As the world burns, the megayacht industry thrives

7:22 PM Fri 23 Oct 2009 GMT

'The superyacht sector flourishes during the economic storm.' .

While the world burns, the megayacht industry thrives. In the middle of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), in this last year, the megayacht industry had its finest year. There are 6000 motorised pleasure yachts over 80 ft on the planet. 2700, almost half, were built in the last ten years, and a whopping 510 were built in the last 12 months.

This was the message that marina developer Kevin Quirk gave to delegates at a tourism symposium held in Marigot in the Windwards Islands of the Caribbean this week.

While the world is gearing up for its most serious climate change conference in history, while the production of oil, the farming of cattle and carbons into the atmosphere is threatening life as we know on the earth, while the population is at runaway rates and the fish stocks are already 90% depleted, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are developing 30,000 slips ready for superyachts yet to be built. Even the Dominica Republic is constructing 1,200 slips for the burgeoning superyacht industry.

Just as the height of Roman hedonism was reached just when it was in danger of collapse, so megayacht owners are flourishing. 'Megayacht owners are some of the wealthiest people in the world - the top four per cent,' Quirk reminded his audience.

Apres moi la deluge...

On a more positive note, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) have announced that their theme for the Lloyd's Register Educational Trust Maritime Student of the Year in 2010 will be 'A green ship or green system for safe operation in the ice or cold environment.'

The theme suggests that they are fully anticipating that the North West Passage will be open for shipping in the not too distant future, and are heeding warnings that the presence of conventional ships in the fragile ecosystem will extremely harmful to its environment.

(SNAME is an internationally recognized nonprofit technical society of individual members serving the maritime industry dedicated to advancing the art, science, and practice of naval architecture, shipbuilding, ocean engineering, and marine engineering. For more information, visit www.sname.org .)

by Des Ryan

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