According to a recent research by Rossinavi yacht builder cooperated with International University of Monaco, 20% of 100 top millionaires in the world is below 50 years old, and owners of luxury superyachts are 10-15 years younger than those 20 years ago. The research further indicates that the age of superyacht owners will be forecast to be younger, i.e., in 20 years, the average age of superyacht owners will reduce from 45-55 to 35-45. It is definitely not only change in ages but in mindset because for those young, tech-savvy millionaires, possession of high-value assets such as yacht, estates and supercar is no longer the number-one priority like their predecessor.

Instead, younger owners at the Age of Experience consider yacht as “a one-off recreation rather than an abiding passion”, according to mass media from Monaco Yacht Show 2018. For those young self-made millionaires, yacht is merely a means of transportation or relaxation rather than an indicator of class. Unlike their predecessors, instead of equipping luxury interiors with mahogany and cigar, and facilities, the new-generation owners prioritize room for adventurous experience, water sports and outside space. To them, lifestyle experience is prioritized over possession of physical assets.

Yacht builders all over the world are favoring the super-sized yachts. The number of superyachts with length of over 100 meters and spacious deck design are ever increasing. If yachts with length of 40 meter used to be considered as a standard, the ones with 60 meters are still classified as “underweight” by the brand-new standards. According to experts, the increase in superyachts is directly associated with the increase in billionaires all over the world. To add to that, thanks to technology explosion, young billionaires desire to own larger-sized superyacht with unique designs. Definitely, it is difficult to compare with the world’s longest superyacht Azzam with length of 180 meters owned by Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates

However, 2019 will see the emergence of 85-107m superyachts ranging from 94m Project 817 model by the famous yacht builder Feadship; 95m Lürssen Fiji model with exteriors designed by Harrison Eidsgaard and interiors designed by Laura Sessa; to 108m Benetti FB 275 model with 2 MTU 3860.0hp diesel engines at maximum velocity of 18,5km/h.

Sailing a superyacht across the sea is involved with negative environmental impacts. However, in the recent years, yacht manufacturers and billionaire buyers are showing their interests and awareness of living environment in general and sea environment in particular. Yacht builders tends to build superyachts powered by solar power or electricity. Solar Impact, the superyacht powered completely by solar power, is able to sail across the world. Meanwhile, Silent 79 yacht model is equipped with 70 high efficiency solar panels on the roof with capacity of 25 thousands kW that could perfectly supply power for integrated equipment on the yacht including lamps, refrigerators and push system.

Black Pearl with length of over 106 meters and 3 perfectly black sails made of carbon fiber designed by Dykstra, a maritime designers is expected to be the most energy-saving yacht model that could sail across the Atlantic Ocean without burning fuels. Black Pearl’s owner, a Russian billionaire Oleg Burlakev and the co-founder of Burneftegaz Petrol Company, said that he bought this yacht partially for environment protection and partially for its innovative features. “Environmental awareness is of importance to the future of our planet, and I believe that green technology is one part of the journey to build Black Pearl.”

According to yacht designers, the future of yachting lies in new technology including the 3D printing. Accordingly, the entire yacht including interiors could be printed using 3D additive printing. One of most tangible advantage of 3D printing over traditional construction technologies is minimization in wastes.

In the not so distant future, yacht manufacturer will use this technology to build outstanding yachts that are able to minimize wastes from 15-20% to 2% and carbon dioxide emission. HanseYachts AG, a Germany yacht manufacturer, applied the 3D printing to build a 10-meter hull for the luxury Hanse 3D15 yacht.