The world’s most significant superyachts are entering a new era.
At the very top of the market, the challenge is no longer simply finding an exceptional yacht. The largest and most ambitious projects take years to create. Shipyard capacity is finite, specialist expertise is limited, build slots are scarce, and the decisions made years before delivery can have a significant impact on the finished yacht’s desirability and value.
For Royal Yacht International, the recently announced PROJECT M, a fully custom 132-metre Lürssen superyacht exceeding 6,000 GT, represents this changing landscape.
It also reflects a different philosophy for representing owners at the very highest end of the market.
PROJECT M: When the Perfect Yacht Doesn’t Exist
PROJECT M began not with a yacht for sale, but with an owner’s vision.
After extensive experience aboard some of the world’s largest yachts, the owner knew what he wanted. The problem was that no existing yacht brought all of those requirements together.
Rather than compromise, the decision was made to create it.
Royal Yacht International worked alongside the client to transform that vision into a fully custom project, assembling the appropriate team and ultimately entrusting the construction of the 132-metre yacht to Lürssen, with exterior design by Espen Øino.
For RYI Founder and CEO Tommaso Chiabra, this is precisely where the role of the modern yacht advisor is changing.
“The perfect yacht didn’t exist, so we helped our client create it.”
Beyond the Traditional Brokerage Model
A transaction involving hundreds of millions requires a very different level of representation.
RYI approaches major acquisitions and new-construction projects from the buy side, sitting exclusively on the owner’s side of the table.
That role can begin before a shipyard, designer or technical team has been selected.
It means helping define the brief, creating competition between builders, bringing together the appropriate specialists, negotiating commercial terms and remaining alongside the owner throughout construction and delivery.
The objective is not simply to complete a transaction. It is to ensure that every major decision is made in the client’s interest.
“At this level, the client doesn’t need another salesman. He needs someone exclusively on his side of the table.”
Purchase Price Is Only the Beginning
When dealing with the world’s most exceptional yachts, the price paid today tells only part of the story.
“People look at purchase price. Sophisticated owners look at replacement value.”
What would it cost to recreate the same yacht at the time of delivery? Could the same shipyard slot be secured? Would the same designers and specialists be available? How many years would another owner need to wait?
For a highly complex custom yacht, those questions become increasingly important.
Shipyard, designer, specification, technology, timing, contract structure and change orders can all influence not only the final cost of a project, but also the yacht’s long-term desirability.
At this level, relatively small differences in commercial terms can represent millions. But one of the greatest risks is not necessarily paying too much.
It is building the wrong yacht.
A Selective Approach to New Construction
Providing this level of representation also requires selectivity.
Royal Yacht International deliberately limits the number of major acquisition and new-construction mandates it undertakes, allowing its senior team to remain closely involved in each project.
Tommaso Chiabra is personally involved in the company’s most significant projects, including PROJECT M.
His approach is deliberately focused: “I don’t want 100 new-build clients. I want a handful of extraordinary clients for whom we can do extraordinary work.”
Major new-build projects can last five, six or more years. The relationship between owner and advisor therefore extends far beyond a conventional transaction.
Trust, discretion, access and a deep understanding of the owner’s objectives become fundamental.
The Billion-Dollar Yacht Is Coming
The upper end of the superyacht market continues to move into territory that would have seemed extraordinary only a generation ago.
Twenty years ago, a $50 million yacht could make international headlines. Today, the scale, complexity and value of the world’s largest projects have moved considerably beyond that.
For Chiabra, the next milestone is clear: “The billion-dollar yacht is coming.”
Royal Yacht International’s ambition is to be involved in the transactions and projects that define this next generation of yachting, not by pursuing volume, but by representing a select number of owners undertaking exceptional acquisitions and new builds.
PROJECT M embodies that philosophy.
Start with the owner. Understand the vision. Assemble the right team. Negotiate from the owner’s side of the table. And consider not only what the yacht costs today, but what it will represent when it is delivered years into the future.
Because at this level, choosing the yacht is only one part of the decision.
Choosing who represents you can be just as important.
Considering Your Next Yacht?
Whether considering an existing yacht, a major acquisition or a fully custom new-build project, RYI’s advice is simple:
“Speak with us before you speak with the shipyard.”
