VesselValue’s Superyacht Values Database Marks a First for Yachting

VesselsValue is a London-based company that for nearly a decade has provided vessel, fleet, and portfolio market valuations for the commercial-ship industry. It’s now doing the same for yacht owners and the yachting industry. VesselsValue’s superyacht values database is the first publicly available platform providing purchase prices, as well as new-build contracts and more.

The purchase transactions and new-build contracts are particularly notable, since only select industry insiders have had access to these. Similarly, refit contracts, which VesselsValue’s superyacht values database further includes, have remained the domain of select insiders.

The online platform automatically updates the values of more than 6,000 megayachts measuring 78 feet (24 meters) and larger worldwide. Furthermore, the database contains historical values for these same yachts, dating back as far as 2012.  According to the company, feeding all of this are 9,000 current and on-order yachts.

Besides age and refit or maintenance records, another factor that VesselsValue takes into account is market sentiment. When a number of recent sales take place in a size segment, for instance, sentiment can be high. Similarly, utilization patterns impact sentiment. VesselsValue uses AIS to track yachts’ daily positions and movements. The company weighs this information against marina and shipyard location information. Finally, it takes into account seasonal usage to ultimately present historic and current usage as a measure of sentiment pertaining to value.

Specifically to let consumers and the industry better understand the data, the team has released a few examples. First, 10-year-old 197-footer (60-meter) from a pedigreed builder is worth about $36 million. A same-age 98-foot (30-meter) planning yacht is worth $2.6 million. Of course, VesselsValue cautions that this latter figure doesn’t take into account additional custom features.

For an even more specific example, VesselsValue’s superyacht database includes Dilbar, the world’s largest yacht by volume. Clicking the image above reveals her statistics. The company values the 15,917-gross-ton, four-year-old megayacht at $648 million.

The bottom line for this project is transparency. “Superyachts are seldom purchased as investments, and as such they do not commonly have a definable earning value,” explains Sam Tucker, the project lead for VesselsValue’s superyacht team. We have taken extra time and due diligence immersing ourselves into the world of superyachts, gaining stakeholders’ trust and approval in order to better understand the true value of these assets. We consider good, clean data and market transparency to be essential and integral parts of the valuation process, and believe our product will save prospective yacht owners, financiers, and other market participants a great deal of time and money.”

Vessel Value vesselsvalue.com