Trouble in Paradise
Ten years ago, GEOFF MOORE wrote a feature for the Telegraph describing
the growing opportunities for merchant seafarers in the superyacht sector.
A decade on, he reflects on the changes…
There have been huge changes in the
superyacht industry since 2008 – but
then the entire world has changed since
then. The credit crunch hit at this stage
and the ultra-high net worth individuals (UHN-WIs)
who are the yacht owners of the world were
severely hit by that. Yacht values fell, newbuild
orders fell and shipyards went bust. As with
many other similar luxury service industries, like
private aviation and real estate, the best way to
summarise it was that the ‘bubble burst’.
The industry has recovered to an extent, but
the general agreement is that the highs of the
2005 to 2008 period – a sellers’ market in which
newbuilds were being sold once or twice before
even being completed - will never return.
Statistically, if you take the number of 30m+
superyachts and the number of billionaires on
the planet, only 4% of them own yachts -- so the
potential for purchase and growth is there.
However, the real impact and lasting effect of the
market crash on yachting is the consciousness of
owners when it comes to expenditure.
Naturally there will be exceptions where
yachts have ‘no budget’, but the world has
changed in the last 10 years and owners are more
aware of the costs of their personal assets than
ever. This is certainly felt in the bulk of the indus-try,
onboard yachts of 30m to 60m. It should be
44 SUOMEN MERENKULKU J FINLANDS SJÖFART
noted that yachts are, in the vast majority, a
personal asset and used for personal use only.
Whether they are chartered to offset some of the
running costs, or not, they are not operated as
businesses – so when the owner is assessing
their personal finances, their yacht and its
running costs can become a large burden if they
are not enjoying their time onboard.
Against this background, crew terms and
conditions have remained fairly consistent and
salaries have largely remained the same for the
bulk of positions onboard. Salaries for junior
crew like deckhands and stewardesses have
remained at an industry constant of circa €2,500
per month, and the mid-rank positions differ
depending on the yacht size and operational
status.
What has changed a lot -- and what is more
relevant to the bulk of the Telegraph readers, I
imagine -- is the impact of more rotational
contracts.
There have been a lot more 90m+ yachts
delivered in the last decade and this has led to
larger and larger crews, on which rotation is
offered. This has had a knock-on effect for
mid-sized yachts in the 60m+ range, as they
suffer a lot from not being able to keep senior
crew, especially engineers, who are lured by
rotation to the vessels offering this.
” Yacht
owners are
perceived as
oligarchs with
deep pockets,
but we are
increasingly
seeing crews
abandoned
with wages
owed.”