Title: The Superyacht Forum Calls the Industry to be Bold and Think Differently
URL Source: http://mail.apsuperyacht.org/news-reader/the-superyacht-forum-calls-the-industry-to-be-bold-and-think-differently.html
Markdown Content:
The Superyacht Forum greeted a record number approaching 900 delegates as it opened its doors for a packed programme within the atmospheric setting of RAI Amsterdam’s Auditorium. Visionary author of The Blue Economy, Gunter Pauli, set the scene for the two days in his opening keynote, encouraging the superyacht sector to be better than they ever thought they could be and drive for brilliantly creative and innovative solutions to sustainability.
Pauli is no stranger to creating striking examples of entrepreneurship through innovation. He hit the ground running with examples of how you can create high value in business by completely rethinking the way that you approach requirements for more community and environmentally sound solutions. Associated with several high-profile initiatives over the years, including the phosphate free cleaning products company Ecover, he declared that your business model is the most important innovation.
The keynote then moved to matters close to the heart of the superyacht sector. Pauli explained that he became interested in the oceans because he realised, they not only cover 71% of the earth’s surface but also supported 91% of all life and that they were a huge mystery with many things to be discovered. He also highlighted the huge potential of the superyacht sector with only 1 in 100 people who can afford a superyacht owning one.
Pauli spoke with passion about his own research ship, the 32m hydrogen, solar and kite-powered Porrima which (as PlanetSolar) circumnavigated the globe under solar alone in 2012. He spoke about plans to create a whole fleet of 100 vessels based on a similar design and size, the first 10-12 of which will be used as hospital ships in among the oceans’ island communities.
Pauli explained that practical solutions for sustainable propulsion were already achieved and that their biggest holdback was now communications and dependency on commercial satellite services. The Porrima team have adapted AM radio technology to be able to send text messages at up to 500km and richer media over shorter distances. They are also developing underwater light communications at wavelengths invisible to sea life which Pauli declared would remain only used for strictly civilian purposes. Underpinning these ideas are swarm technologies that create a mesh of communications among collaborating stations that can be used over much greater distances and convey data in complete confidentiality.
“A whole range of new opportunities will mark and shape the yacht industry,” Pauli declared. “You will have the eyes and ears to be able to share and operate with your own communications. Just imagine you have 500 vessels in the Pacific and you set up a common system for relaying AM radio. You can cover the oceans without satellites. Superyachts can become the communication company – as long as you collaborate.” In closing, Pauli encouraged The Superyacht Forum’s delegates to be entrepreneurs of the commons –prioritising community and collective benefit over private profit. “We don’t need education, we need inspiration. Then you can transform this great industry into one that has an impact and the world will love you.”
The Forum’s NXT-themed agenda was firmly centred on how to successfully propel the superyacht sector into the next decade and beyond. Key focal points include Synergy & Solutions, Operational Excellence & Trust, and Superyacht Standards & Evolution.
The final day of The Superyacht Forum opened with a critically important keynote featuring new research from Superyacht Life and SYBAss (Superyacht Builders Association). This revealed the €54bn positive economic benefit of the superyacht sector for the wider global community annually and reinforced the importance of the work of the 900 delegates attending. Explaining the results, Superyacht Life Foundation executive director Dilan Saraç outlined the range of direct and indirect benefits flowing from the build and operation of superyachts. Fleet usage accounts for one half of the estimated €54bn global benefit, bringing positive impacts to the localities in which superyachts operate as well as the nations in which they are built and maintained. Expressed another way, each of the 6,000 superyachts in operation around the world contributes €9m to the economy.
Baxter Underwood, chief executive officer at US headquartered marina and shipyard group Safe Harbor, provided further reasons for the industry to be confident in a live Q&A from New York with Chairman and Editor in Chief of The Superyacht Group, Martin Redmayne. Underwood reflected on a five-times increase in the number of high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals over the last 20 years, resulting in a three times growth increase in willingness to spend on luxury experiences and luxury goods, indicating considerable tailwinds that the superyacht industry should be taking advantage of. Considering the next 10 years, he said: “The tailwinds that I spoke about are going to make customers available to us. If we can scale up and innovate now, we should see growth in orders of the magnitude three to five times.”
The Superyacht Forum’s audience-engaged panels continued to probe many of the key issues of the immediate future, from ways to use superyachts for humanitarian purposes to how the industry should respond to the IMO’s decision to push its Net Zero Framework back after direct intervention from US President Donald Trump. Human factors were once again high on the agenda with sessions on crew wellbeing and recruitment and an in-depth look at the role of the owner’s representative in refits. The onward march of digitalisation onboard was also examined, from advantages and implications to security and operational changes.
The environment featured significantly in two contrasting ways. Preservation was considered in a presentation on marine conservation, while a highly topical panel considered how to design superyachts and standards of operation for increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
Key messages from the 2025 edition of The Superyacht Forum indicate just how vital it is for this important industry sector to collaborate for success.
The Superyacht Forum content is guided by the Superyacht Content Board, a collective of experts drawn from leading industry organisations:
* IAMI (International Association of Maritime Institutions)
* ICOMIA (International Council of Marine Industry Associations)
* IYBA (International Yacht Brokers Association)
* MYBA (The Worldwide Yachting Association)
* PYA (Professional Yachting Association)
* Superyacht Alliance
* SYBAss (Superyacht Builders Association)
The Superyacht Forum would not happen without support from key partners who operate across the sector, including:
Founding partner – The Superyacht Group
Platinum partners – AkzoNobel, Lürssen and MTU (a Rolls Royce solution)
Gold partner – Bond Support Services, Cayman Registry, Volvo Penta, YachtEye
Bronze partner – Lateral Naval Architects, RINA Maxima, Wright Maritime Group
Media partners – Boat International, Superyacht Times, The Superyacht Group