Royal Yacht International Represents Buyer in Landmark 132M Lürssen as Founder Predicts: “The Billion-dollar Yacht Is Coming”

Royal Yacht International has announced PROJECT M, a fully custom 132-metre Lürssensuperyacht exceeding 6,000 GT. But for Royal Yacht International Founder and CEO Tommaso Chiabra, the project is less about size than what it represents.

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At the very top of the luxury market, the world’s most exceptional yachts are becoming increasingly difficult to reproduce. Only a small number of shipyards can execute projects of this scale. Construction takes years. Specialist capacity is finite. Build slots are scarce. And replacement cost can change dramatically between contract signing and delivery.

“People look at purchase price. Sophisticated owners look at replacement value. What would somebody have to spend, and how long would they have to wait, to recreate your yacht when it is delivered?”
For RYI, this is changing the role of the yacht broker.

HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS DESERVE BUY-SIDE REPRESENTATION

RYI positions itself not simply as a broker, but as an independent buy-side advisor sitting exclusively on the owner’s side of the table.
Its role can begin before a shipyard or designer has been selected, defining the brief, creating competition between builders, assembling technical expertise, negotiating commercial terms and remaining alongside the client through construction and delivery.

PROJECT M followed exactly that model.
The owner knew what he liked after extensive experience aboard some of the world’s largest yachts, but no existing vessel brought everything together.
RYI helped transform that requirement into a project, assembling the team and ultimately entrusting the 132-metre yacht to Lürssen, with exterior design by Espen Øino.

“The perfect yacht didn’t exist, so we helped our client create it. Our job is not simply to help somebody spend hundreds of millions. It is to make sure they spend intelligently.”
For Tommaso Chiabra, even relatively small differences in commercial terms can represent millions at this level.

But purchase price is only part of the equation.
Shipyard, designer, specification, technology, timing, contract structure and change orders can all influence future desirability and value.

“The most expensive mistake isn’t necessarily paying too much. It’s building the wrong yacht.”

FROM A LUXURY PURCHASE TO A SCARCE ASSET

Tommaso Chiabra does not argue that every yacht is an investment.

“Most yachts are not investments. But an exceptional yacht, from the right shipyard, designed by the right people and contracted on the right economics, can become an extraordinarily scarce asset.”

He compares the principle to other collectible categories where provenance, quality, scarcity and desirability determine which assets behave differently from the wider market.

“We don’t promise appreciation. What we can do is make every important decision with value preservation, future desirability and unnecessary depreciation in mind.”

ACCESS IS PART OF THE VALUE

RYI believes its relationships with shipyards, designers, technical specialists and suppliers create another form of leverage for clients.
“Our advantage isn’t simply knowing who to call. It’s having enough credibility that when we call, people pay attention.”

That access is also something RYI deliberately limits.
The company accepts only a select number of major acquisition and new-construction mandates, with Tommaso Chiabra personally involved in its most significant projects.
“I don’t want 100 new-build clients. I want a handful of extraordinary clients for whom we can do extraordinary work”, he says, “Before committing five or six years to a project, I need to know the owner. There has to be trust, chemistry and compatibility. At this level, building a yacht is almost a marriage.”

THE BILLION-DOLLAR YACHT

Tommaso Chiabra believes the market is moving toward an entirely new level. “Twenty years ago, a $50 million yacht made headlines. We are entering the era of the billion-dollar yacht.”

His ambition for RYI is equally explicit:
“I intend Royal Yacht International to be the company that puts together the world’s first billion-dollar yacht transaction. I want RYI associated with the transactions that redefine what is possible in yachting, not simply with the number of yachts we sell.”

ABOUT ROYAL YACHT INTERNATIONAL

Royal Yacht International operates from Monaco and Miami, specialising in sales, charter, management and new construction.

Considering your next yacht? Speak with RYI before you speak with the shipyard.

www.royalyachtinternational.com

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