor, fuel consumption and CO2 can be reduced by up to 24 per cent and NOx by up to 85 per cent.
Moreover, it’s quite obvious that the design philosophy puts the owner’s needs on centre stage while the Oasis Deck® solution addresses the outdoor spaces in particular. The aft deck effectively has wings that open out to increase the available space close to the water while also remaining sheltered from the waves. Additionally, it has a built-in pool in the beach area and a 270-degree field of view astern.
Iryna has a range of 4,500 nautical miles at 12 knots, which makes it possible to navigate for weeks without having to be put into port for supplies. This is almost a 20 per cent increase when you compare it to Alexandra, which has a range of 3,800 nautical miles when travelling at the same speed. It’s quite clear there’s been a substantial improvement when it comes to how Benetti is designing and engineering its vessels and, fortunately, these evolutions have translated into more sustainable products.
This comparison raises a lot of questions. Not only does it show how far Benetti has come over the past 20 years, it also allows us to compare what has stayed the same and think about how some of the developments could be implemented and used on the existing, ageing fleet.
Alexandra is quite a flattering example of an ‘old’ yacht: it had a major refit in 2018 and it has quite obviously been well looked after. And it’s also a Benetti, at the end of the day. But while Alexandra has held up well, it should be noted that there are many other motoryachts out there that utterly pale in comparison, especially when it comes to the green credentials, and it could be deemed borderline offensive to compare some of these vessels to the likes of Iryna.
That said, we would do well to consider whether or not the speed of evolution has been rapid enough. Perhaps the veterans of the industry could take a trip down memory lane and try to reminisce about whether or not they thought there would be a true hybrid 50-metre superyacht in 20 years’ time. Have we progressed enough, and what kind of 50-metre superyachts will shipyards such as Benetti be producing in 2043? MS
It’s quite clear there’s been a substantial improvement when it comes to how Benetti is designing and engineering its vessels and, fortunately, these evolutions have translated into more sustainable products.
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Everywhere you look there’s a news release or announcement about the race to zero. Governments, regional authorities and regulators are driving the industry evolution in order to reduce the carbon impact on our precious planet. Commercial shipping, construction, manufacturing, automotive and aviation are all making bold statements and strategic investments to clean up their act and maintain a balanced approach to good business and smart, future-proofed solutions.
Very recently, the EU announced its policy regarding automotive, and it seems cars will become a catalyst for real change, with zero emissions imposed beyond 2035, which is only just around the industrial corner. So the big question is: Where do yachts fit into all this?
One of the key issues we have with regulation is the pace at which we respond and the reactive nature of our industry. As we all know, and I’m sure agree, we’re more high-profile than ever across the government landscape, and superyachts – alongside private jets –
BY MARTIN H. REDMAYNEare becoming an easy target. If the EU or regional governments wanted to make a statement to their electorates and taxpayers, they could make our lives very difficult and either tax luxury assets that have no purpose (those just for pleasure) or impose bans or cruising restrictions on fossil-fuel consumers operating in sensitive or populated areas.
We know things are happening and expect further regulations to come. Therefore, some of the smarter builders are taking big steps in partnership with engine manufacturers to clean up our act and start building some seriously exciting projects that are a big step on the road to zero. But we also know there’s a lot more to do.
Following my recent attendance at the Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Rendezvous at the Yacht Club de Monaco, we know the technology is there and the systems are in place, but we need to adopt a strategy to actually improve, upgrade and future-proof the fleet before a regulation or public perception impacts our industry.
The big conundrum we have at the moment relates to fuels and what is going to make the biggest/smallest impact. Having read and digested the recent DNV Maritime Forecast to 2050, we decided to share some of the data that has been generated to show how the maritime world is evolving and to explore what makes sense for our industry now, tomorrow and further into the future.
We understand that in shipping, space is more manageable and accessible for future fuels and next-generation systems, but in yachting we have a massive conflict. The next generation of yachts being built today with a solid decarbonisation strategy is primarily in the 90-metre-plus category, where it’s feasible to rethink and manage the GA and space configurations of the various lower decks to provide fuel tanks and fuel cells.
As you can see from the various data sets, this is still a very limited number of projects when compared to the wider fleet, and the time has come for our industry to start taking bigger,
Market forces are still driving owners to buy conventional yachts that may become toxic assets.
Here, TSG editor-in-chief Martin H. Redmayne argues that we must adopt an emissions strategy to futureproof the fleet before regulation impacts the industry.
High Low
The prices shown include both production and distribution costs and have been taken as a global mean average of all regions. Fossil-fuel prices do not include carbon price.
Engine
MF ICE
MF ICE with scrubber
DF LNG ICE
DF LPG ICE
DF methanol ICE
DF ammonia ICE
DF hydrogen ICE
Hydrogen FC
Ammonia FC
Battery EM
Key: Dual fuel (DF), electric motor (EM), fuel cell (FC), internal combustion engine (ICE), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), mono fuel (MF)
MGO (carbon neutral) LNG (carbon neutral)
Ammonia (carbon neutral)
Methanol (carbon neutral)
Expressed by the range from minimum to maximum across all scenarios within the pathways IMO ambitions and Decarbonisation by 2050.
bolder steps on our road to zero. How we manage the new-build conundrum with yachts from 30 to 90 metres is our biggest and most important challenge, and it’s clear, having reviewed the order book, that more than 80 per cent of the fleet is still being built with conventional diesel at its core.
As can be seen from these graphics from the DNV report, the most logical transition for superyachts will be the application of new fuels that can be dropped into the existing fleet and those currently in build with a conventional power plant, and within an existing regulatory framework. HVOs, methanol and other alternatives are being tested and proven with some good levels of success, and the opportunity to upgrade the fleet with simple conversions to be able to burn new fuels makes the most sense today.
However, the pricing forecast analysis of future fuels from DNV shows clearly that pricing parity with conventional fuel is unlikely to ever be achieved. We must strive for further emphasis on efficiency in other areas in order for operations to remain economical.
Interestingly, the ‘IMO ambitions’ and the ‘Decarbonisation by 2050’ scenarios for shipping emissions reduction contribution by measure type have a sig-
nificant emphasis on speed reduction as a contributing factor, an issue still barely mentioned in the superyacht sector.
Having spoken to several major marina groups and some of the key refit yards, it’s clear that our infrastructure is the next key agenda item. Marinas are equally concerned about the supplydemand equation and what choices to make in terms of fuel infrastructure and supply models. This may create a ‘chicken-and-egg’ scenario because the marina investors and operators cannot invest smartly without clarity on which way the market is heading and which horse to back, namely methanol/HVO or hydrogen.
Secondly, there is a potential logjam on the horizon for owners of those existing yachts who decide they want to adapt and upgrade their energy systems for the future. Is the refit market ready, and are the clients ready to invest before it’s imposed upon them?
The other major consideration and concern is how to explain to owners and users that the future is going to be much more expensive. Anyone who has bought an electric car has accepted the CapEx element and has a very clear idea that the Opex is much lower when you plug it into the grid. However, in the yachting scenario, yes, there are some smaller yachts that may be able to plug in, but primarily we are moving towards a new way of operating, with highly priced future fuels and a different operational mode.
The time has come for yachts to be built and operated in a new futurefocused way. As we have highlighted before, why build a yacht with transatlantic range and a maximum speed when it is at anchor or in a marina 80 per cent of the time and, when it is cruising, it’s at a relatively low speed and travelling very short distances? It’s time to change the narrative and present yachts in the real way they operate.
We know there are many things we can do now that can change our consumption profile and reduce our energy demands and, therefore, the output and impact. Unfortunately, this is not the message we are giving out clearly enough. Current market forces are still driving owners to buy conventional yachts, which one day may be seen as toxic assets and, more dramatically, something that no one wants in the future. MHR
Why build a yacht with transatlantic range and a maximum speed, when the yacht is at anchor or in a marina 80 per cent of the time, and when it is cruising, it’s at a relatively low speed and travelling very short distances? It’s time to change the narrative and present yachts in the way that they operate.
Ioften ask what keeps industry figureheads and leaders awake because it’s one of those explorative personal questions that opens up a different line of communication. If someone can’t sleep well, or has a disturbed sleep pattern, it can have a negative impact on how they perform or just distract them in a way that interrupts their flow.
At the recent Smart Yacht Rendezvous at the Yacht Club de Monaco, I asked this question of Max Perotti, executive chairman of Sanlorenzo, a man I admire and always enjoy spending time with. His response was not so much a shock, but more an honest perspective of what’s currently happening in the market – something I’m confident will keep many people awake, now and for the next few years, including myself.
There were three key concerns that prevented Max from remaining in glorious slumber on his downy pillow. Firstly, the need to make sure we can deliver everything we’ve sold to our clients, to not let anyone down and meet the expectations of our passionate owners. This directly related to his second sleep disruptor: the vital link of the shipyard with the supply chain and the various partners who have to support his first ‘wake-up’ call. Without stable and well organised suppliers and partners, we can’t deliver; delays in the supply of raw materials and delivery lags of key capital equipment is something that is becoming more distracting. Then, finally, the future headache we’re all facing, and which will wake the brain from our REM patterns, is the need to find enough people to create, manage, craft and deliver all of the above.
the darkness as they think about the business today and how much capacity has been sold and how many assets are scheduled for delivery.
So as I sat on my plane returning from Monaco, on the last flight out of Nice on a Friday night, delayed by some twoand-a-half hours as per usual, dropping in and out of exhausted sleep, I started to contemplate the same question and apply it to my slumber patterns. Typically, when my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep pretty quickly, but then I’ll wake up very early, similarly to Max, as he explained, and start thinking about a variety of things that need to be done or considered.
Therefore, if I can share one thing that I can’t get out of my head and constantly distracts me from falling back to sleep in the early hours of the morning, it’s the simple fact that everyone is becoming so busy with the current market behaviour that we never have time to stop and think about what we really need to do in a smarter and more future-focused way.
As Max and I discussed, the topic of greenwashing and tokenism when it comes to sustainability is a current problem. The overwhelming opportunity we all have, and one that will allow everyone to sleep soundly, is to stop doing what we always do and start doing what we know we have to do to make this market really positive and future-proof.
BY MARTIN REDMAYNEObviously, this is a common industry-wide list of sleep disruptors and I’m confident that any shipyard CEO will echo these concerns into
What I’ll never forget – and it irks me significantly, so much so that it needs to be reinforced in our New Build Report – is the common rhetoric that ‘clients aren’t asking for energy-efficient or green and sustainable yachts’. I don’t recall any car owner asking for electric cars; it took an industry with a moral obligation and a visionary to start this journey. Perhaps Max Perotti is our visionary. MHR
We’ll all sleep better when we stop doing what we’ve always done and start doing what we know we have to do to make our market positive and future-proof, says Superyacht Group chairman Martin Redmayne.
Heading NORD, looking up at the ink-black sky, I caught sight of POLARIS, the NORTHERN STAR and other PLATINUM-coloured, far away galaxies. I was eagerly waiting to see the perpetual ICE for the first time in my life. A few hours later the RISING SUN appeared and I finally caught a glimpse of the first sharp-edged iceberg on the HORIZONS III. We approached closer, and there it stood – like a gigantic, glistening PODIUM. What a contrast: a few weeks ago, I was living the Italian BELLA VITA on CAPRI under the hot summer sun, and now, I was embracing the ELYSIAN-clear cold airs and facing a LIMITLESS white, which could not possibly be HERMITAGE to any living being. A couple of moments later, from my unique AVANTAGE, I spotted the ultimate sight, the ACE: a polar bear with her cubs. What a proud, mighty HUNTRESS she was. Who could not ENVY me for being here? This arctic wilderness was THE ONE place of my lifetime that I will never forget.
Anything can happen onboard a LÜRSSEN:
