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Yacht conversions have been garnering a lot of superyacht media attention in recent years, as they are being promoted as a quicker and more sustainable alternative to new-builds. There are conversions and conversions: from a complete rebuild of a warship to a converted tug. Time for Ralph Dazert, <a href="https://www.superyachttimes.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">SYT</a>’s Head of Intelligence, to go beyond the media buzz and study the numbers behind the fleet of yachts converted from other vessel types.The fleet of conversions<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/216914/image/large-421ef462ee71c88e89274b2f33a0a07c.jpeg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/216914">According to <a href="https://www.superyachttimes.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">SuperYacht Times</a>’ own intelligence database, <a href="https://sytiq.superyachttimes.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">SYT iQ</a>, there were 184 conversion yachts of over 30 metres in service at the start of 2024. Another nine vessels were in the process of being converted although information on some of these projects is scarce. The largest yacht conversion in our database is the Turkish <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/11924" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="OK146.0m (479'0&quot;)Oshima Shipbuilding Co Ltd1982">OK</a>, a yacht support vessel of 146-metres and 10,224 GT converted from a Dutch semi submersible heavy lift vessel. 59 vessels, or close to a third of the fleet, measure between 30 and 40-metres, while 51 vessels, or about 28% of the fleet, measure between 40 and 50-metres. 53 vessels or 29% of the fleet measure between 50 and 80-metres with the remaining 21 vessels or 11% measuring more than 80 metres in length.The most popular original build country of converted yachts is the United States, contributing 28 vessels. German (25), the Netherlands (24, the United Kingdom (20) and Japan (17 vessels) are also very popular sources of converted yachts, with the remaining build countries contributing significantly smaller numbers of vessels.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/304073/image/large-8937fd2aa3d6d44f05fb43852e600060.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/304073">What did they do and what are they doing now?It seems that owners looking to convert a vessel to a yacht are particularly attracted to former naval and Coast Guard and other former (semi) government vessels like research vessels, pilot cutters and (fisheries) training vessels. What these vessels have in common is that most of them have been built to high specifications, have good seakeeping abilities and most of them have a long endurance as well, so they could stay out at sea to perform their tasks for prolonged periods of time. In addition, most of these vessels have more carrying capacity for supplies and for example tenders and water toys than regular yachts. Finally, many of them were not used that heavily while in service in their original form. This also explains why there are so many Japanese-built vessels in the conversion fleet: almost all of them come from Japanese government fleets and were still relatively young when they were sold out of government service.The preference of conversion yacht owners for sturdy vessels with very good seakeeping abilities is also evidenced by the popularity of offshore supply vessels: we find no less than 25 of them in the fleet and their number keeps rising as the trend towards more explorer yachts continues. Many tugs have also been converted to yachts over the years for the same reasons: today we find at least 18 of them in the fleet. In the smaller size ranges, we also find quite a lot of former fishing vessels as they can also take a battering at sea and tend to have powerful engines as well.Finally and obviously, former passengers also do well as yacht conversions, particularly among the larger yachts, where we find well known converted yachts like <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1609" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Alexander121.95m (400'1&quot;)Lubecker Flender Werke1966">Alexander</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/935" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Turama116.41m (381'11&quot;)Rauma Shipyard1990">Turama</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/4275" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Dream106.5m (349'5&quot;)Halic Tersaneleri1997">Dream</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/2840" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Dubawi90.6m (297'3&quot;)Cantiere Navale Ferrari S.p.a.1989">Dubawi</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/190" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Lauren L90.0m (295'3&quot;)Cassens-Werft2002">Lauren L</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/5822" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Serenity72.0m (236'3&quot;)Austal2003">Serenity</a> and <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1146" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Saluzi69.1m (226'8&quot;)Austal2003">Saluzi</a> to name but a few: all former cruise ships. The origin of most converted yachts is also reflected in their uses now: no less than 72 out of 184 yachts are categorised as explorer yachts, while another 19 are yacht support vessels. So together, these two yacht categories take up almost half the fleet. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/304072/image/large-6a2f186c7f76970ad2f261cd319507b4.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/304072">Are conversion sales really going up?Despite the considerable attention in superyacht media for yacht conversions, the actual sales numbers do not show a rising trend. If we look at sales of non-yachts for conversion to yachts in the last ten years, these sales mostly moved in a bandwidth between four and seven sales over 30-metres per year. The last good year for conversion sales was 2018, when seven vessels were sold for conversion. Sales then dropped to four and three sales in 2019 and 2020, before going back up five sales each in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, sales were down again to three.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/289155/image/large-2f43a8449a99622302d805161cb2a5be.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/289155">So, while yacht conversions have become a fixture in the world superyacht fleet, their share of the fleet is still only 3% in number of vessels. However, each year a number of high-profile conversions enter the fleet. They are unique vessels offering many capabilities and often unusual histories, so they will continue to attract our attention, and who knows, maybe we will see their sales numbers rise? After all, new-build yards remain heavily booked at this time and new-build prices are high. To be continued…This article is featured in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/issue-48-superyacht-times-newspaper" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Issue 48 of the SuperYacht Times newspaper</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://shop.superyachttimes.com/report/the-superyacht-times-subscription" target="_blank">Subscribe now</a>&nbsp;to receive your copy straight to your door and never miss another issue.&nbsp;

SYT iQ Insight: Are vessel conversions on the rise?

Ralph Dazert, SYT’s Head of Intelligence analyses  numbers behind the fleet of yachts converted from other vessel types.

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We take a look at the 10 largest converted superyachts in the world. Some of these yachts started out as a cruiseliner, and some are in fact converted ice breakers. The largest yacht currently being converted, is the 141 metre Swift project Yas in Abu Dhabi. However, she has not been delivered yet.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145377/image/large-dc80697f8fb093f28abcb1a0e980d01d.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/145377">1 - <a href="#managed-by-application" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/3869">Fulk Al Salamah</a> - 136.33 metre - Bremer Vulkan - 1987 Technically speaking, this isn't really a yacht, but rather a support vessel to another, even larger yacht. Fulk Al Salamah belongs to the ruler of Oman, and is the support vessel to the 155 metre superyacht Al Said.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145378/image/large-21d12a634777788877f310055bfb6f18.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/140410">2- <a href="#managed-by-application" target="_blank" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1609">Alexander</a> - 121.95 metre - Lubecker Flender Werke - 1965 Alexander was converted from a cruise liner (Regina Maris) into a private yacht, in 1985-1987.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145379/image/large-7b084cb8b7a50e871b755415e190f470.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/140390">3- <a href="#managed-by-application" target="_blank" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/935">Turama</a> - 116.41 metre - Rauma Shipyard - 1990 Built as a passenger ship in Finland, Turama nowadays accommodates up to 70 guests as a charter yacht. You can charter the yacht at around € 630,000 per week.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145380/image/large-a74987df6aa5cc748c7ad4a53c858cb5.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/134559">4 - <a href="#managed-by-application" target="_blank" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/336">Christina O</a> - 99.15 metre - Canadian Vickers - 1943 Originally built for the Royal Canadian Navy as a River-class anti-submarine frigate, as part of North-Atlantic convoys during the Second World War, Christina O was first launched as the HMCS Stormont in 1943. It wasn’t until illustrious Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis bought the vessel for her scrap value, to convert her into a legendary luxury private yacht.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145381/image/large-586b8584217575c69883243fa2d5db69.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/126938">5 - <a href="#managed-by-application" target="_blank" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/2840">Dubawi</a> - 90.60 metre - Cantiere Navale Ferrari S.p.a. - 1989 The 90 metre Dubawi was originally built as a small cruise ship in 1989. In 2007 the Dubai based shipyard Platinum Yachts started to convert Dubawi into a private luxury yacht.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145382/image/large-be16fa4a629dadf0525a5a19c44ba437.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/126379">6 - <a href="#managed-by-application" target="_blank" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/190">Lauren L</a> - 90.00 metre - Cassens-Werft - 2002 Built by Cassens Werft in 2002, she was bought by Liveras Yachts and refitted in 2008 as a thoroughly modern charter yacht, bridging the gap between a large superyacht and a small cruise ship.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145383/image/large-a9a8a8896445f5f7ee44760698793789.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/137085">7 - <a href="#managed-by-application" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/900">Arctic P</a> - 87.58 metre - Schichau Unterweser AG - 1969 Among the world's largest privately owned yachts, the Arctic P (photo) was originally an icebreaker and has been refitted to provide the ultimate luxury cruising experience.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145384/image/large-8d23e811f763126a2ae1bae93cc6e9e0.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/135831">8 - <a href="#managed-by-application" target="_blank" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1096">O'Mega</a> - 82.50 metre - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. - 1987 The 82.5 metre O'Mega was built in 1987 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd in Japan as a small cruise ship. In 2002-2003 she was coverted into a superyacht to a design of Greek designers Studio Vafiadis, in China at the Guangzhou Shipyard International Company.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145385/image/large-6617ef00458c67652459bec2df11d092.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/140462">9 - <a href="#managed-by-application" target="_blank" data-legacy="true" data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/2086">Bart Roberts</a> - 80.77 metre - Canadian Vickers - 1963 The red-hulled expedition superyacht was built by Canadian Vickers in 1963 as an ice-breaker/support vessel and converted to a private yacht in 2001 and 2002.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/145386/image/large-4ee6972e380014ad99c86a7841fe78a3.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/139059">10 -Lone Ranger - 77.40 metre - Schichau Unterweser AG - 1973 This spectacular explorer yacht started her life in 1973 as an ocean going tug. For her first twenty years she worked towing oil platforms, floating docks and other ships around the world as well as salvaging casualties, including tankers, freighters and bulk carriers.

The top 10 largest converted superyachts in the world