The Superyacht Forum unveils research indicating significant positive social impacts

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.

Riding strong tailwinds

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.”

Wide ranging discussions

Day two of 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.

Inspired to push past boundaries

Two keynotes encouraged delegates to think beyond accepted norms. Dutch fashion designer Pauline van Dongen provided fascinating insight into her work incorporating solar cells and sensors into laminated, knitted and woven textiles. This results in practical, highly flexible fabrics that can be formed in double curved patterns and used for a variety of purposes including clothing, cladding and shading.

The renowned firm of global architects, Foster + Partners, closed the day by explaining, through case studies, how it creatively designs and engineers projects by studying surrounding environmental and cultural themes. Senior partners Marilu Sicoli and Adam Newburn then showed how out of the box thinking translated for flexible convertible living spaces on Foster + Partners’ collaboration with Lateral Naval Architects’ on their Outlier superyacht concept.

Towards NXT steps

Speaking after the close of The Superyacht Forum, conference manager Patricia Becker said: “These two days have seen an incredible amount of engagement among the nearly 900 senior leaders present. As we promised at the outset, the redesigned format of the programme meant they experienced first-class opportunities to learn about and discuss NXT steps for the superyacht sector, renewed friendships and made new contacts.

“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. We look forward to seeing how the many NXT steps discussed this year translate into action over coming weeks and months and look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2026.”

Supporting partners

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
You can read more about our partners here – thesuperyachtforum.com/partners

Contributing organisations

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)