Emerging out of South Africa in 1987, with a group of local investors building hulls and super structure to be transported to Holland for completion, in the heydays of interesting mechanisms and financial structures across global jurisdictions, Oceanco has had a fascinating history and has enjoyed various patriarchs at the helm.

This unique evolution was followed in 2002 by the Angelopoulos Greek Era, with the creation of the Alfa Nero series, perhaps one of the most successful models of the time: a progressive, dynamic, innovative and iconic yacht range and still easily recognisable globally.

Then in 2010, we saw the arrival of the charming Omani oil industry investor Dr Mohammed Al Barwani and family, who transformed the business with investments in infrastructure and upgraded facilities to meet the future expectations of the market. More iterations of the Alfa Nero series continued wih a combined with a shift into the 100-metre-plus sector, following the tech billionaire and oligarch market trends and positioning themselves in the ultra-luxury sector.

Fifteen years later, fast forward to present day and we see the news that another investor has stepped on board, this time from the USA and, similarly to Angelopoulos and Al Barwani, a passionate owner of superyachts and lover of the oceans.

It’s fair to say that our industry has three types of shipyard ownership: publicly listed, legacy family owned and then there have been many examples of yacht owners taking over and investing in the shipyards building their superyacht, either through passion or default. In the case of Gabe Newell, one assumes this is all about passion and perhaps his appreciation of the product through ownership of the old Equanimity and other floating assets and now through his current new build, Y722.

New Oceanco owner Gabe Newell

To put Gabe Newell in perspective, yes, he’s a tech billionaire, linked to the video gaming industry, but it’s fair at this stage to quote the Oceanco website:

“Gabe sees the world as full of cross-overs. What happens when you let yacht builders talk to world builders? When craftsmen get access to tech usually reserved for game developers and mad scientists? You get innovation that doesn’t just look good. It feels good. Gabe is not here for gadgets. He is here for growth, the human kind. He wants Oceanco to push harder on what it already does best: putting people first. The means more collaboration, more autonomy and a mind-set geared towards long-term evolution not just short-term wins. This isn’t about buying a yacht company. It’s about plugging into a tribe of builders, dreamers, sailors, creatives and engineers and seeing what kind of future they can shape, when no one’s holding them back. This isn’t a transaction. It’s ignition. Gabe doesn’t want to fix it, he wants to fuel it.”

One of the interesting dimensions of Gabe Newell’s ocean of influence is no doubt the incredible network of West Coast friends he has in the ultra-wealthy sector, but more than that, he is the owner of the marine research organisation Inkfish with his floating research platform acquired from Victor Vescovo, the 68.3-metre Pressure Drop. However, he now has a new state-of-the art-100-metre project, the R/V 6000 being built at Vard, with a contract value of 200 million euros as an addition to the Inkfish fleet, which also includes R/V Hydra, the old M/V Alucia from the Ray Dalio fleet and a 40-year-old research ship, the R/V Dagon.

It is fair to say that the ownership of Oceanco has been transferred into good hands, a passionate superyacht owner who spends most of his time living on board his fleet (estimated to be 300-plus days a year), with a vast and deep passion for Planet Ocean. What this does to the future fleet in the Oceanco yard will be fascinating to watch; after all, building 100-metre superyachts is not a game for the faint hearted.

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