The superyacht pavilion on the final day of METSTRADE was host to a wide spectrum of emotions – happiness, excitement, sadness, and consolidation to name but a few. When the lights switched off and doors to the RAI were locked, industry stakeholders enjoyed a collective shrug of the shoulders and sigh of relief, ‘Well… we did it.’  
 
In many ways the past week has been reflective of the superyacht industries response to adversity in the last eighteen months. Despite the partial lockdown announced by the Dutch government less than 72 hours before the event, we persevered and ensured success. If the last three days achieved anything, it’s that we proved to ourselves, and the world, just how robust and mature our industry really is.
 
Pedro Suasi, manager of the Balearic Marine Cluster, was attending METSTRADE for the first time, representing fifty companies from the Balearic region. “Our stand has been so busy with so many people from different sectors of the industry.” Suasi explained that, “Although the market is booming, that has been in contrast to the difficulties of the pandemic, so it’s really great to be able to attend events like this.”

 
Those who were not able to attend the event can rest assured, there were 92 journalists from around the world in attendance, each with their own respective perspectives and editorial briefs. The organisers at METSTRADE were also able to boast their new virtual platform, ‘METSTRADE Connect’, which includes METSTRADE TV- a fully-fledged live TV studio with a production control room, panel studio, and an onsite make-up artist for any weary-eyed hotel room partiers.
 
The show was refreshingly keen to discuss challenging topics, and for the first panel of the day our Chairman, Martin Redmayne, was joined by Farouk Nefzi, the chief marketing officer at Feadship. The topic was ‘Superyachts in 2030’ and Nefzi was as keen as ever to reference the millennial takeover once again. “Every project that we deliver from now on must be completely transparent and serve the needs of the next generation.” While later stating that, “All of the storytelling that we have to do now must be positive.” Redmayne followed up on this stating that, “Those who choose to remain conservative will die out” and that,

“The wider media need to wake up and realise what we are actually doing in this industry.”
 

Redmayne returned to the panel in the afternoon for a tech talk about ‘Smart Shipyards in 2021’. For this session, Redmayne was joined by Nefzi’s colleague at Feadship, Giedo Loeff, the head of research and development at the Dutch shipyard. Leoff highlighted the necessity to, “Bridge the gap between the operational sector of the industry and the shipyards themselves. As shipbuilders we need to improve how efficient and green the vessel is going to be when it is operating in its whole lifecycle, instead of focusing solely on when it is in build.”
 
Redmayne replied to Giedo, “There are a few layers of shipyards out there. You have the very traditional, artisanal builders but you also have builders like Feadship, who are the pinnacle of superyacht building. They are essentially the benchmark for future thinkers. I think that when the generational shift occurs, clients will be bragging about how sustainable their yachts are, not how fast or how bling they are.”
 
The final tech-talk of the show ended with Leoff hinting that Feadships next project, which is said to be semi-revealed in a year’s time, will be the shipyards greenest and most advanced to date. With suitcases packed, trainers on, and beer bottles opened, stakeholders began to unwind as the middle of the afternoon arrived.
 
As a journalist covering the maritime industries biggest trade show for the first time, I can whole-heartedly say that I’m already excited for this time next year. If this is what can be achieved with such constraints and restrictions, then I am sure next year will be even more insightful and revelatory.
 

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