Superyacht sales surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there’s no sign of this slowing down as the demand for superyachts is set to increase over the next 10 years.
There are currently 15,000 yachts worldwide that are large enough to require a professional crew. A clear insight into how much the luxury yacht industry is thriving, despite their eye-watering price.
Given the exclusivity of the superyacht market, there’s limited information available on exactly how much they cost to own. So, we’ve dug into the details for you. Here you’ll find how much it costs to buy and maintain a superyacht in 2024.
Building a superyacht is no mean feat. Stuart Bray, Director of personal yacht brokerage firm Bray Marine International talked us through the build process, which is as follows:
- The exterior and interior designers are selected
- A shipyard is chosen ahead of the build
- The hull is always constructed first, followed by the fitting of the engines, running gear, water treatment, A/C, and pumps
- The superstructure is built and attached to the hull
- The interior fit-out takes place
- The exterior is painted
- Sea trails are carried out
- The yacht is handed over for warranty work
It sounds simple enough, but building a custom superyacht costs an eye-watering £1.5m per m² on average and takes up to three to four years.
Many prospective owners choose to purchase a second-hand superyacht, which costs £20m ($24m) on average, according to Rightboat, but the cost increases dramatically if any customisation takes place.
Fitting out a new or used vessel costs around £35m, but this can vary massively depending on size.
The overall operating cost of running a superyacht is 20% or more of its original price. So, a vessel costing £1bn will set you back £200m per year after paying for fuel, dockage, crew, maintenance, insurance, etc.
Just under a decade ago, the operating cost was around 10% of a vessel’s original price, demonstrating a huge increase in running costs due to soaring inflation.
Fuel is one of the biggest superyacht costs starting at £2,000 per hour and over £24,000 per overnight cruise. A 70-metre vessel is estimated to use around 500 litres of fuel per hour.
Annual fuel costs were estimated at around £327,000 ($400,000) back in 2012 but are now estimated to hit £419,000, representing a 25% increase overall.
Bray of Bray Marine International says a 60m yacht will have a 16-person crew, setting the owner back around £1.2m per year based on industry-standard pay rates. Owners of superyachts of 100m and beyond will pay significantly more to staff their vessels.
Bray also states the annual operating costs of a superyacht are as follows—12% for the first four years, 15% for the next three years, and 20% annually from then onwards.
They must come out of the water every five years for routine maintenance such as painting, underwater work, gear checks, and antifouling.
This equates to 10-12% of the vessel’s original price, so a superyacht that costs £1bn would require around £1m of maintenance work per year.
Insurance costs are difficult to pinpoint as many factors determine this, such as value, cruising area and usage, but a superyacht costing £1bn could cost £8m or more to insure.
Alison Melia, a marine insurance specialist at Insure4Boats, says that fire, theft, loss of tender, onboard injury, and collisions are the most common claims received from yacht owners.
Not all superyachts are created equal. While a 60m vessel is enough to impress most people, they are easily surpassed by those purchased by some of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
The longest superyacht on our list is a whopping 183m and comes with a price tag of £300m, just to put their sheer size and annual running costs into perspective.
Superyacht costs go far beyond the initial build or purchase price, especially when used as a base for luxury holidays or experiences such as the Cannes Film Festival.
A two-week holiday in Marbella could cost you £60,046 in dockage alone, without considering the cost of fuel or refreshments. It’s easy to see how superyacht owners can rack up almost £300,000 in dockage fees per year on average.
Sources:
Building & purchase costs: https://braymarineinternational.com/
https://www.rightboat.com/blog/the-real-costs-of-owning-a-superyacht
https://www.burgessyachts.com/en/editorial/how-long-to-design-a-yacht
VAT: https://www.superyachtnews.com/owner/considering-a-superyacht-think-about-vat
Operating cost: https://www.worldwideluxuryyacht.com/blog/real-cost-to-own-a-yacht/
Fuel cost:
https://www.workonasuperyacht.co.uk/yacht-blog/2015/1/3/what-does-it-cost-to-run-a-super-yacht
Dockage: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/082015/can-i-afford-super-yacht.asp
Crew: https://braymarineinternational.com/
Insurance: https://www.worldwideluxuryyacht.com/blog/real-cost-to-own-a-yacht/
Maintenance: https://www.rightboat.com/blog/the-real-costs-of-owning-a-superyacht
Marinas: https://www.marineinsight.com/boating-yachting/yacht-marinas-in-the-world/
https://www.seesainttropez.com/marinas/
https://www.portofinoyachtmarina.com/en/rates/
https://www.charterworld.com/news/top-10-expensive-marinas
https://www.yachting-pages.com/articles/top-15-elite-superyacht-marinas-worldwide.html
Cannes Film Festival: https://www.cornucopia-events.co.uk/cannesfilmfestival/
https://www.insider.com/inside-expensive-hotel-le-majestic-cannes-film-festival-photos-2021-7
Please note the information provided on this page should not be taken as advice and has been written as a matter of opinion. For more on insurance cover and policy wording, see our homepage.
