“We have two distinct sides of our business, the proactive and the reactive,” starts Adam Whittle, a senior member of the superyacht team at Brookes Bell, the international marine consultancy and partner of The Superyacht Forum 2018. “The proactive side focusses on how we can support the design community to innovate and adapt, whilst striking a balance between creative vision and regulatory compliance. On the reactive side, our in-house experts handle a number of claims as a multidisciplinary team. Each discipline working together to achieve a swift resolution for our clients.”

Whittle explains that the lessons learned through 30 years of technical consultancy in the superyacht sector, including dispute resolution, forensic analysis and casualty investigation (the reactive side) have allowed Brookes Bell to adopt a position where the business is uniquely placed to advise superyacht designers, naval architects and engineers to ensure that the instances that lead to such disputes are minimised in the future. 

“This experience enables us to bring to life owners’ bespoke aspirations with safe and reliable designs. But, are we adapting quick enough to meet the needs of millennial buyers?”, asks Whittle. “The modern superyacht owner is a different model of buyer than we have seen before, placing greater emphasis on adventure and expedition rather than following in the footsteps of the traditional G&T brigade. There are more toys on board and the superyachts are exploring new places that are not typically aligned with superyachting, which all amounts to greater risk.”

As the superyacht market continues to push the boundaries of vessel capability, it is becoming increasingly important to engage the right experts and businesses earlier on in the design process.

However, it’s not just about mitigating risk. “Is bigger always better, or can space be utilised more effectively? And should novelty for novelty’s sake be avoided?”, continues Whittle. “Our bespoke technical support allows designers to retain the innovation and imagination that is paramount in superyacht design, while still conforming to the regulatory compliance. Our naval architects offer the visionary superyacht owner bespoke design solutions to enhance the comfort and efficiency of their yachts.

“At TSF, having all the delegates under one roof is a massive draw for us. If you go to meetings with a client, be it a designer, naval architect or owner’s representative, you tend to hammer out the finer details. However, with the delegates at TSF, either in a room, around a table or at a workshop, the ideas just start bouncing, and that’s what we want from it. We want to people to tell us what they require, rather than us having to ask, we want them to go completely off the scale if needs be.”

The Superyacht Forum 2018 programme, focussing on "The Perfect Customer Journey", is now available online, click here to view. If you are yet to register for the superyacht industry’s leading event, click here to get your ticket.

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