Superyacht News

What caught my eye: February 2025

Posted on by News Hound

Prince William set to help with the abandoned boats crises in England

In recent years, IIMS has published a number of articles about the growing problem of what to do with end-of-life boats and the challenges of recycling them. It remains a thorny subject.

But now it seems the problem comes with the seal of Royal approval. I have read that none other than Prince William, a future King of England, and his Duchy of Cornwall have pledged to address the issue of abandoned boats in rivers and harbours in England’s west country. Continue reading “What caught my eye: February 2025”

MB92 Group acquires superyacht coatings specialist Pinmar

Posted on by News Hound
MB92 Group has bought GYG Ltd., the company that trades under the Pinmar, Pinmar Yacht Supply and Technocraft brands
MB92 Group has bought GYG Ltd., the company that trades under the Pinmar, Pinmar Yacht Supply and Technocraft brands

Leading superyacht refit, repair, and maintenance company MB92 Group has bought GYG Ltd., the superyacht coatings specialist, service and supply company that trades under the Pinmar, Pinmar Yacht Supply and Technocraft brands. MB92 reports that all brands will continue to operate independently across Europe and the US.

MB92’s acquisition of GYG follows other strategic developments for the group including MB92 taking over the Golfe-Juan shipyard in the South of France in October 2024. Continue reading “MB92 Group acquires superyacht coatings specialist Pinmar”

Water Revolution Foundation issues open letter urging superyacht owners to act on sustainability

Posted on by News Hound
The Yacht Environmental Transparency Index (YETI) is an industry-developed tool designed to benchmark yachts against a target reference line
The Yacht Environmental Transparency Index (YETI) is an industry-developed tool designed to benchmark yachts against a target reference line

The Water Revolution Foundation has issued an open letter outlining four recommendations to help foster more sustainable practices in the superyacht sector. These recommendations – billed as ‘yachting resolutions’ for 2025 – are aimed at yacht owners and family offices.

The Water Revolution Foundation was started from within the superyacht industry to help the industry reduce its footprint. It is an independent Dutch legal entity called a ‘stichting’, which is “an institution aiming to achieve a certain goal”. The foundation’s recommendations are as follows: Continue reading “Water Revolution Foundation issues open letter urging superyacht owners to act on sustainability”

Mental health struggles amongst yacht crew highlighted in ISWAN YachtCrewHelp 2023 Annual Review

Posted on by News Hound
The ISWAN YachtCrewHelp 2023 Annual Review highlights growing mental health issues for yacht crew
The ISWAN YachtCrewHelp 2023 Annual Review highlights growing mental health issues for yacht crew

Data from the ISWAN YachtCrewHelp 2023 Annual Review indicates that yacht crew were more likely to contact ISWAN in relation to mental health concerns or experiences of abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence (ABHDV) than seafarers working in other maritime industries, particularly merchant shipping.

In 2023, the proportion of contacts relating to ABHDV on YachtCrewHelp was more than double the level received by SeafarerHelp, accounting for 7.3% of all issues raised compared to 3.1% on SeafarerHelp. Women were more than five times more likely to report an Continue reading “Mental health struggles amongst yacht crew highlighted in ISWAN YachtCrewHelp 2023 Annual Review”

World Boating Day initiative unveiled by The Superyacht Life Foundation

Posted on by News Hound
World Boating Day initiative unveiled by The Superyacht Life Foundation
World Boating Day initiative unveiled by The Superyacht Life Foundation

World Boating Day, an initiative from The Superyacht Life Foundation, has unveiled further details of the project following its launch at the Monaco Yacht Show 2023.

With the aim of opening the doors of introducing and educating the wider public on what boating is, The Superyacht Life Foundation says World Boating Day is a unique, global experience which will bring industry professionals and the public together on an unprecedented scale in a celebration of everything boating and everything that the industry behind it offers.

To date 15 superyacht builders and one marina have pre-registered for the inaugural event, which will take place on the weekend of 25-26 May 2024. Continue reading “World Boating Day initiative unveiled by The Superyacht Life Foundation”

ICOMIA launches essential new Paint Colour Guide: Yacht Coating Technical Guidelines

Posted on by News Hound
New from ICOMIA - the Paint Colour Guide: Yacht Coating Technical Guidelines
New from ICOMIA – the Paint Colour Guide: Yacht Coating Technical Guidelines

The International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) has produced a Paint Colour Guide: Yacht Coating Technical Guidelines as a result of their work with leading yacht coating manufacturers including Akzo Nobel, Hempel, Boero, CMP Chugoku and specialist coating consultants the Safinah Group.

The guide has been produced by ICOMIA members, for their members and the wider marine sector, in conjunction with industry technical experts including yacht paint surveyors, inspectors, chemists and formulators. It aims to provide clear, objective industry guidance on the use of paint colours and yacht coatings.

The days of yachts being painted only with the typical blue hulls and white superstructures are long gone. Continue reading “ICOMIA launches essential new Paint Colour Guide: Yacht Coating Technical Guidelines”

Superyacht industry flying a little blind with insufficient data on sustainability

Posted on by News Hound

MB92 Group, the world’s leading superyacht refit, repair and maintenance company with facilities in Spain and France, published today its third report that highlights the need for greater regulation and concertation across the superyacht industry and its vast supply chain.

For this new report, MB92 Group surveyed its supply network and consulted key stakeholders from the industry and environmental NGOs for a broad discussion on the path ahead for the luxury yacht sector and its suppliers. Among the topics discussed were the challenges for refit shipyards and suppliers to propose sustainable solutions to clients, considerations when looking at the whole of the superyacht lifecycle such as material sourcing and sustainable manufacturing processes, research and development and innovation from the supply chain. Continue reading “Superyacht industry flying a little blind with insufficient data on sustainability”

Are lithium-ion batteries safe on yachts – and other vessels?

Posted on by News Hound
Image credit: Stevie-Iona Vaughan/Facebook
Image credit: Stevie-Iona Vaughan/Facebook

Authored by Mike Schwarz, IIMS Chief Executive Officer

“Mike’s suffering from mild hysteria”, they said. Well, perhaps I have been, yes. The cause of my hysteria? Lithium-ion batteries and fires caused by them! There are believed to have been nearly 70 fires last year alone involving large and superyachts. As more new information on this subject comes to light on a regular basis, I simply have to come back to it time and time again and share what we know. It is a massive and worrying subject and one that is consuming the finest technical minds in the marine world right now. We all need to be aware of the phenomenon for it will not resolve any time soon. As always, I say I understand fully the need to decarbonize and embrace this technology and am not against progress. But it comes at a price and one we need to be prepared to pay. Continue reading “Are lithium-ion batteries safe on yachts – and other vessels?”

Azimut Benetti tops megayacht order book

Posted on by News Hound
Photo credit: Azimut Benetti Group
Photo credit: Azimut Benetti Group

Azimut Benetti Group leads the annual ranking of the largest yacht builders. With 168 projects under construction, totalling 5,991 metres in length, Azimut Benetti Group leads the annual ranking of the largest yacht builders known as the Global Order Book by Boat International.

The ranking puts the global yacht builder as the top manufacturer among 189 shipyards, both in number of projects and total length. The gap between first and second place grew sharply over the past year, as the Italian company founded by Paolo Vitelli extended its order portfolio into 2027, recording a production value of more than €1.2 billion for the current year. Continue reading “Azimut Benetti tops megayacht order book”

Registered Marine Coatings Inspector standard and qualification set for major relaunch

Posted on by News Hound
Registered Marine Coatings Inspector standard and qualification set for major relaunch
Registered Marine Coatings Inspector standard and qualification set for major relaunch

The past couple of years have presented challenges for the resilient global superyacht industry, not least for those whose role it is to inspect and report on the complex coatings systems. The pandemic and other factors beyond the Registered Marine Coatings Inspector (RMCI) team’s control brought the successful programme to a temporary halt. But recent news from RMCI states that the marine coatings inspector is due for a relaunch.

Continue reading “Registered Marine Coatings Inspector standard and qualification set for major relaunch”

Carnage at sea in August. What’s happened and why?

Posted on by CEO
Superyacht Hooligan pictured. Photo credit - Nomme Rescue Unit, Tallin
Superyacht Hooligan pictured. Photo credit – Nomme Rescue Unit, Tallin

We hear all the time about exciting breakthroughs in new technology and enhanced safety management systems designed to keep lives and assets safe at sea. We read in various reports that, in general, the number of serious incidents and accidents is falling year on year. So, what on earth went wrong in August? It was carnage at sea! If you can help me to make sense of it all, please do so! Continue reading “Carnage at sea in August. What’s happened and why?”

Serious violations led to boatyard fire that destroyed superyacht says report

Posted on by News Hound
Boatyard fire destroyed superyacht says report

The company operating Hinckley Yacht Services (Portsmouth, US) has been fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after a massive fire in December that destroyed a superyacht and a second boat on the property. The initial fines totalled more than $56,000, but these have since been reduced to around $31,000.

OSHA says employees were exposed to fire hazards while working in an enclosed work area. That enclosed area was under the hull of a boat surrounded by hay bales stacked three-high, and the employees had not been provided with effective information and training on the hazardous chemicals they were using (flammable liquids, which ultimately ignited). Continue reading “Serious violations led to boatyard fire that destroyed superyacht says report”

Instagram Posts from the IIMS @iimsmarine