There is no shortage of people willing to tell you where the market is heading. Brokers, project managers, owners’ reps, consultants and journalists all have a view, but the perspective that tends to be least heard in public and arguably the one that matters most belongs to the people who actually run the yards. So we asked nine of the market-leading shipyard executives the important questions to get a true understanding of where the market is and where it is heading. Their answers amount to a collective diagnosis and a clear barometer of the current new-build landscape.

The yards represented here span the full competitive range of the European market, from Royal Huisman, Damen Yachting and Feadship in the Netherlands to Palumbo, Sanlorenzo, Azimut Benetti and Ferretti in Italy, from Abeking and Rasmussen in Germany to Bilgin in Türkiye. Of course, they don’t agree on everything, but the convergence on certain themes is inescapably evident.

It is a near-united front on how they build. The past two to three years have brought a genuine step change in how these yards organise and deliver: facility redesigns, digital tools, closer integration between engineering and production and a concerted push to eliminate the late-stage revisions that have historically plagued new builds feature in almost every response. Obviously, skilled labour is the constraint that no investment in facilities can fully resolve. Finding the right people, training, keeping and ensuring the craft knowledge that makes these yachts exceptional is passed to the next generation is the essential thread that runs beneath everything else these leaders say. Supply chains have stabilised but remain brittle for specialist components. And in cost management, the ability to maintain quality without haemorrhaging margin is repeatedly cited as the factor most likely to define who thrives.

Yes, order books are strong, but the nature of what is being ordered has shifted. Owners are more considered, more experience-driven and increasingly motivated by how they spend their time on board. Purpose, sustainability and genuine adventure are genuine design drivers here. And when probed on the future, not one of these leaders talks about explosive growth. What they describe instead is a market that will be defined by the quality of what is delivered, the credibility of the yards delivering it and the ability to remain relevant to a generation of owners whose expectations extend well beyond the vessel itself. 

What follows is an interview by News Editor Conor Feasey with Peter Naeyé, the CEO of Royal Huisman, taken from The Superyacht Report: New Build Focus. Interviews with a further eight shipyard CEOs will be published over the coming days.

What changes have you made that have genuinely helped construction – and what has improved?
Over the past few years, one of the most impactful changes has been pushing harder on our concurrent design and engineering methods – bringing designers, engineers, key suppliers and the build teams into the process earlier and keeping them aligned throughout. As complexity rises, the old ‘handover’ model creates too many late surprises. By running key disciplines in parallel, structures, systems integration, serviceability and production engineering, we lock down interfaces earlier, aim for first-time-right and make procurement decisions with far better visibility.

In parallel, we have continued to refine our featherlight-construction approach, applying weight discipline and smart structural solutions drawn from high-performance sailing to modern, systems-dense yachts. We have used this recently on projects like the 52-metre sportfish yacht Special One and our latest delivery, the 65-metre sailing yacht Aquarius, where controlling weight, centre of gravity and structural efficiency directly improves performance, build quality and the ability to integrate complex systems in limited space. The result is a smoother build flow, fewer late-stage changes and greater schedule and quality predictability without diluting the owner’s individuality.

Where is the pressure building – and what’s the greatest risk to the market?
Today, the pressure points are also where the superyacht sector is getting better – and where strong shipyards can differentiate. The biggest opportunity is mastering systems integration as particularly sailing yachts double in technological complexity every few years. Done well, that means earlier interface definition, tighter coordination with designers, suppliers and class, and building serviceability and redundancy in from the start so the owner experience is protected long after delivery.

Supply chains are also normalising compared with recent years, but specialist components and electronics still require proactive planning. We’ve learned that the winners are the teams that anticipate lead times early, keep close oversight and build flexibility into procurement and engineering decisions, turning uncertainty into schedule protection rather than last-minute disruption.

Image credit: Tom van Oossanen

Where are you seeing strength in demand – and where softening? What’s driving it?
We are seeing strong demand for sailing yachts that are designed for true world-cruising capability, autonomy and sailing experiences that deliver movement and exploration. Owners increasingly value the long-term ‘whole-yacht’ proposition too: not only an exceptional build, but the confidence that expert support is always available to deliver the owners’ experience and quality time on board.

That is where our service capability matters. Our dedicated service department is on call to advise on operational and maintenance issues, supply parts and dispatch engineers to any part of the globe. With detailed build data and imagery at their fingertips, the team operates as a true ‘rapid response unit’. This continuity supports current and future owners alike, strengthening resale value and helping new owners and crew get the very best from the yacht.

Softening tends to appear when projects become complex for complexity’s sake or when buyers are highly schedule-sensitive and less willing to accept the realities of engineering, integration and lead times. At its best, sailing yachts are the ultimate expression of personal freedom and that remains a powerful motivation. In addition, future owners will also enjoy the green footprint advantage: the significant efficiency benefit of free propulsion power.

The sector will rise and fall on whether we can consistently deliver increasingly complex yachts with integrity and supported long after handover.

How do you see the market developing over the next decade – what does the future look like in reality?
Over the next decade, the winners will be the shipyards that can manage complexity reliably, prove sustainability with measurable progress and protect trust through transparency. Our perspective is shaped by a heritage of more than 140 years – we have evolved through repeated step-changes in technology, regulation and owner expectations while keeping the core constant: quality, safety, craftsmanship and innovation. Crucially, that long view is paired with a track record of innovation that has repeatedly become a sector trendsetter – smart solutions developed in-house that have helped reshape practices in our sector.

I expect more hybrid thinking, more focus on serviceability, easiness of operation and lifecycle support, and a broader adoption of proven engineering foundations to shorten timelines without diluting individuality. In reality, the sector will not rise and fall on headline order books alone; it will rise and fall on whether we can consistently deliver increasingly complex yachts with integrity and supported long after handover.

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Royal Huisman

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