Why superyachts are still a buoyant business

Why superyachts are still a buoyant business

Read the headlines about sanctioned superyachts and you might think the ownership of such vessels is dominated by Russian billionaires with close links to the Kremlin. But the truth is that, while most superyacht owners are rich, most are nothing like billionaires. Nor are they necessarily Russians, let alone oligarchs loyal to President Vladimir Putin.

As our charts below show, Russian owners account for only 9 per cent of the global fleet of 1,957 boats of 40 metres or more in length, according to data from SuperYacht Times, an Amsterdam-based research group. That is way behind Americans on 24 per cent.

Admittedly, among the largest boats — those 80 metres and longer — the Russian-owned share is 20 per cent. But there are only 153 such vessels in the world. They may make a big splash, both in the water and the media, but this category represents just 8 per cent of the 40 metre-plus global fleet.

Define superyacht more broadly — starting at 24 metres, like Boat International, another research group — and you reach a global total of more than 11,000 boats, half of them owned by Americans. As one observer says: “The whole industry is held up by buyers in