While the overall market for superyachts above 30 metres was trading down over 2019 compared to 2018 for both for new and used yachts, there was a notable exception to this trend: yachts between 60 and 80 metres. In 2019, 18 new yachts were sold in this market segment, compared to 11 in 2018, while sales of used yachts between 60 and 80 metres remained stable at 18 yachts.
More than 5,080 superyachts of over 30 metres are in operation today. 273 of these are between 60 and 80 metres in length, representing a little over 5% of the fleet. However, when we take the volume of the yachts into account (measured in gross tonnage or GT), the share of these yachts in the operating fleet rises to almost 17%. The share of motor yachts in the 60 to 80-metre fleet is very high at 93%, compared to the total 30-metre-plus fleet where this share stands at 84%. If we look at deliveries over the past ten years (2009-2018), we see that the 60-80-metre fleet represents over 7% of all deliveries, which is higher than the share of 5% of the total fleet mentioned above. This means that the group of yachts between 60 and 80 metres is growing faster than the overall fleet over 30 metres. This is evidenced by the fact that over 50% of the current 60-80-metre fleet was completed since 2009, compared to 33% of the entire 30-metre-plus fleet.
Dutch yards are the largest builders of superyachts in this size bracket, having completed 80 of the 273 operating superyachts, a share of 29%. Italian yards come in second, with 64 completed yachts, or 23% of the operating fleet, while German yards delivered 47 yachts representing 17%. All other build countries in this segment have significantly lower production numbers, with only the United States and Turkey making it into the double digits, at 12 completions each. In terms of total GT of yachts completed, Germany is very close to Italy, with 77,000 GT versus 81,000 GT respectively. The German output is concentrated towards the higher end of the 60-80-metre range with an average volume per yacht of 1,645 GT against 1,267 GT per yacht for Italy and 1,374 GT per yacht for Dutch builders.
When we look at the five countries that are building the 58 yachts currently in the construction book between 60 and 80 metres, we see little change compared to the historical production record. Only shipyards in the United States are currently not building any yachts of this size. Instead, we find Spain in fifth place, as two yacht support vessels in this size range are currently in build there.
Zooming in on the individual shipyards which delivered yachts in the 60-80-metre segment between 2009 and late December 2019, we see that Feadship is the top builder, having completed 17 yachts in this time period. Benetti comes in second with 13 yachts, while Amels is in third place with 11 yachts. Other builders with sizeable contributions are Abeking & Rasmussen and CRN, which both completed eight yachts, and Lürssen, which has completed seven yachts since 2009 in this size range. All other builders delivered five or fewer yachts in this period.
Sales and outlook
New-build sales in the 60-80-metre segment hit a record high of 28 yachts in 2007, after which they fluctuated between 10 and 18 yachts per year. At the time of writing in late December 2019, we have recorded 18 new yacht sales in this segment in 2019, consisting of 17 motor yachts and one sailing yacht. As the year is not over yet, we do not rule out uncovering more new yacht sales, which could make 2019 the best year for new yacht sales in the 60-80-metre segment since 2007. This would be a remarkable achievement in a new-build market which is otherwise down compared to 2018.
This article was first featured in The SuperYacht Times newspaper. Subscribe now to receive your copy straight to your door and never miss another issue.