Why do they all resign so quickly ?

It seems that the "superyacht crisis" hits hard the Italian yachting industry as many CEO had to resign. Here is a short list of the latest resignations...

Mr Ermetto
Gruppo Baglietto informs that Fabio Ermetto, Marketing and Commercial Director has resigned from his duties. Gruppo Baglietto would like to thank Fabio Ermetto for his commitment to date.

Mr Pisciotta
Gruppo Baglietto, world leader in luxury yachts over 27 metre, informs you that Francesco Pisciotta, General Manager of Cantieri Navali Baglietto, resigns from his duties as of Friday 31st October 2008.
Maurizio Cei, Cantieri Navali Baglietto Chief Executive Officer will take over his position.
Gruppo Baglietto would like to thank Francesco Pisciotta for his commitment to date.

Mr Cannatelli
Ferretti group, a world leader within the sphere of designing, building and marketing luxury motoryachts, which encompasses nine of the most exclusive and prestigious brands in the nautical world (Ferretti Yachts, Pershing, Itama, Bertram, Riva, Apreamare, Mochi Craft, CRN and Custom Line), announces that Vincenzo Cannatelli has relinquished his powers as Chief Executive Officer of Ferretti S.p.A. and has resigned from the position of director of the subsidiaries effective immediately, while continuing to serve as member of the Board of Directors of Ferretti S.p.A. until the General Shareholders’ Meeting that will approve the financial statements for the year ending 31 August 2008. This decision, taken in full agreement with the Board of Directors of Ferretti S.p.A., takes account of the extension of the timetable for a potential IPO, given the financial market crisis and, consequently, the need to allow the Company to lay out an organizational structure that is more consistent with the current market conditions. Norberto Ferretti continues to serve as the Group’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ferruccio Rossi has been confirmed as the Group’s General Manager, and Mauro Moretti, the Group’s CFO, will receive broader operating powers.

Superyacht picture of the day: Benetti Kingdom K5R

Click to enlarge

The superyacht Benetti "kingdom K5R", ex "Nabila" (named after Khashoggi 's daughter actress Nabila Khashoggi), ex "Trump Princess" gave shelter to a homemade offshore cruiser in the Antibes harbour.

Superyacht history: MY Kingdom 5KR

One of the rare picture of the superyacht Kingdom 5KR at anchor near Cannes

Shipyard: Benetti - Italy
Design: Bannenberg Design Ltd
Interior designer: L. Sturchio
Year: 1980
Length: 85.65m
Refit: Amels BV shipyard in 1993
Price: US$ 30,000,000 + US$ 55,000,000 for all the luxury extras and equipment
For sale with Burgess in 1987: US$50,000,000, sold to D. Trump £ 15 million in 1987

Previous Names: ex Nabila (named after his daughter actress Nabila Kashogggi), ex Trump Princess
Previous owners: Adnan Kashoggi, Donald Trump (Brunei Sultan?)
Current owner: Saudi businessman Al-Waleed bin Talal, a nephew of the King of Saudi Arabia

The yacht also appeared in the James Bond film "Never say never" under the name "Flying Saucer" and was one of the world's largest private yacht.
The yacht came with the following:
3 elevators
a 12-seat movie theatre
2 saunas
a swimming pool
a discotheque
a jacuzzi
a billard room
11 guest rooms with hand-carved onyx bathroom fixtures and gold-plated door-knobs and a master suite of 4 rooms, the bathroom of which had a solid gold sink...

It is said that the Benetti shipyard almost went in bankrupcy because Kashoggi had demanded a lot of changed: the shipyard never recovered from the losses and was sold to boat builder Azimut in 1984, who then started to build their own boats on the shipyard, still using the traditional name Benetti.

The Big Ones in Antibes

According to the 2007/2008 Annual Report Issue 90 January 2008:

"The leap from 62 orders (for yachts over 50m) three years ago to 144 today shows an incredibly active market...and the number of people that can afford to play at this level is increasing tennfold. The current wave of semi-custom and standard versions in the 50 - 70 metre range makes the process of market growth even more predictable"

Pictures: Port Vauban - Antibes France February 2008