The Financial Times proposes to publish a special Yacht Report on 21 September 2009
The Financial Times proposes to publish a special Yacht Report on 21 September 2009.
The following features would be included :
1. Introduction
A year ago, the global financial crisis was already affecting the yacht industry, but brokers and builders were confident about the resilience of the top end of the market – where new yachts cost over $10m and sometimes more than $100m. Now the downturn has proved so severe and so widespread that all parts of the luxury boat and superyacht business are likely to be affected. With Ferretti, the Italian manufacturer, having recently secured approval from its creditors for a debt restructuring, and France’s Rodriguez Group aiming for a similar “safeguard » procedure, this special report will examine the challenging prospects for the industry in the year ahead.
2 Yacht Manufacturers
For several years now, the best-know superyacht makers have been in the enviable position of having long order pipelines filled by the demands of wealthy financiers and tycoons from Russia and the Gulf. Some of those orders are drying up – there have even been cancellations – and the medium-term outlook is uncertain. How are manufacturers coping with the challenge of adapting to a global recession after years of expansion?
3. Charter
Prominent billionaires and millionaires, who might once have flaunted their wealth, are increasingly anxious to keep a low profile amid public outrage over income inequality and the use of taxpayers’ funds to rescue banks in the US and Europe. The charter market should be one beneficiary, although prices are likely to be squeezed by the increased availability for charter of superyachts on the market but hitherto unsold.
4. Technology
A large part of the cost of a superyacht lies in the high-technology systems used for navigation, communications and entertainment. The report will examine some of the latest innovations for superyachts and assess the impact of the downturn on suppliers.
5. Environmental Systems
From watermakers that turn seawater into drinking water, to waste management units and low-power LED lighting, advanced technology can combine green credentials with comfort and efficiency – and yachting is usually one of the first business sectors to make use of new systems.
6. Consumers
Palma de Mallorca, in the Spanish Balearic Isles, has become a crucial Mediterranean hub for superyachts, although users believe the authorities could do more to develop the sector to the advantage both of Spain and of the yacht-owners.
7. Superyacht Bases: Antigua
After summer in the Mediterranean, many superyachts typically spend part of the northern hemisphere winter in Antigua in the Caribbean. Despite the murder of an Australian yacht skipper in January, Antigua hopes to hold its own as the favoured destination for yachts.
8. Piracy and Security
Incidents such as the Antigua murder and the well-publicised hijacking of cargo vessels and yachts off the coast of Somalia have highlighted the risks of violence and piracy at sea. The report will examine how yacht-owners and charterers deal with the dangers.
9. New Horizons
New destinations – mainly in the Indian Ocean and south-east Asia – are being added year by year to the traditional cruising grounds of the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
10. Profile of a sSperyacht Skipper
Some call it a dream job. But the skipper must be at the beck and call of sometimes unpredictable owners and charterers and could spend many months each year away from his or her family.
11. Superyacht Cup
The superyacht business, especially when it involves sailing yachts (as opposed to motor yachts), has long had a symbiotic relationship with competitions such as the America’s Cup and the Olympics. So it is that plans have been announced for a Superyacht Cup regatta in Cowes on the UK’s Isle of Wight shortly before the 2012 London Olympics.
12. Classic Yachts
Large motor yachts with hefty superstructures and plenty of living space are still favoured by many of the world’s wealthy. But it is the classic sailing yachts, including the elegant, early 20th century J-Class superyachts, that turn the most heads.
Editorial Information
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