Industry Briefing

HFW’s yacht team has once again been ranked Band 1 in the Chambers & Partners High Net Worth Yachts & Superyachts Guide. Four members of our industry leading team have also been recognised.  Chambers noted: “HFW’s yacht lawyers advise clients on sophisticated cross-border financings, transactions and contentious matters.”

As the northern hemisphere’s summer season begins and the rush of pre-season work slows down, we have found time to put pen to paper to bring you the latest edition of Comprehensively Yachts, which we hope you find full of thought-provoking topics and analysis.

In light of the growing adoption of sustainable technology in yachting, including Feadship’s recently launched 60m Project 713, which will harness solar energy and has the capacity to also run on non-fossil hydrogenated vegetable oil, and Project 821, the world’s first hydrogen fuel-cell superyacht, we take a look at what may be the next frontier in yacht propulsion: nuclear power.

Next, we consider the Cayman Islands’ new Merchant Shipping Act 2024 and the revised Red Ensign Group Code, before our London employment team revisit a UK employment tribunal case of significant relevance for the employment of yacht crew.

Given the importance of Swiss manufacturing to the yachting industry, it is not uncommon to encounter Swiss law contracts, and we have therefore asked our colleagues in Geneva provide a summary of why arbitration in Switzerland maintains such popularity.

Our usual sanctions update follows, before we finish off with a focus on fraud, the changes with the new UK legislation and what you can do to stay one step ahead.

With 2023 drawing to a close, we are delighted to present the latest edition of Comprehensively Yachts. In this edition, we discuss the impact of Russian sanctions on the yachting industry. Next, our marine insurance specialists consider whether the widely used American Yacht Form R12 is still fit for purpose or whether the time is right for the marine insurance industry to move on to a bespoke wording. Our admiralty team explore the law behind a yacht’s AIS transmission and how you might achieve ex- directory status, as the temptation to turn this feature off to ensure the privacy of your charter is ever growing given the risked poses by the development of smart phone technology. Our Paris office reports on a recent land-mark conviction of the captain of a 26 meter yacht by the Maritime Court of Marseille following his repeated anchoring in protected posidonia meadows and the threat such conviction has for the wider yachting industry. Finally, we round out this edition with a long read on Cyber Security, the increasing regulation around it and the growing need to take it seriously.

HFW’s yacht team has once again been ranked Band 1 in the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Yachts & Superyachts guide. Five members of our industry leading team have also been recognised. Chambers noted that “between the Monaco and London offices, and a global presence, their network allows them to address every issue that may arise in yachting.”

As we enter another Mediterranean yacht season we are pleased to bring you a bumper edition of Comprehensively Yachts. In this edition, we begin with a look at yachting’s role in the development of future sustainable technology in the move towards more sustainable yachting. Secondly, our sanctions experts consider briefly the latest developments in a recent, high profile case. Our employment colleagues consider the steps that can be taken to ensure a positive working environment in the yachting industry. Next, our British Virgin Islands team review the impact of the recent blacklisting of the British Virgin Islands by the EU Council. Finally, we finish with a detailed analysis from our admiralty and crisis management colleagues of recent yacht casualty trends and suggestions for how the risk of a serious incident be mitigated.

HFW’s yacht team is, as ever, busy dealing with a range of transactions, commercial disputes, regulatory matters and marine insurance claims, with our work reflecting the spread of issues and opportunities faced by the yachting industry at this time. Drawing from across our global network, our latest edit of Comprehensively Yachts, is one of our widest ranging yet and includes contributions from members of the team in Monaco, Houston, Geneva, Paris and London.

Our yacht team remains busy on all fronts; however, the impact of Russian sanctions has been felt everywhere. Supported by our global regulatory team, we have been actively advising, often on an extremely time pressured and sensitive basis, a wide cross-section of stakeholders in the yachting industry on the application of the complex international framework of sanctions related rules and regulations and the mitigation of their impact on their businesses and operations. It is therefore natural that we begin this briefing with an overview of the international Russian sanctions framework and its impact on the yachting industry.

The yachting industry continues to boom on all fronts and the volume of new building contracts, design contracts and sale and purchase transactions handled by the HFW yacht team shows no sign of abatement. We have been involved in a significant proportion of the largest new building and sale and purchase projects to come to market in 2021 and, though there are concerns in some quarters as to the sustainability of the current market, for now at least it remains all hands on deck to service demand.

Though the 2021 Mediterranean yacht season may have been a little late in its start, it appears that yacht ownership is as popular, if not even more popular, than ever. Whether you are new to the industry or an old hand, there will be something of interest to you in the following compilation of topical and legal developments affecting the yachting industry.