Over 1,000 superyachts on order in 2022
Global boatbuilding industry anticipates buoyant year despite supply chain setbacks
By Simon Greaves
The global superyacht industry is riding the crest of a wave of orders with boatyards and owners navigating lockdowns and travel restrictions to construct record numbers despite the headwinds of production problems due to the pandemic.
There are more superyachts currently being built — 1,024 — than at any time in history, while the brokerage, or second-hand sales market, is struggling to keep up with demand. An outstanding year of orders is being driven by exceptional demand for smaller semi-custom superyachts.
The pandemic has driven people into superyacht ownership in record numbers, said Stewart Campbell, editor-in-chief at Boat International Media. “Emerging markets have soaked up a good chunk of this demand with both Taiwan and Poland having very good years, driven largely by the supercharged performance of the semi-custom superyacht market.”
He said the surge in orders for superyachts, motor or sailing boats of more than 24m, was underlined by a year of lively performance in the brokerage, or second-hand, market. “This is a much more reactive indicator of superyacht demand and it shows just how anomalous 2021 was. Some 720 superyachts were sold by brokers last year, the biggest number — by some considerable distance — on record,” he said. “The next best year was in 2017, when 438 superyachts were sold on the brokerage market.”
Campbell added: “One of the biggest issues facing the industry now concerns the supply chain — both in raw materials and in brokerage stock. With the cost of everything increasing, margins at shipyards are being squeezed hard, with most builders — especially in the fixed-price, semi-custom sector — unwilling to pass on the extra costs to buyers.
“Meanwhile, the brokerage market is struggling to find quality boats to sell, so we are not expecting another year of 700-plus sales. But those quality boats that are available are selling in record time. Superyachts that would usually take a year or more to sell are being sold in a matter of weeks. No one has ever seen anything quite like it.”
The latest upbeat report comes only weeks after data confirming the gathering pace of boatyards’ new-build work which has seen a third 12 months of record orders. The previous peak of output was in 2009 when 1,008 superyachts were under construction, before the retreat following the 2008 financial crisis put a brake on business. Boat International’s global order book listed some 1,024 projects in build or on order at boatbuilders in 2022, a rise of nearly a quarter on last year’s 821 total.
Superyachts would line up in a fleet of more than 40km if all those being built, launched and delivered before 2026 were put end-to-end will be built, due to a surge in demand for luxury vessels amid the pandemic.
The latest orders add to a flurry of commissions from boatyards that has been marked since the fourth quarter of 2020, with smaller sized semi-custom designed boats being in most demand. The recovery noted by industry specialists followed many months of uncertainty when lockdowns and travel restrictions along with labour and raw materials shortages and bottlenecks caused boatyard activity, including construction and sea trials, to stall.
One reason for the improvement has been the increasing attraction of assets that can be moved to safe waters, away from coronavirus hotspots, with many owners and crew choosing long-term offshore anchorages to isolate in comfort and safety if necessary.
Leading superyacht manufacturer Azimut-Benetti, based in Tuscany, has forecast its 2022 production value to top 1bn euros this year, a 20 per cent annual increase. It expects to see through 128 projects, compared to last year’s 100.
While the smaller semi-custom, or sub-45 metre, segment of the market has seen particular progress, all types of superyacht have seen growth, and three other types of specialist vessel have been attracting buyer interest — expedition boats, sportfishers and sailing yachts, many with added ‘green’ credentials. Expedition yachts, typically tougher longer-range craft for exploring distant destinations, were proving most popular — with 33 per cent more on order or in build. These have proved popular with families chartering for adventure voyages to locations where they can record scientific data or observe wildlife.
Another trend is an increase in the number of multi-hulled superyachts being ordered, showing a 65 per cent rise in 2022 compared with last year’s fleet total. Some 43 multi-hulls are currently being built.
Meanwhile, the number of active shipyards building superyachts has continued to grow from its 10-year low of 151 in 2018–19 to a total of 186, a rise of 40 per cent on the previous year. New boatbuilders are being drawn into the market as existing sheds reach capacity.
Italy remains the top superyacht building nation, accounting for over half of global production, followed by the Netherlands and then Turkey. Countries with yards building semi-custom series boats were gaining the most ground on established producers, with 20 per cent annual growth or more. This market segment made up 28 per cent of Italy’s total production, 19 per cent of Taiwan’s and 31 per cent of the UK’s output.
Meanwhile, the US has arrested its decline in production with an order book of 42 projects, up 20 per cent on last year. Among other nations making notable progress, Poland rose to ninth place on the top 20 producers’ leaderboard, thanks to strong contributions from brands made by Sunreef, Galeon and Conrad. Poland, long a strong manufacturing base with its ‘factory economy’ and highly-skilled but relatively low-cost workforce, is expected to be among emerging economies to prosper from rising yacht orders in all size categories in the years ahead.
- The biggest project currently being built is Norway’s ocean research vessel REV Ocean, pictured above, which at 182.9 metres will be the biggest yacht in the world when delivered in 2024. It features a ‘moon pool’ through which a submarine will decend to study the ocean’s depths.
Simon Greaves is a Financial Times journalist
