It was quite a year, 2012. From the debut of some truly exciting megayacht projects, to the ups and downs of rules and regulations, there were plenty of interesting stories to follow.
Despite the ongoing global economic slump—or perhaps because of it—the megayachts that launched this year captivated yacht watchers worldwide. The yachting world was abuzz in May, for example, with the launch of Azzam at Lürssen. Even though she technically won’t be the world’s largest yacht until delivered many, many months from now, Azzam has people searching for any and every tidbit of new information.
This past autumn saw a handful of headlines, too. September brought word of Oceanco signing its first-ever sailing superyacht, and then a month later we learned Oceanco signed another mega-size megayacht, a motoryacht measuring 361 feet (110 meters). October also brought us the first photos of Venus, the Feadship commissioned by the late Steve Jobs.
Unfortunately, the yachting world also saw its share of tragedy in 2012. There was the sinking of Yogi in February, a situation which naturally raises questions as to what went wrong. (In this case, though, fingers started pointing all too publicly at everyone from the crew to the shipyard within hours of the incident.) In addition, the megayacht world said goodbye far too soon to leaders like designer Alberto Pinto, broker Bruce Brakenhoff Sr., yacht builder Hayati Kamhi, and just in the past week, photographer Marc Paris as well as journalist and consultant Capt. Tork Buckley.
Owners and representatives of private and charter megayachts alike grew concerned in January when Italy announced a berthing and cruising tax proposal. The goal of the proposal was to help shore up the country’s slumping economy. Lobbying on behalf of the marine and tourist industries, though, resulted in a dramatic scale-back of what could have sent yachts to other countries’ shores and simultaneously crippled Italian businesses.
The coming year promises to be equally newsworthy. There are more than 150 megayachts expected to hit the water, for example, and changes in construction and operation are to take place due to MLC 2006 being officially ratified. We’ll have coverage of these and more.
Speaking of more, we’ll have more special features here on Megayacht News. It’s part of our continued focus on original content, a goal set five years ago when this site launched. Due to the visual nature of the Web, we’re creating more videos. We’re also reviving a special series that you, the readers, wanted back. The popular Megayacht News Leadership Series will return, featuring Q&As with some of the most innovative and influential people in the industry. If there’s anything that this recession has taught us, it’s that daring to be different to achieve solid business goals is the way to succeed.
Here’s looking forward to a news-filled 2013.
Leave a Reply