Yachting : The Superyacht World Convenes Industry Leaders to Tackle Sustainability

BY: michal verdon  

Three of the world’s largest builders look at the future of yachting, including a serious take on sustainability and how yachts can become carbon-neutral.

The superyacht world is engaging in some deep soul-searching these days, with some of the world’s leading Giga yacht builders holding Livestream events for both brand aficionados and the rest of the yachting world.

Dutch custom builder Oceanco is holding a Livestream event on Tuesday called NXT, which will take a serious look at the future of superyachts, especially with regard to sustainability.

“We want to make a commitment around sustainable yachting for the future,” Paris Baloumis, Oceanco’s group marketing manager, told Robb Report. “We very much believe in it, and as an industry, we need to focus on it, so a yacht is not seen as a liability.”

Instead of the usual talking heads from the superyacht sector, tomorrow’s panel will include a cross-section of experts from other industries, including Giles Taylor, vice president of design at the FAW Group; Sanne Schenk and Tommy Kleerekoper, partners at an interior design and architectural agency; James Roy of Lateral; Peter Economides of brand strategist Felix BNI; Chris Gartner, captain of the superyacht Black Pearl; and Marcel Onkenhout, CEO of Oceanco.

“This cross-industry collaboration is to attract free thinkers who can work with us on the push for a more sustainable future,” says Baloumis. Taylor was instrumental in revising the Rolls-Royce brand, while Roy has worked with Oceanco to foster a zero-carbon future for the custom yacht builder. Gartner, as captain of one of the most sustainable yachts ever built, will provide insights on next-generation carbon-reducing technologies as a template for future builds.

Baloumis says tomorrow’s panel will be more than just a one-off discussion and will meet consistently to talk about how Oceanco—and the yachting industry—can rework facilities and new yacht plans to foster carbon-neutral production and designs. Oceanco has already invested significant amounts into its facilities in the Netherlands to lower its carbon footprint.

The NXT panel will include experts from different industries, including the former head designer for Rolls-Royce, an expert in sustainability, leading-edge designers, a superyacht captain, and the CEO of Oceanco. 

“This is really a call to arms,” says Baloumis. “We’ve already been contacted by large suppliers who want to be part of this initiative, and even our competitors have asked if they could view the Livestream.”

Heesen, another yacht builder, has had two Livestream events called YachtTalk, where a panel also discussed issues impacting the superyacht world. In the latest episode, “Dutch Design Renaissance,” the panel included Frank Laupman, founder of yacht design studio Omega Architects; Gabriele Chiave, creative director at the Marcel Wanders Studio; and Niels van Roij, founder of multi-disciplinary design studio Niels van Roij Design.

The panel took an interdisciplinary approach, with Laupman speaking about yacht design, van Roij about car design, and Chiave about interior design. Heesen says it will continue to hold the series going forward.

Lürssen Live is the third Livestream series from a superyacht builder, this time from the German brand that builds the world’s largest yachts. CEO Peter Lürssen was interviewed about the company’s new approach to building smaller yachts in the 165-foot range and current trends he sees taking place across the superyacht world. The builder’s next episode will surround “Future Propulsion Technologies.”

Heesen YachtTalk is a Livestream event that covers different topics, including the latest on emerging design trends. Heesen Yachts

Oceanco’s NXT promises to be a more free-floating discussion than the other two events, touching on issues that go beyond superyacht design. Baloumis said tomorrow’s panel will not promote any new Oceanco superyachts and instead will focus on larger issues at hand. “We want to go deeper and look in a new and different way at our sector,” he says. “If we keep looking at the same old industry parameters, nothing will change. But we are determined to help drive that change. The future is