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.
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, leading to my use of the phrase ‘carnage at sea’. 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?”
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”
Seized maritime assets could pose a “significant risk” to ports, harbours and marinas if there is no requirement to ensure mega yachts detained under sanction rules are properly maintained, made safe, or deactivated, according to experienced marine surveyor, Albert Weatherill, managing director of Van Ameyde McAuslands and a long-standing IIMS member.
Safety concerns have been raised by Van Ameyde McAuslands, a global firm of marine surveyors and engineering consultants, following the seizure of a number of high-profile mega yachts thought to be owned by Russian oligarchs, Continue reading “Marine surveyors Van Ameyde McAuslands warn seized yachts must be decommissioned to mitigate safety and environmental risks”
The superyacht industry is running out of time to become sustainable, a new report from MB92 finds. If it wants the oceans to survive.
“The cost of inaction is evident and will be extremely dire for our oceans and industry,” said Pepe García-Aubert, president and CEO of the MB92 Group. “However, I am convinced that through a collaborative approach, our industry can rise to the challenge and achieve our goal of a sustainable future for superyachting.” Continue reading “MB92 report challenges the superyacht industry to become sustainable”
A group of superyacht builders invest in ocean conservation and regeneration and are urging others to join them.
Abeking & Rasmussen, Ameryachts, Baglietto, Feadship, Gulf Craft, Heesen Yachts, Horizon Yachts, Lürssen Yachts, Oceanco, Royal Huisman, Sanlorenzo, Silveryachts, Southern Wind, Tankoa, Turquoise Yachts and Vitters are the first builders so far to agree to reinvest based on the gross tonnage (GT) of yachts they deliver. Continue reading “Superyacht builders invest in ocean conservation”
Lloyd’s Register, the world’s largest yacht classification society, is calling on the industry to step up enforcement of superyachts on-board safety at sea rules.
“The number one priority of any yacht should be to provide a quality service, but with safety being one of the most dominant values,” said Thomas Zeferer, manager of marine training services for Northern Europe at Lloyd’s Register.
“A culture of behaviour-based safety must start from the top (and) filter down to the guests. Setting the right example means providing quality service, but also telling guests when they are doing something that is fundamentally unsafe.” Continue reading “Superyachts must do more to raise on-board safety says Lloyd’s Register”
Since January 2021, the IMO III nitrogen oxides (NOx) legislation that already applies to commercial vessels has been extended to marine leisure vessels above 24m load line length, which navigate in US waters as well as the North and Baltic Seas. Providing another step towards increased sustainability in the industry, the 2021 legislation is aimed at reducing emissions. To comply, affected yachts now need to be fitted with a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) after-treatment system. This has led Volvo Penta to work on an optimized solution for its yacht customers both for IPS and traditional inboard shaft installations. Continue reading “Volvo to unveil new IMO III solution at Cannes Yachting Festival”
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.
Mike Wimbridge, managing director, Pantaenius told Superyacht Investor: “I think in the chain of insurance buying people have had a little more time to reflect, rather than maybe just renew year-on-year. Throw into that the fact that some insurance markets are looking at what they write and possibly increasing prices and changing terms and conditions for risks they’re less concerned about.” Wimbridge is clear he is not talking about “bad risks”, but said some underwriters are looking at their portfolios.
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.
The global fleet over 30 metres in length consisted of 5,245 superyachts in operation at the start of 2021. In addition, there are also around 84 superyachts out of service, while about 195 superyachts have been completely lost since 1945. 84% of the global fleet consists of motor yachts and 16% of sailing yachts. In 2020, 150 superyachts were completed. This is slightly less than 2019 when 158 superyachts were completed. Continue reading “The State of Yachting 2021 report from SuperYacht Times”
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has published a Marine Safety Advisory notice. In it RMI stresses the importance of properly inspecting and maintaining all immersion suits, following a number of recent cases of defective equipment found onboard RMI flagged vessels.
Since 2019, when RMI shared a marine safety advisory focusing on the importance of following the manufacturer’s instructions for maintaining immersion suits, there have been multiple additional instances of defective or improperly maintained suits on RMI-flagged vessels, one of which resulted in a PSC detention by the US Coast Guard. In that case, “29 of 32 immersion suits were unserviceable due to unsealed seams,” and these suits were only five years old.
On a second occasion during a flag State inspection, an inspector found 38 out of 39 immersion suits not fit for use. In this case, the Continue reading “RMI recommends all immersion suits to be checked rather than spot checks following a number of defective items”
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has published a report, presenting the findings from the STEERSAFE project, conducted on its behalf by DNV.
The STEERSAFE project aims to provide a holistic analysis of the SOLAS regulations and associated circulars related to steering and manoeuvrability, provide a consistent update of these and to propose practical and meaningful performance parameters in normal service and in failure mode.
More specifically, the first phase of the project aims to:
– Provide an overview of the current situation, in terms of a description of relevant steering and propulsion systems and the gaps and Continue reading “STEERSAFE project report provides analysis of SOLAS regulations on steering and manoeuvrability”
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