No more mast for the Perini Principessa

The ex-yacht of Mr Berlusconi, the 41m Perini "Principessa Vai Via", lost its main and mizzen masts in July whilst heading to Isola Rossa in Sardegna.

The 1991 yacht that had her mast overhauled last spring and the rigging completely rebuilt, is now the property of Mr Ennio Doris, the President of Mediolanum.

15 people were aboard (7 crew and 8 guests including Doris'wife and daughter) and none of them suffered life-threatening injuries.

Despite strong winds, SY "Principessa vai Via" was towed to Stintino.

2009 Superyacht Market Report by CNI

Camper Nicholson International has just released the second edition of the (super) Yachting Index: the 54 pages report is now available to view online!!!

>> 2009 Superyachting Index

Lady Christine helicopter crash

Click to enlarge - Lady Christine in Monaco - 2009

Superyacht bigger than 50m often feature an helipad for emergency reason or for the Owner 's convenience.

The website Coastguerdnews.com reported that the 55m Oceanco Lady Christine had an helicopter crash. Four people were aboard the helicopter and none of them suffered life-threatening injuries.
According to the Coastguardnews website, "...The Rockland Coast Guard small boat at 6:55 p.m. tied up to the crashed helicopter and towed it to shore on the island, where a marine salvage company will attempt to remove it."

The yacht built by the Oceanco shipyard in 2004 was offered for sale for euro 45,000,000 by Edmiston Company in 2008.

Maltese Falcon sold US$ 100,000,000 ?

According to an unofficial source, Tom Perkins, the owner of the superyacht Maltese Falcon which is currently lying in Antibes, has sold has vessel.

The same sources confirms that the amount of the deal is around US$ 100,000,000.

Middle East Owners Rule !!!

Click to enlarge

The 147m Prince Abdulaziz, the world’s second largest private yacht in the world, is currently at anchor near Golfe-Juan.
Prince Abdulaziz was built in Denmark by Helsingor Vaerft shipyard in 1984 for the late King Fahd. After his dead King Abdulah took over the yacht.




Click to enlarge

The 86m Benetti Kingdom 5KR built in 1980 for Mr Khashoggi, was at anchor near the Ile de Lérins, bay of Cannes.
The pictures shows an helicopter on the top deck.
Both yachts feature a fully closed aft-deck.

Previous owners:
Donald Trump: ex Trump Princess
Adnan Khashoggi: ex Nabila

Another Ponzy scheme...with yachts

It seems that these days american yacht brokers are more creative than ever !

Robert Frank (The Wealth Report) relates the story of a californian yacht broker (a "well-respected businessman ...") who left a message for his employees saying he would return next week.

Investors were told that they were investing in 'boat deals' whereby Mr. Fitzgerald and his partner, David Goodner of Channel Island Yachts were purchasing power and sail boats inexpensively (because of the economy), then selling them to a pre-arranged buyer.

Same old story about yacht broker ?

Click here to read the Wealth Report article

Are you tired of your greedy yacht?

Two expensive yachts for Kim Jong II...

According to a trusted source, the Italian government seized two yacht builts by the Italian shipyard Azimut Benetti.

The yachts were bound for North Korea and were seized because they violated European Union and international rules based on UN resolutions against exporting luxury goods to this country.


The yachts (see the Azimut 105 picture) , worth 13 million euros (18.5 million dollars), were destined for Kim Jong II, the Korean leader. However, Azimut-Benedetti said the Italian authorities had "recently" returned the yachts to the company's possession.

The source reported that the Italian authorities were convinced that the North Korean leader had paid the whole price for the yachts...

2009 trend: James Bond Like Yacht...

CNN (UK) - Wealthy arm their yachts with military-level security
According to a recent article published by CNN UK "The world's richest people are spending millions arming their super-yachts with military-style technology and trained personnel to fight off potential attackers."

The threat of pirates and growing fears that yachts may be their next target have led many owners to equip their vessels with the latest James Bond-like technology.

Hidden chambers, escape pods, tracking devices and ex-marines employed as security guards have all risen in popularity.

"It is only a matter of time before pirates move from cargo ships to attacking super-yachts cruising near Somalia," Michael Howorth, former super-yacht captain and technical editor at SuperYachtWorld magazine, told CNN.

The article also reported that "Fraser Yachts, a Monaco-based yacht-chartering company, has submarines available for clients who charter super-yachts. Fraser Yachts would not confirm whether these submarines double as escape pods for some clients."

>> More info here

Bad news for Rodriguez Group...

Click to enlarge - Leopard 46m Pure One in Antibes

After 33 years of collaboration with the Rodriguez Group, Leopard Yachts (previously Arno shipyard), builder of the Leopard range, have announced their independence from their long marketing partner Rodriguez Group.

In 1986, Gerard Rodriguez, founder of Rodriguez Group, signed an exclusive worldwide agreement to sell the Leoprd range.

According to Synfo.com "Rather than focusing exclusively on production for a sole dealer, Leopard Yachts now intend to handle their own marketing and selling rather than having the Rodriguez Group managing the market for them".

The question is: what will happen with Overmarine, the Italian sipyard that builds the Mangusta range?

>> Italian announcement from the shipyard (PDF)