RINA has released a new service profile dedicated to luxury motor or sailing yachts as part of its program of support excellence for the superyachts sector

From the Monaco Yacht Show the RINA group, multinational inspection, certification and engineering consultancy, presented Maxima: the new service profile dedicated to superyachts – luxury motor or sailing boats from 40 to 180 meters long – was created to provide customers a structure made up of specialists, skills and cutting-edge services.

RINA-maxima-superyachtRINA, the inspection, certification and consulting engineering multinational, is experiencing remarkable growth in the superyachts sector. As part of its program of support excellence for this niche area of the marine industry, it has released

RINA MAXIMA: a new service profile dedicated to luxury motor or sailing yachts (40 to 180 metres long). Covering the diverse needs of these unique vessels, MAXIMA supports clients with specialists, expertise, and cutting-edge services.

RINA has a long history with the marine industry and has worked in the yachting sector for around 20 years. The release of its MAXIMA service profile reflects its expertise and interest in the superyachts market, aiming to help owners, designers, and operators meet and exceed changing regulations and support the advancing technology these vessels have on board.

Speaking at the launch of RINA MAXIMA at the Monaco Yacht Show Giosuè Vezzuto, Executive Vice President Marine of RINA, said, “MAXIMA was born from our deep understanding of the current needs of the superyacht sector, which, like other areas of the marine industry, is undergoing a profound transformation driven by decarbonisation and digitalisation.

The MAXIMA service profile will help owners, designers, and operators navigate rules and guidelines for the design and certification of increasingly complex superyacht systems and the growing variety of leisure activities these vessels have onboard”.

The yachting business is moving from strength to strength. In 2021, 128 new superyachts were sold worldwide, an increase of 78% from the previous year. In the period between January and May 2022, Italy rated first in terms of number of yachts built, totalling 318*.

In the field of sustainability and decarbonisation, RINA supports the sector by providing rules and guidelines for the design and certification of superyacht systems linked to alternative fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol.

The MAXIMA service profile incorporates a wide range of digital solutions, including SERTICA, one of the leading fleet management software packages.

Along with the benefits of digitalisation, which include increased efficiency and safety, comes the challenge of cybersecurity. MAXIMA has a clear focus on protection of assets in this area, including packages such as “Cyber Security and Vulnerability Assessment”, which verifies that a vessel’s communication network is secure.

Vezzuto continued, “We continue to grow in the superyacht sector and have a keen focus on new technologies and innovation, areas where RINA is particularly strong.

MAXIMA is based on our long experience in shipping and covers areas from alternative fuels to cybersecurity. As this sector continues to embrace increasingly advanced solutions and technologies,

MAXIMA will support owners, designers and operators and help transfer our expertise to support them in meeting the challenges of the future”.

RINA cooperation with the National Technical University of Athens to support future Young Engineers in Greece

On the other hand RINA and the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (School of NA & ME) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) report on the progress of their collaboration in training and research.

Every year RINA hosts between four and six senior students of the School of NA & ME who are trained alongside experienced engineers at the RINA office in Greece.

In the context of the MoU signed between RINA and School of NA & ME in 2019, two additional on-the-job training positions are offered every year to the students interested in receiving further knowledge and adding focus to their academic studies.

Overall, the training synergy figures from the internships programme and the MoU are: Participation by eighteen NTUA senior students since 2019, four additional on-the-job training positions, and four young engineers have (as of Sept 2022) joined the RINA family, two with part-time and two with full-term contracts.

RINA and NTUA have a long-standing cooperation in research. There are twelve ongoing and nineteen concluded European research projects that the two organisations are working/have worked on together in recent years (in the context of the European Commission HORIZON programme).

SafePASS is the ongoing marine engineering research project that RINA and the NA&ME School are working on, together with other European partners.

The project proposes revolutionary solutions for the safety of large passenger ships, a segment where RINA leads in the global classification market. The project relates to the training synergy by engaging young NTUA students from the internship and the MoU in its research activities.

RINA is one of the oldest classification societies and a founding member of the International Association of Classification Societies and the synergies with NTUA in training and research form a framework to support young engineers in gaining professional experience, a vital supplement to their studies.

NTUA is the largest technical university in Greece, with reputation for excellence. Students are studying over a period of five years to obtain 300 credit units, which leads to a masters Diploma in accordance with the continental European system for training engineers.

The framework of practical training for budding Naval Architects and Marine Engineers from the NA & ME School adds to their understanding of the application of their academic studies in the real world.

Paolo Moretti, CEO at RINA Services, said: “RINA and the NA & ME School of NTUA have an established cooperation in research and training.

We are pleased to offer opportunities for undergraduates and graduates to further their knowledge alongside our technical personnel and support them in identifying directions in which they may wish to take their careers.

This cooperation brings benefits to the school and to the RINA business, which is always looking for bright, new engineers to support its global network.”

Professor Georgios Zarafonitis, Dean of the School of NA & ME, at NTUA, said: “We have worked with RINA for many years in research and practical training, and we are happy with the results reported today.

The experience our students are gaining within RINA is an excellent insight into the real world of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

We will continue with RINA and wish to strengthen this cooperation which can only benefit all parties involved.”

The cooperation between RINA and NTUA was celebrated at an event hosted at the brand new global marine training centre in RINA’s Piraeus offices. The event included a presentation of RINA’s Fleet Operation Centre, a digital tool which provides shipowners innovative and timely services, optimizing their processes merging together information from class applications with tools and data from added value applications.