Following the successful delivery of the 57m Feadship superyacht Halo, SYT spoke with Jacqueline Lyne, head of Edmiston’s Yacht Management (EYM) division, to discuss the company’s involvement in the project, as well as what their immediate future holds.
Edmiston Yacht Management (EYM) was only started in 2007. Can you tell us a bit more on how it has grown over the years?
EYM was incorporated early in 2007, and launched officially at the MYS in September the same year. We started with 3 people and 1 yacht, and we now have a team of 24, with an operational fleet in excess of 20 yachts.
We started the Crew Recruitment Division in 2008. It was briefly based in Monaco, but moved to the Antibes premises soon afterwards. We now have 3 people in the Crew Recruitment Division, and they have more than 40 years of experience in crew recruitment between them.
How important is the management of new construction projects for the division?
The management of new construction projects is extremely important for the management division. We have a full project management team in place, who all have a wide range of skills, experience and qualifications to manage new build and refit projects (technical superintendents and project managers etc.)
We also work very closely with other specialists to ensure that the owner's interests are protected - paint specialists, noise and vibration experts, naval architects etc.
We have served as owner's representatives for build projects such as M/Y Tango, M/Y Hampshire II, M/Y Madame Gu and more recently M/Y Halo, as well as a number of other new build projects in different shipyards over the last 8 years.
We are currently developing a design and build specification for 2 new build projects in excess of 60 and 70 metres.
It is very important for owners to have an independent and objective project management team in place to protect their interests during the build. They are there to ensure that the yacht meets the specification, that the quality standard is maintained throughout the build, to liaise with all parties, to minimise change orders, to manage the owner supply process, and to ensure that the yacht is delivered on time, to the correct standard and within budget.
The latest delivery of the new-build division is the 57m Feadship HALO? How was Edmiston involved in that project?
Edmiston brought the client to the yard, and introduced EYM at an appropriate time in the negotiation process. EYM were actively involved in developing the build and technical equipment specification, assisted with the development of the GA and design, were very actively involved in all contract negotiations, and were named as owner's representative on the build contract.
EYM had a full time onsite project manager and technical representative. We attended all design and progress meetings, negotiated with the yard and suppliers, liaised with all sub-contractors, developed the owner supply budget, and managed the owner supply process. We attended all class and flag surveys and signed off all stage payments. The list is endless, but we were actively involved from beginning to end!
What other projects are currently in-build with Edmiston?
We have a number of new build projects under development at the moment. We are actively managing the development of a GA and construction and technical specification for 2 yachts in excess of 60 and 70m, and have started on the shipyard tender process.