In accordance with the new safety regulations from the Italian government, Tankoa Yachts has now reopened its shipyard and is recommencing work. SuperyachtNews spoke exclusively to Vincenzo Poerio, CEO at Tankoa Yachts, for the latest updates. 

Tankoa Yachts has worked remotely throughout the entirety of lockdown, according to Poerio. “We have concentrated on everything we could do while working from home, in order to be ready as soon as we were allowed to reopen. We’ve been able to do this thanks to new technologies available today,” he emphasised.

“I think that this is clearly not a financial crisis like in 2008 – very important to note – and so it will ‘only’ last a couple of months until everything will get back on track..." - Vincenzo Poerio, CEO - Tankoa Yachts

“We have just reopened our shipyard, and of course we all know that we are going through hard times but we must look ahead with hope,” said Poerio. “I think that this is clearly not a financial crisis like in 2008 – very important to note – and so it will ‘only’ last a couple of months, until everything will get back on track.

“The last two years of the order book of megayachts for Italian shipyards have been pretty good. I think that if we are all able to come out from the COVID-19 emergency in a reasonable timeframe, Italian shipyards will be able to minimise the losses and to keep leadership within the industry.” 

According to The Superyacht Agency's Intelligence division, the order book for Italy shows a very substantial number at present, as shown below. It is wise, however, to factor in that eventually some projects set to be delivered this year are likely to be pushed to the next. This is external to the coronavirus pandemic because last year 23% of what would've been delivered globally in 2019 was carried over to 2020.

For the boutique shipyard itself, the order book is as below based on strict production parameters. The yard will only have two clients at any one time, which allows the shipyard to offer those 'boutique' levels of customer service. SuperyachtNews recently reported on the announcement of Poerio as CEO, and it was revealed that the yard is investing in speculative construction, which is designed to work in the client’s favour.

Poerio feels Italy is not in the midst of a financial crisis, and while the virus began as a threat to human health, the financial threat varies from country to country - certainly in the UK which now faces potentially the greatest recession since 2008. 

SuperyachtNews is currently investigating the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the charter and new-build markets, compared to both the financial crisis in 2008 and the September 11th attacks in 2001. Should you wish to provide comments on this topic, please contact newsdesk@thesuperyachtgroup.com

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