The large-yacht market — new builds, charter and the safe return a buyer gives up to own one.
Weekly · 7 November 2026Cuts meeting buyers
Covers 1 to 7 November. The next edition is on Saturday 14 November.
Deals edge back after the show, and a yard group's creditors are offered a tenth
Reported sales rose to 40 in the four weeks to 7 November as the week after Fort Lauderdale came in, while price cuts stayed near their October high. The Italian Sea Group picked a restructuring bid that leaves the listed company to be wound up. Fuel held flat on the week, still 79% above a year ago.
In the four weeks to 10 October the yachting press reported 6 price cuts and 34 sales. In the four weeks to 7 November it reported 28 cuts and 40 sales: the cuts came first; now the deals are edging up.
The price cuts of October are now being met by deals, not only viewings. For a family selling, the market price is the one set by this autumn's cuts. For a family with a hull at The Italian Sea Group's yards, the question is no longer whether there will be a buyer, but which contracts that buyer takes on.
| Measure | This week | 3 months ago | 1 year ago |
|---|
| Reported sales, 4 weeks | 40 | 71 | no record |
| Price cuts, 4 weeks | 28 | 19 | no record |
| New listings, 4 weeks | 32 | 34 | no record |
| EU diesel before tax, € a litre | 1.35 | 1.21+12% | 0.76+79% |
| France diesel with tax, € a litre | 2.37 | 2.22+7.0% | 1.63+45% |
| Dollar in francs | 0.819 | 0.810+1.1% | 0.806+1.7% |
Change is to this week. Sales, cuts and listings: our count of yachting-press headlines, four weeks to 7 Nov and to 8 Aug 2026; the record starts on 30 Mar 2026, so there is no year-ago count. Fuel: European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin, prices of 2 Nov 2026 (the latest), 3 Aug 2026 and 3 Nov 2025. Currency: ECB reference rates of 6 Nov 2026, 7 Aug 2026 and 7 Nov 2025; dollar in francs is the cross of the ECB's dollar and franc rates. Storms: GDACS, 1–7 Nov 2026; no alert in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean.
The deals are starting to follow the cuts. Our count of sold headlines in the yachting press rose from 35 in the four weeks to 31 October to 40 in the four weeks to 7 November, as the week after Fort Lauderdale came in. Price cuts eased only a little, from 30 to 28, and are still more than four times the 6 counted in the four weeks to 10 October. Sales reported this week ran from 28 to 67 metres, and two yachts still in build found buyers.
At the top of the market, The Italian Sea Group, builder of Admiral and Perini Navi, chose SRI Group's €220 million restructuring offer. Under it, unsecured creditors would recover about a tenth of their claims, shareholders nothing, and the listed company would be wound up once the court confirms the plan (BOAT International, 3 Nov). The group had reported a €58.7 million loss for the first nine months (SuperYacht Times, 5 Nov). Ferretti, which cut its profit outlook again last week, put the delay in purchases down to geopolitical uncertainty.
The running cost held. EU diesel before tax was €1.35 a litre in the Bulletin of 2 November, unchanged on the week and 79% above a year ago. The franc weakened a little against the dollar, to 0.819. For yachts crossing to the United States this winter, Malta-flagged pleasure yachts with a US cruising licence no longer pay certain US entrance and tonnage fees (Legis1, 6 Nov).
If you are buying or selling
After the show, sales rose while the cuts stayed
- Our count, four weeks to 7 November: 40 reported sales, 32 new listings, 28 price cuts. Four weeks to 31 October: 35, 32 and 30.
- Four weeks to 10 October, before the show season: 34 sales and 6 cuts. Cuts have multiplied; sales have moved up by a sixth.
- Against the four weeks to 8 August, high summer: sales 71, cuts 19. Sales are still at little more than half the summer pace.
- Reported this week: sales of yachts from 28 to 67 metres, two of them still in build, and further cuts on yachts of 43, 48 and 60 metres. BOAT International reports serious buyers on the Fort Lauderdale docks despite the weather and geopolitical nerves (BOAT International, 3 Nov).
A cut that leads to a sale sets the comparison for every similar yacht. For a seller who has not yet moved, the reference is now this autumn's reported deals, not the asking prices of the spring.
Questions for the broker
- Which of the yachts sold since the show had cut their asking price first, and by how much?
- Are buyers asking for in-build yachts because delivery is sooner, or because the terms are better?
- Is our asking price set against this autumn's sales or last spring's?
If you are building
The Italian Sea Group picks a bid that winds up the listed company
The Italian Sea Group, builder of Admiral, Perini Navi, Tecnomar and Picchiotti, selected SRI Group's €220 million debt restructuring offer. As reported, unsecured creditors would recover about 10% of what they are owed, shareholders would receive nothing, and the listed company would be placed in liquidation once the court confirms the plan (BOAT International, 3 Nov). Two days later the group reported a net loss of €58.7 million for the first nine months of 2026 (SuperYacht Times, 5 Nov). At Ferretti, the second profit-outlook cut in three months came with the revenue target kept, and slower purchases blamed on geopolitics (Prop News Time, 1 Nov).
An unsecured creditor recovering a tenth is a reminder of where a buyer of a yacht stands without security. A stage payment backed by a bank refund guarantee, or by registered title to the hull, is a claim on something; an unsecured one is a claim on what is left.
Questions for the build manager and lawyers
- In this plan, is our build contract treated as one that continues, or as an unsecured claim?
- Are all our stage payments covered by a bank refund guarantee, and is the issuing bank outside the group?
- Is title to the hull and to equipment already paid for registered in our name?
- When does the court hearing on the plan take place, and do we have a say in it?
If you own
Fuel flat on the week; insurance changes hands
| Yacht | 50 m motor yacht |
| Consumption under way | 350 litres an hour, an assumption; the captain will have the real figure |
| Hours under way this winter | 300, so 105,000 litres |
| Price reference | France, automotive gas oil, Oil Bulletin of 2 Nov 2026 against 3 Nov 2025 |
| Without duty | €0.75 → €1.37 a litreabout €79,000 → €144,000roughly €65,000 more, about CHF 60,000 |
| With duty | €1.63 → €2.37 a litreabout €171,000 → €249,000roughly €78,000 more, about CHF 71,000 |
- Illustrative. Generators running at anchor add to the bill and are not counted. Francs at the ECB rate of 6 Nov 2026.
- Marine gasoil at the dock is priced differently from road diesel. The change, not the level, is the point.
- Before tax, on the year: Croatia +86%, France +82%, Spain +77%, Italy +70%, Greece +58%; EU average +79%.
Beyond fuel, the insurance market: the broker Marsh has bought Triton Insurance Agency, a Newport, Rhode Island specialist in marine and yacht cover (Insurance Journal, 2 Nov). For an owner whose policy runs through a specialist, a change of owner at the broker is a moment to check who now handles a claim.
Excise is a fixed amount per litre, so a yacht paying duty sees a smaller rise (+45% in France) on a bigger bill. One that bunkers without duty, typically in commercial use under EU rules, sees nearly the whole move (+82%). The franc is 1.7% weaker against the dollar on the year, so dollar costs this winter cost a little more.
Questions for the captain, the yacht manager and the family office
- What fuel price does the winter budget assume, and when was it set?
- Does the yacht bunker with or without excise, and in which ports?
- Has our insurance broker changed hands, and does our claims contact stay the same?
- Are dollar costs paid from a dollar account, or converted from francs as they fall due?
If you are moving the yacht this winter
A quieter week for storms; flag and paperwork decide the cost of arrival
- Storms: no GDACS alert in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean between 1 and 7 November. In the Bay of Bengal, cyclone Murasu was on red alert off India on 1 November; green alerts near Japan and Madagascar later in the week.
- Crossing to the United States: US Customs and Border Protection now exempts Malta-flagged pleasure yachts holding a US cruising licence from entrance, clearance and tonnage fees (Legis1, 6 Nov).
- Monaco and the EU: an opinion piece in the trade press argues that Monaco is not a customs third country (SuperyachtNews, 4 Nov). Monaco sits inside the EU customs territory through its customs union with France, so leaving Monaco is not leaving the EU for VAT purposes.
- The calendar: the Atlantic hurricane season ends on 30 November (NOAA), the usual starting point for the Caribbean winter.
For a yacht crossing west, the flag now changes what it costs to arrive in a US port. For a yacht wintering on the Riviera, a stay in Monaco does not reset its EU customs clock.
Questions for the captain, the yacht manager and the tax adviser
- Does our flag qualify the yacht for a US cruising licence, and is one in place for this winter?
- Has the yacht's temporary admission or VAT status been planned for the whole winter route, counting time in Monaco as time in the EU?
- Which Caribbean berths are confirmed for December, and from which date?
What we see that the tape doesn't
For families buying or selling: the deals follow the cuts
We count sold, newly listed and price-cut headlines in the yachting press (BOAT International, SuperYacht Times) as deals are reported, weeks before brokers' quarterly figures.
| Four weeks to | Reported sold | Newly listed | Price cuts |
|---|
| 7 Nov | 40 | 32 | 28 |
| 31 Oct | 35 | 32 | 30 |
| 10 Oct | 34 | 32 | 6 |
| 8 Aug, high summer | 71 | 34 | 19 |
Through September and early October, sales held in the mid-30s and almost nobody cut. In October the cuts arrived. In the first week of November the sales count moved up while new listings stayed level, so the stock is not growing while deals pick up. One week is not a trend: the four weeks to 28 November will show whether the cuts are clearing yachts. Our record starts in March, so a year-ago comparison waits until spring 2027.
Question for the broker
- Of the yachts sold this week, how many had been cut in October?
Last week we read October as the month sellers moved. The first week of November suggests buyers are answering: more reported deals, cuts no longer rising, listings flat. At the top, the yard question has an answer of sorts. The Italian Sea Group's chosen plan protects the business, not its unsecured creditors, and Ferretti blames geopolitics for slower purchases. For a family office, the price of a yacht below 50 metres is being set in public, deal by deal, and the risk on a large build sits in the contract more than in the yard's name.
What would prove this wrong
our count of price cuts in the four weeks to 28 November back below 15, with reported sales above 50. That would mean October's cuts were a show-season burst, not a repricing; sales falling back below 35 with cuts above 25 would mean the cuts are not clearing yachts.
Linked, never quoted. The line under each is ours.
- Whether reported sales keep rising through November, against 40 in the four weeks to 7 November, while new listings stay near 32.
- When the court hears The Italian Sea Group's plan, and what it says about build contracts at its yards.
- Whether EU diesel before tax holds at €1.35 a litre as the winter season starts.
A family's stage payments end up as an unsecured claim
medium · high · risingThe Italian Sea Group's chosen plan offers unsecured creditors about a tenth. The scenario is a buyer whose payments are not covered by a refund guarantee or title.
Owners selling below 50 metres meet a crowded market
high · medium · stableCuts stayed near their October high while sales rose only a little. The scenario is a family selling into a market where similar yachts have already cut.
Fuel stays high through the winter season
high · medium · stableDiesel before tax was flat on the week but 79% above a year ago. The scenario is a winter budget set on last year's prices.
Probability, impact and trend are our own ratings, never market odds.
12 Nov
Weekly Oil Bulletin, prices of 9 November
Whether EU diesel before tax holds at €1.35 a litre.
28 Nov
End of the four-week brokerage count in our test
The test above: price cuts below 15 with sales above 50, or sales below 35 with cuts above 25.
30 Nov
End of the Atlantic hurricane season (NOAA)
The Caribbean season opens with the storm risk behind it.
- Brokerage: headlines naming BOAT International or SuperYacht Times in our news corpus, counted over four weeks. We count reported deals; we never quote asking prices.
- Fuel: European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin, automotive gas oil, before and after tax, converted by us to € a litre (CC BY 4.0).
- Currency: European Central Bank euro reference rates; the dollar-in-francs rate is the cross of the ECB's dollar and franc rates.
- Storms: GDACS (European Commission JRC) and NOAA. News is linked and paraphrased, never quoted; we never name an owner or locate a private yacht.
- The worked example is illustrative; its consumption and hours are assumptions shown in the table.
Editorial market intelligence, not investment advice.
