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”
The lockdowns of the past 18 months or so have given us all time to think and readjust our priorities. Like never before yacht owners and potential purchasers have been giving thought to their work-life balance, the risks of travelling and where in the world can a vacation actually take place? All of this has had a knock-on effect on the market, making yacht insurers’ lives busier than expected.
The global superyacht industry started 2020 very well, with a high level of sales. However the Covid-19 pandemic hit the industry severely in the second quarter of the year. Afterwards, superyacht sales recovered rapidly, with the used yacht market in particular posting very impressive results in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. The positive momentum in the superyacht market has carried on into 2021 and we are expecting a very busy year in 2021 for superyacht sales, both new and used.
