Keeping your toys...

"Spending is your patriotic duty" Forbes says.

So keep spending.
You can get good deals on Gulfstreams now ($14 million for a $40 million plane) and boats are cheap. Now may also be a good time to replace that slothful maid and use the recession as an excuse.
But please don’t try to do household chores yourself.
The Wealth Report

Picture of the day: MY Ice

Click to enlarge

Built in 2005 by the famous German shipyard Lurssen and design by Tim heywood, MY "ICE" ( with her helicopter) was spotted at anchor near Antibes.

Her Russian owner, Suleiman Kerimov, is an avid explorer and the yacht was in the Fiji, Tahiti and other Southern Pacific region.

This 295ft yacht is powered by a couple of ABB diesel electric motors.

Madoff yacht

A month ago, we announced that the French investment firm Meeschaert seized MY "Bull", one of the yachts owned by Bernard Madoff.
Some French protesters were also on board last saturday with a large banner saying "we will not pay the crooks".
There was no damage to the yacht, a Leopard 27m currently lying near Antibes...

Cannes Film Festival: a superyacht festival ?

Click to enlarge - copyright 2009 Remi van der Deure

There are many floating palace in the Cannes area at the moment...

We have seen the well known MY Enigma, MY Fortunate Star, some "supestar" like MY Alpha Nero, the brand new 2009 Benetti Meamina...and a giant superyacht: the 138m MY Rising Sun that belongs to Mr Ellison and was recognized as the second largest private yacht in the world in 2005.

Here is a picture of the beast sent by an avid photographer: MY Rising Sun was at anchor in the Baie de Cannes near MY Alpha Nero and the Codecasa Mariu: enjoy !!!

Bad news for the shippyards...

The superyacht market is full of the most contradictory news and despite strong sales in 2007-2008, many famous shipyards see their project cancelled by clients...

COUACH - FR
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The French shipyard was put in receivership at the beginning of April 2009.

FERRETTI GROUP - IT
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Ferretti S.p.A. announced that the debt restructuring proposal has been accepted by The Royal Bank of Scotland for the senior loan and the financing pool of mezzanine lenders. Ferretti has reduced its long-term debt, from about €1.1 billion to about €550 million.

RODRIGUEZ GROUP - FR
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Although Rodriguez Group is not a shipyard, Rodriguez Group has opted for "safeguard to consolidate its perspective". Arno shipyard and Overmarine shipyard, the two exclusive Italian contractors for Rodriguez Group, have seen their order book decreased drastically.

ROYAL HUISMANN - NL
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According to Alice Huisman : "Royal Huisman has also felt the effects of the current recession by way of the cancellation of two of our new build projects, Gitana and the Windjammer Project".
However, the Dutch shipyard is still very busy with project like the 58m Twizzle or the 49m Spirit of Tradition.

JONGERT - NL
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The Dutch shipyard management team expects potential investors could save yard from bankruptcy.

ROYAL DENSHIP - DK
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This famous Danish shipyard built one of the most stylish superyacht in 2003 MY "Princess Mariana".
Unfortunately, on 3rd April 2009, the shipyard was adjudicated bankrupt by the Bankruptcy Court in Aarhus.

At the moment, the British shipyards are doing well despite an awful economy.
No news from the Chinese projects...

Who is the next one?

Sardinian 'luxury yacht tax' scrapped

This is a good news that is coming just before the charter season!

According to the Telegraph: "A tax on luxury yachts mooring in the waters of Sardinia and private jets landing at its airports is to be repealed by the Mediterranean island."

Sardinia's new governor, who is the son of Silvio Berlusconi's tax adviser, is to scrap a tax on super yachts as one of his first acts in office.

More information here

MY "Fortunate Sun" at anchor

The 54m. MY "Fortunate Sun", built by Oceanfast in 2003 and design by Tim Heywwod, was at anchor near the 47m. Christensen "Lady Joy".

Both superyachts are currently lying near the Cap d'Antibes during the Festival de Cannes.

MY "Fortunate Sun" boasts a now classic grey hull that contrasts with the sleek white lines of the superstructure.

A quiet charter season ?

MY Octopus was at anchor in the baie de Cannes

The Cannes Fim Festival opened yesterday with 3D animation comedy "Up".

According to a recent article published on Reuters UK "Vanity Fair's exclusive party has been canceled, luxury yachts moored at the picturesque harbor remain unchartered and movie executives are sounding a note of caution on the eve of the world's biggest film festival."


MY Siren was also at anchor - click to enlarge

As fas as we know, a famous steel mogul would have cancelled his participation in the Monaco Grand Prix.

>> Reuters UK article

Superyacht Market Point of View

"...there has been an impact on the business due to the global economic downturn and we have attempted to reduce the effect as much as possible. We have seen a reduction in the sale of smaller models but orders for the larger models have remained steady..."
Sunseeker MD Robert Braithwaite

>> Boating Business

Somali pirates put superyacht rich in range

According to Reuters website "Multi-million-dollar superyachts sailing from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean for the European summer could be the next high-profile target of Somali pirates, security experts say."

The article explains that "...the pirates have really increased their capability, they've got better, faster boats with longer ranges, and they're able to operate at night up to 300 miles off the coast," Crispian Cuss, a security specialist with Olive Group, told Reuters."

>> Reuters