Sitting among a packed crowd at last year’s Global Superyacht Forum, who had turned out en masse to the Passenger Yacht Code workshop, it was clear this is a topic of significant concern to the builders of large, commercially-classed superyachts.  

At the time there were concerns expressed among the yards that elements of the recently introduced Passenger Yacht Code (PYC) were inhibitive, imposing restrictions on the designers of custom projects.

And it’s for this reason that we have opted to revisit this subject at the forthcoming SuperyachtDESIGN Week. The ‘Flexibility of Codes’ workshop, taking place on the afternoon of day one, is going to tackle this head-on by inviting attendant designers, naval architects and shipyard personnel to engage with Jo Assael of Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR), the institution that has authored PYC and contributes to the evolution of its internationally recognised counterpart, the Large Yacht Code.

 Jo Assael will field more questions on facets of the Passenger Yacht Code at SuperyachtDESIGN Week.

This really is a unique opportunity for the sector of the industry that conceives and creates superyachts to highlight any potential issues or irreconcilable facets of build codes and identify possible solutions with the body responsible for their composition.

Assael will be joined by session co-chair, Richie Blake. Blake is perfectly positioned to comment on the applicability of maritime regulations, having worked at CISR before moving to his current role heading technical operations for Döhle Private Clients, thus offering him a privileged perspective from both sides of the fence.

The intimate workshop setting will encourage candid debate and discussion. 

As well as the ‘grandstand’ PYC and LY3 build codes, I fully expect debate to turn to other thorns in the yacht designer’s side, chiefly MLC, and its negative impact on low-gross-tonnage-vessel living space on board production yachts and sailing yachts. And this is why facilitating direct discourse between those who implement regulations and those who have to work within those parameters represents a wonderful opportunity.

Considering the amount of innovation on display over the event’s three days, no doubt this workshop will also look to the future. And perhaps this will represent an opportunity to discuss the imminent imposition of the Polar Code and its impact on the design of the superyacht fashion du jour, explorers.

Whatever talk turns to, I’m looking forward to another lively debate, that goes beyond talk for talk’s sake. By putting both parties in a room together  this is a genuine opportunity to influence the next raft of revisions to the regulations that govern superyacht construction.

SuperyachtDESIGN Week 2016 will be held from 28-30 June at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour. To view the the full programme, click here, or to register for the event, click here.

Gold partners:
Blohm + Voss Shipyards
Krion

Silver Partner:
Clyde & Co

Bronze Partners:
DKT Artworks
Jotun
LuxperienceLab
Melik Aquarium
RINA

Profile links

SuperyachtDESIGN Week

Cayman Islands Shipping Registry

Dohle Yachts

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