TYR107 pp132-146 Middle East Yard Report.indd - SuperyachtEvents

Super 

Yachting 

in the 

UAE 

Much more complex 

than boom and bust...

REGIONAL REPORT – THE MIDDLE EAST 


Before the Superyacht cup in Palma the last stop on my World Tour was in the 

UAE. I had the chance to visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi – two places of greater 

contrast both superficially and in depth than one might expect. All at once 

complicated, unexpected and expected, the state of the superyacht industry 

in the region (and indeed the economy in the UAE) is far from simple. 

AYBE HOTEL ROOMS ARE A GOOD 

M analogy for the real sate of an 

economy. I paid nearly double to stay 

in Abu Dhabi than I did in Dubai in 

roughly equivalent properties. The 

differences between these two most 

important of the seven emirates that 

make up the UAE are both superfi cial 

and profound. Dubai is no longer 

really an oil-based economy; it only 

produces approx 240k barrels a 

day and gains 2% of the UAE gas 

revenues. Oil reserves are expected to 

run out in 20 years. That latter point 

though is a glib statement and whether 

oil runs out is often a question and 

function of the cost of extraction and 

the barrel cost as much as the amount 

left in the ground. On the other hand 

Abu Dhabi has 9% and 5% of the 

world’s oil and gas, and 95% & 92% of 

the UAE’s oil and gas. Abu Dhabi gains 

a massive income from this, even if oil 

is no longer 147 a barrel. 

Figures are quite hard to obtain. 

Revenues from petroleum and natural 

gas contribute less than 6% (as of 

2006) of Dubai’s US$37 billion economy 

(2005). Real estate and construction, 

on the other hand, contributed 22.6% 

to the economy in 2005, before the 

current large-scale construction boom. 

It is easy to extrapolate from that, 

that the dominance of real estate and 

construction projects would certainly 

not be less than those fi gures in the 

latter part of last year before the credit 

crisis. After it hit, by all I have been 

told, Dubai is a different place. It’s 

clearly not bust as the media may 

exaggerate but it’s not the building 

site that ate up the majority of the 

world’s construction cranes either. 

The QE2 languishes on a dock with 

the plans to convert her to a hotel 

on hold til times improve. However, 

business goes on and the serous 

attempts to establish a superyacht 

builder, convertor and repairer in 

Dubai Maritime City are still in place 

even if delayed. 

Abu Dhabi is unlike its brash northern 

brother, smaller and many say that 

its development is better planned. Of 

course it’s also true that it’s easier to 

learn from whoever goes fi rst than to go 

fi rst. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE 

and the richest city in the world. The 

Emirate’s 420,000 citizens have almost 

$1 trillion invested abroad, and are 

worth about $17 million apiece. 

When asked if Abu Dhabi was 

recreating Dubai, only further south, 

developer Khaldoon Khalifa al Mubarak 

commented: “I don’t like to use 

comparisons with Dubai. We’re not 

trying to be Dubai. What they’ve done is 

phenomenal, and we’re very proud of it. 

But here we have a unique opportunity 

to get it right.” 

Wild architecture and extensive mega 

development are taking place in Abu 

Dhabi, but there is also perhaps 

a stronger cultural focus amongst 

the malls and tourist playgrounds. 

A 21-year plan sees Abu Dhabi in 

2030 having, among other things, a 

Louvre annex and a Guggenheim in 

the Emirate. Tourism is and will be a 

burgeoning key activity but one that 

also seeks to attract the regional Arab 

tourist as well as the western one. 

Dubai 

Platinum Yachts 

I fi rst attended a Yacht Report 

Amsterdam “Project” (now GSF) in 

1998 and met a gentleman who was 

on a very, very large project which had 

just been cancelled. Although offi cially 

unconfi rmed, that was a Lürssen and 

Blohm & Voss joint build of 162m for 

Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of the Sultan 

of Brunei. Just under 11 years later I 

stepped on board the Royal Yacht Dubai 

in Dubai itself. The two projects are of 

course one and the same. I had the 

unusual privilege of a tour round a royal 

yacht along with smaller sister Dubawi 

(see issue 104). Afterwards I sat down 

with Kostas Antonopoulos-Rothschild 

and Dirk de Jong to discuss the past, 

present and future of the yard who 

created Dubai as Platinum Yachts. 

As Managing Director at Platinum 

Kostas’s background included Sete 

Yachts and designers/naval architects 

Alpha Marine Ltd, both of whom had 

involvement with very large SOLAS 

yachts. Alpha worked on the Neorion 

SOLAS build Annaliesse and the rebuild 

of Princess Tanya for the late Andreas 

Liveras. Dirk de Jong was MD at Amels 

and before that counts project manager 

at OceAnco among other experiences. 

While Dubai (page 136, bottom, 

Dubawi (page 137, middle) and the 

support vessel are all owned by Sheik 

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum 

the yard is very serious about pitching 

commercial clients. Their credentials 

are the experience gained from, and 

success of, the Dubawi conversion, the 

Dubai completion (close in fact to a full 

new build) and the conversion of Dubai 

Magic (page 137, top). Few yards’ fi rst 

projects result in the largest yacht in the 

world, which at 162m Dubai is – though 

that soon may be “was” as the title will 

be lost to Abramovich’s nominally secret 

Eclipse, rumoured to be 170m. 

The hull was barged near empty to 

Dubai in 2001 along with containers full 

of machinery. Platinum launched her 

in 2005 and she was fully certifi ed in 

October 2006. Very shortly thereafter 

she underwent a major replacement 

of the HVAC chillers, which were not 

up to Emirates temperatures. This 

was a massively complex job as the 

equipment had to be dismantled and 

taken out piece by piece then that 

procedure reversed with the new units. 

I would be foolish indeed to attempt 

to draw deep conclusion from 

observational research and only one 

visit but it’s clear that development 

and projects will continue in the 

UAE. At the moment the momentum 

swings towards Abu Dhabi, but Dubai 

should not be written off. As one 

interviewee comments, it still has 

strong fundamentals and the Emirate 

has taken regulatory steps and made 

considerable fi scal planning to avoid 

getting burnt by speculators again. 

Its lifestyle – even if the new-car smell 

has gone - still attracts and I met a 

more than a few who worked in Abu 

Dhabi yet did the two-hour desert 

commute from Dubai every day. It’s 

also clear that outwith the UAE in the 

Gulf regional development – especially 

marinas – is still ongoing and barely 

checked by recession. 

134 

the yacht report 

the yacht report 135



The conversion of Dubawi is discussed 

in issue 104 and both projects along 

with the sailing yacht Dubai Magic 

took place in Jebel Ali. When I met 

with Dirk and Kostas, Platinum was 

on the move – not unfortunately to the 

home they expect in Dubai Maritime 

City (DMC) but a temporary one for 

offi ces elsewhere while the yard work 

will be in DMC. There was a slowdown 

in the development of DMC (not too 

surprising given that Nakheel is one 

of the partners in the development 

groups and as mentioned elsewhere 

the credit crunch hurt and even 

stopped some of their developments). 

Platinum hope to take their place in the 

new yard in 2010. The scale of DMC is 

like everything in Dubai “bigger than” 

or “biggest” – as an example they have 

a 1-million-ton graving dock on site. 

Another victim of the credit crunch was 

project Triton whose DE propulsion 

is detailed in issue 102. This was a 

combined Sam Sorgiovanni Design/ 

Azure Design/architecture project that 

the yard started on spec then sold. 

Unfortunately the client defaulted, 

leaving the project without steel cut, 

but with a year’s worth of planning 

and equipment in place. Though 

hardly what the yard would want, the 

advantage for a new client is delivery 

– barring excessive changes – in 

24 months. 

Kostas explained: “We are in a 

defl ationary period so the current price 

of Triton refl ects that – later though as 

infl ation re-establishes prices will not 

be so favourable.” Kostas grants that 

Platinum has a fairly unknown pedigree 

(though Dubawi and Dubai clearly 

show what they can do) and adds that 

they use well-known contractors – “all 

the usual suspects” – and equipment 

which offers clients confi dence. 

I asked if prices of new yachts 

generally can come down signifi cantly, 

“There was a bit of fat in the margins 

before the crisis so one can except 

some reductions from those”; 

however, Kostas added that the risk 

on projects of this size is such that 

over-reduced margins can end in tears 

for all. Platinum’s main advantage is 

in cheap labour and a favourable tax 

environment as well as the experience 

gained to date. 

Looking forward they obviously seek a 

client for Triton – and have an alternate 

profi le and look from an Italian designer 

for the platform. At Monaco Yacht 

Show they will also promote Platinum’s 

refi t, repair and conversions with the 

1990 95m sistership to Dubawi sitting 

ready to convert, as well as a build of 

50–60m. Surely, I asked, conversion 

is a risky adventure for client and yard 

when new steel work and hulls are so 

cheap; Kostas responded by citing 

the example of Dubawi. From cruise 

ship to yacht in 18 months in a vessel 

of 4,400 gross tons, approximately 

the volume of four such yachts at a 

cost similar to one 60m superyacht; 

massive savings in time and cost for 

the client seeking such a high-volume 

project. 

IGY 

IGY headquarters in Dubai, illogically 

enough, are in the main media cluster. 

I visited Michael Horrigan, CEO for the 

Middle East and Europe. Michael has 

40 years in the construction industry in 

the USA, Asia and now in the Middle 

East. Ironically for someone in a marina 

company, he doesn’t like the water or 

boats. Any concerns like that, though, 

were the last thing on his mind late 

2008 when the crunch started to bite. 

The situation in the Dubai marina (and 

property development) market changed 

almost overnight. “The bankers said 

it was coming for 12 months, but for 

most people here it was profound; it 

was Armageddon.” Michael was on a 

trip to a wedding and when he left all 

seemed stable. In a mere fi ve days the 

situation had deteriorated to the point 

that return was necessary. Michael told 

me he was reeling until January, but 

that from that time then the situation 

has improved and since “it’s been 

reassuring”. 

The situation has changed in Dubai 

long term. The hotel I was staying in is 

apparently one third of the price it was 

last year and occupancy levels way 

down. Dubai’s roads are much quieter, 

shopping malls are – if not deserted 

– then certainly much, much quieter. 

The situation for IGY was diffi cult, 

Michael explained, as they were a sole 

service provider for Palm(s) developer 

Nakheel. The workload that generated 

was enormous and the commitment 

in personnel equally so. 55 engineers 

and another 50 or so developers and 

operational staff were all dedicated 

to Nakheel then in November “totally 

abruptly and completely all the 

(Nakheel) marinas just stopped”. 

Why did that happen? From research 

it seems that the degree of speculation 

at all levels, from one person buying 

three apartments to corporations 

buying more, was out of control and 

relied too heavily on credit – when the 

credit went so did many speculators. 

Kostas has been actively watching 

both Indian and Asian/China regions 

for clients and is convinced they will 

be in the superyacht market. But, 

like many others, he cannot be sure 

exactly when. “The trick is to know 

when they will buy into the yachting 

lifestyle.” Nevertheless, Platinum have 

already begun to establish contacts 

and local partners as they “believe in 

this market”. 

136 



137


... interest to buy berths is still there, underscored by 

“no deposits had been pulled on existing products” – 

so in response the marina mix stays the same now 

and for the foreseeable future. 

There are stories of foreign residents 

running to the airport and fl ying away 

leaving cars with keys in and this it 

seems is more than a myth even if the 

extent was exaggerated by the media. 

For IGY then it was necessary to fi nd 

some more business rapidly. The 

Nakheel projects had stopped “and 

won’t be quick to re-establish – if 

they ever do”, in other parts of the 

region although development was still 

on track and these developers were 

starting after Dubai and are able to 

learn from the errors. 

During IGY’s highly busy period pre- 

October other developers from Oman, 

Qatar, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi had 

approached them with an interest in 

doing business. With the exception of 

Abu Dhabi, Michael (right) was reluctant 

to take on the business as they were 

at capacity. All (with the exception of 

Abu Dhabi with whom they did work) 

were kept fi rmly, if politely, at arm’s 

length. After the Nakheel stoppage 

they were “passionately embraced”. 

The result was a variety of work carried 

out; consultancy and more, and the 

general development of marinas in the 

region, such as Aldar’s Yas Island, are 

still on track. Has – I wondered – the 

design of berth mix and marketing 

target changed in the region post 

crunch? With two years from concept 

to completion for a marina – with up to 

three years more for the upland, berth 

and commercial mix – marketing is 

critical as well. Michael comments that 

at fi rst they had underestimated the 

desire for smaller berths in the 10 to 

>15m range. 

Above 23m, though, it was much 

greater than Europe or the Caribbean. 

After October 2008 the seasonal 

berth demand has gone away, 

Michael said, but added it will be 

back and the blend they came up 

with pre-October has not changed. 

He added that interest to buy berths 

is still there underscored by “no 

deposits had been pulled on existing 

products” – so in response the 

marina mix stays the same now and 

for the foreseeable future. 

A lot of money disappeared when 

138 

the yacht report



oil went from US$147 to US$47 a 

barrel. Michael said: “The overheated 

nature of the Dubai Market in every 

sense – speculation in property, 

development growth, over-financing, 

‘build it and they will come’ – a lot 

of that disappeared and it will be a 

while before it comes back.” He feels, 

however, that the fundamentals of 

the UAE and Dubai are strong and 

analogises it to Singapore: massive 

boom followed by slowdown, but the 

island with strong fundamentals (even 

though having no natural resources) 

still remains a major player. 

What of the emerging markets of 

Asia and India, both with strong 

connections to the UAE? “It’s a 

fantastic market and (one) we’ve 

been toying with over (the) last 18 

months – but it’s still a bit young 

for our product.” The problem in, 

for example, the Chinese market is 

that with no cruising culture, yachts 

tend to stay in the marina and that 

does not fit the IGY business model: 

“Usage is as important a revenue 

stream as berthing fees or supplies 

part, as we run on 120% occupancy 

we need movement, if you are out of 

a berth for 48 hours we can sublet, 

and we intend you go to another IGY 

marina, plus we organise events to 

attract transients.” 

In Asia Michael sees the cruising area 

to be “from Australia through Bali, 

Indonesia, Singapore, S China and 

Vietnam”, but feels IGY would not 

move into this region independently, 

but seek developer partners. India has 

strong potential and he sees (as do 

many others I spoke to) Indian clients 

arriving ahead of the Chinese and even 

ahead of the rest of Asia. In Europe 

their new marina with NCP at Sibenik is 

progressing; Skopje on the Black Sea 

slowed down in tune with the Russian 

market and new partnerships are 

under way in Turkey with a major local 

group. There is also a new partner and 

new marina site in Montenegro whose 

synergy with Sibenik in neighbouring 

Croatia is obvious. 

Abu Dhabi 

Abu Dhabi Mar 

Abu Dhabi Mar was not set up solely 

to build the Swift 141 and 135, but 

those projects caused its genesis. 

Johan Valentijn, Industrial Manager 

of the company, explained that when 

the projects were fi rst mooted they 

wanted to go to Dubai Maritime City 

but concluding that was not suitable 

decided to create their own yard. That 

was in Free Port harbour in Al Meena; 

the Swift started fi rst in the harbour 

awaiting conversion in the water then 

moved to its new 20-hectare site in 

Port Zayed. 

The two Swifts (pictured opposite) are 

former Royal Schelde-built Kortenaer 

class frigates, constructed in the late 

’70s, early ’80s for the Dutch Navy who 

latterly sold them to the UAE in ’98 

and ’97. Their propulsion was CODOG 

Combined gas turbine or gas turbine. 

These two pairs, the larger at 19.1MW 

each and the idling or manoeuvring 

pair at 3.6MW each, ran on twin shafts 

allowing cruise speed at 20 knots with 

burst at fl ank speed to 30 knots. The 

frigates are fi ne lined with an LOA of 

130m on a narrow beam of 14.4m at 

4.4m draft. 

The conversion is designed by Pierrejean 

Design Studio. They do not have any 

motor superyachts in their portfolios, 

yet designed Phocea along with aircraft 

interiors for both commercial and private 

jets with Middle Eastern connections. 

The design is highly radical with most of 

the vessel above the main continuous 

deck bulwark, being composite and with 

a highly individual profi le. 

Johan Valentijn has been a naval 

architect since he started at S&S in the 

’70s and has, amongst other projects, 

designed yachts for four America’s Cup 

campaigns, as well being production 

and yard manager at Burger Yachts 

for fi ve years. He explained the Swift 

project had fi rst been envisaged 

as continuing to use the CODOG 

propulsion but that was found to be 

impractible in cost and service terms. 

Accordingly it will be fi tted with twin 

MTUs, likely 8000 series. The hull was 

stripped out totally with all wiring and 

piping to be replaced. I wondered why 

not simply build from new? Johan 

explained it’s about time: “In Abu Dhabi 

everything has to be done yesterday”, 

and went on to say that the project 

would never have happened if the time 

to build new had been taken. 

The concept is to build 

a full service build refi t 

and conversion yard. 

There are four interior sub-contractors. 

The Swift 141 was originally billed as 

due for completion in summer 2009. 

When I visited in June 2009 Johan 

was confi dent it would be completed 

within this year, though adding that trial 

and commissioning would continue 

after that. Observing the build with 

no engines installed, little piping and 

a six-month fairing and painting yet 

to start, it is diffi cult to imagine how 

it can be. However, a quick glance is 

not suffi cient to judge and only time 

will tell whether 2009 completion is 

optimistic. The yacht will carry 60 

guests and 60 crew, 50% hotel, 50% 

ship ops. It’s built to DNV but not 

SOLAS. Johan commented they have 

some requirements as in LY-2 but it will 

have cruising limitations of distances 

from safe havens. The Abu Dhabi Mar 

website informs us that the Swift will be 

built to “a new DNV Large Yacht Code 

devoted to private yachts not 

for charter”. 

We toured the 20-hectare site, of which 

30% is covered in buildings. The capital 

investment is clearly huge and prompts 

the inevitable question: wouldn’t it have 

been cheaper to go to a NW European 

builder? Indeed it would have been, 

Johan admits, but a single or even dual 

conversion was never the idea for Abu 

Dhabi Mar. The concept is to build a 

full service build refi t and conversion 

yard. The yard currently employs 700 

workers, mostly Asian or from the 

140 




Indian subcontinent. The yard operates 

with an approximate ratio of one US or 

European expats, to four workers with 

the intent to reduce that to one to eight 

in the future. There are a few Emiratis in 

technical posts. 

There is no sub-contractor culture to 

speak of locally (except for interior 

builder Greenline and Moroni), so wellknown 

European ones are used on the 

Swifts for the 141. Those are Struik & 

Hamerslag and Metrica, in addition to 

the Mid Eastern ones. The moulds for 

the composite superstructure elements 

were carried out by Vector Works in 

Florida, but Johan intends to build 

full composite facilities eventually in 

Abu Dhabi Mar. “The relevant fi ve-axis 

machines (for mould making) are not 

that expensive” and their intention is 

to produce composite yachts in the 

50 to 70m range. Johan is empathic 

that there should be no steel building 

on site: “Steel hulls can be easily and 

inexpensively purchased in the global 

marketplace.” A massive 160m x 40m 

x 45m-high paint shed is planned. It 

will be fully climate and dust controlled 

and that, Johan says, is key to winning 

the super and gigayacht refi t work 

– another aim of the yard. 

Aldar 

Some have described development 

in Abu Dhabi as more phased and 

planned than Dubai; whether that’s 

the case or not, the greater GDP and 

oil wealth means that certainly today it 

has greater fi nancial strength. Aldar is 

a publicly listed company, but around 

40% of the shares are held indirectly by 

the government and this is an immense 

strength and buffer in a country with 

9% of the world oil reserves. Aldar is 

involved in massive developments all 

over the emirate of Abu Dhabi, not least 

their Al Raha beach HQ building that 

resembles a glass powder compact set 

on edge. 

theme parks (Warner Bros, Yas Waterpark 

and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi – the latter 

are only allowing use of the name and are 

not investing); and – of course a shopping 

mall, Yas Mall. 

For the GP, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will 

appear fi nished with Ferrari red carapace 

but will open in the second half of 2010; 

inside will remain a building site during GP. 

Nevertheless, the circuit, pits and seven 

hotels, including the amazing Yas hotel 

trackside, must be completed, along with 

nine of 18 holes on the links golf course. 

The superyacht marina, which gives 

the circuit its name trackside, must too 

It’s fi nally worth mentioning the very 

massive task the yard took on in 

bringing the 141 from its in-water 

position alongside across to the hard 

in the new yard. The man-hours taken 

in research and the move itself were 

astronomical. First the vessel was towed 

to an area which Abu Dhabi Mar had 

had hydrographically surveyed for depth 

and bottom conditions. The Swift was 

towed to a position above a specially 

constructed sunken barge (previous 

page, top). It was raised fi rst at one end 

only (to avoid water plane instability) 

until it contacted the frigate’s hull. Then 

fi nally fl oated up to connect to and then 

raise the frigate. After towing to the new 

yard it was side slipped from the barge 

(in a tidal range of approx 2m) to its 

conversion slot under a rolling arched 

cover. One assumes re-launch will be a 

similar process. 

I visited Aldar’s Yas Island development 

(above). Most projects have some degree 

of leeway in completion but Yas doesn’t 

have any at all, at least not in its critical 

elements. On 1st November the hotel’s 

marina and vitally the Yas Marina Circuit 

will be ready for – to give it the correct 

full title – the 2009 Formula 1 Etihad 

Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In fact 

that’s inaccurate as those developments 

must be ready well ahead of that 

considering practice and set up time. 

No alternative can be considered. 

The total development is vast and will 

fi nally have both commercial and private 

residences, including numerous hotels, 

of which seven will be completed for 

race day; fi ve marinas; a water park three 

be good to go. It’s a most unusually 

constructed marina. It was excavated 

from the island, piles and docks installed 

dry then the coffer dam broached so the 

adjacent creeks waters could fl ood the 

new port. The track views for yachts will 

be spectacular as the circuit follows the 

marina perimeter as well as passing under 

The Yas Hotel – rumours abound of a 

glass fl oor so guests can watch the cars 

blast past below their feet. 

I was driven round the circuits and – like 

most event related projects at any stage 

– it looked some way from fi nishing. 

However, the site seemed a little quiet 

(we were driving around between 1100 

and 1500) and many of the 40,000 plus 

workers were on compulsory break; 

142 

the yacht report



outdoors working is forbidden in that 

period in summer. In any case, as Paul 

Lane, Project Director of Aldar Marinas, 

told me, the above ground is only some 

20% of the project and that infrastructure 

is already complete. The tunnel – a vital 

component running as it does from Dubai 

to Abu Dhabi highway under the creek 

to the marina – is yet to be fi nished. 

Overall, though, all at Aldar showed calm 

confi dence that all would be done on time. 

I spoke with Paul specifi cally about the 

superyacht marina at The Yas Hotel. It 

will be leased on an annual basis and has 

143 berths inside, with three 100m jetties 

outside for transients, events or very large 

yachts – sadly it seems Dubai is a bit too 

large to come up the creek for GP. 

It is an intentional policy to keep some 

space free as other local marinas don’t, 

Paul said. They wish to encourage 

yachts to winter in the region or 

simply stop on the way through. He 

commented that since the Sydney 

Olympics increasing numbers of yachts 

pass this way and the detour to spend 

some time in the UAE is minor, the 

‘Great Southern Route’ is becoming 

increasingly popular for larger yachts 

seeking alternatives to overcrowded, 

historic, cruising grounds. For visiting 

or wintering boats there are positives; 

weather, a tax free environment, beautiful 

beaches and great diving. The downside 

(apart from sand – I still wonder how 

they will keep all that glass in The 

Yas hotel sand-free) is the diffi culty of 

clear in and out cruising (though Aldar 

is working hard with authorities on 

making this problem go away) and lack 

of destination. For that reason Paul 

says, “We welcome other marinas and 

need successful ones in the region; 

the exciting one downtown; the quiet 

one round the corner from the capital 

and more. The more destination choice 

you offer the more keen visitors are to 

come.” He has seen little crisis-effect on 

bookings and interest, in fact the marina 

is heavily booked for the 2009 Formula 

1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand 

Prix and its opening. 

A UAE lawyer called Adrian Jones of 

Trowers & Hamlins LLP has sent us an 

article specifi cally detailing the cruising 

and ownership regulations and potential 

changes; this will be published in issue 

108. Another concern is that vessels 

descending the Red Sea must contend 

with the pirate threat at whatever level it 

is at the time. Again Paul comments that 

Somali piracy hasn’t affected interest 

in the marina. In fact the day before my 

visit he received a serious enquiry from 

a Palma based 54m M/Y for a rate to 

winter in Yas. We hope to visit Yas Island 

during the Grand Prix to report on the 

success of fi nishing. 

Al Seer Marine 

Alex Drinkwater, GM of Al Seer Marine, 

came to the UAE ten years ago with a 

conversion, which he had overseen for 

the ruling family. The ferry conversion 

was a long, gruelling world-girdling 

slog, starting in New Zealand before 

fi nalising in Slovenia and arriving for use 

in the UAE. Following that he set up Al 

Seer Marine. The company carries out 

management and maintenance of the 

vessels and boats belonging to some 

of the members of the ruling family, but 

has been grown into a real commercial 

venture. 

Today around 50% of turnover is 

generated by yacht owners in no 

way connected to the sheiks. It’s a 

full service facility with two covered 

docks of 18m and 24m air draft. One 

can close on and paint a vessel of 

68m (the largest yet was a repaint of 

a 68m A & R yacht); the other is not 

air-conditioned and can accommodate 

two large yachts side by side. Al Seer is 

a fully equipped and approved Awlgrip 

paint facility. They have carpentry, 

upholstery and mechanical and 

electrical engineering shops, a ship’s 

store, a diving store as well as limited 

build facilities for smaller crafts. 

All facilities are air conditioned and 

have, where relevant, dust extraction. 

The yard has built small rigid GRP 

patrol boats and similar crafts. 

The patrol craft design and build 

was successful enough to gain a 

contract to produce a series for the 

Abu Dhabi Government. Another 

particularly interesting project was 

being completed in one of Al Seers 

halls. This hydrofoil had been bought 

in Russia part fi nished with its design 

engineering more resembling a plane, 

with 2mm sheets and rivets, than a 

boat. Typifying some of the smaller 

sized yacht projects is a performance 

hull with a Mercedes sports car 

interior, complete with gull wing 

doors. 

During my visit the almost latest 

acquisition, Silver, was in the shed 

having some paintwork done and 

Al Seer has just gained overall 

management of the high-speed Royal 

van Lent Ecstasea, recently sold. 

We hope to bring readers a story on 

that yacht’s remarkable propulsion 

and design very soon. Alex plans to 

increase the percentage of work for 

individuals as well as expanding the 

facility to allow more building. 

Currently it covers a surface of 

12,150m 2 on a site of 50,000m 2 and 

550m of waterfront, with 2,300m 2 of 

buildings. They provide a 24/7/365 

on-call emergency service for the 

Sheik’s family and brothers only – 

144 




to date. Though this could be offered 

in the future for commercial clients 

if the demand was there. Spares 

procurement is signifi cantly hard in 

the UAE and this is another Al Seer 

service. Very few stockists, Alex told 

me, really hold stock, so getting the 

right product in a timely manner is far 

from easy. However, haul-out in the 

yard is limited to 50 or 60 feet. But a 

partnership with the nearby full size 

shipyard Abu Dhabi Ship Builders 

ADSB offers the capacity to haul 

yachts needing out-of-the-water work 

to 3,000 tons on synchrolift or 500 ton 

on ADSB’s travel lift. 

The yard has a small but high skill 

management team whose greatest 

diffi culty is fi nding skilled workers. 

These almost always come from 

outwith the UAE, usually Asia and India, 

and have to be hired on spec. Often 

then they have to be sent back when 

CVs, telephone interviews and stated 

experiences were “optimistic” (sound 

familiar to captains?). Despite this they 

have managed to assemble and retain 

a strong core of skilled workers in their 

250 staff. 

Al Seer has been described as the 

leading yacht-repair facilities in the 

region. While in terms of size and the 

size of vessels that can be put under 

cover, it’s dwarfed by Abu Dhabi Mar 

and Platinum; it’s also well established 

and well set up to cater the mid to 

small size yachts that are in greatest 

numbers in the region and would never 

go to either of the other facilities. 

Arabian Gulf 

Paul Alan 

Despite the punning name this 

company has little to do with a very 

large, well-known and highly secret 

German built gigayacht. Paul Alan 

Yacht Consultants (PAYC) are Paul 

Hicks who has been building yachts 

for 38 years and his business partner 

Captain Alan Hagg, who started his 

career afl oat in the Australian Navy 

before coming to the middle East. 

Currently based in the UAE they will, 

Alan said, in 2010 open another offi ce in 

Australia for Australasian clients. 

PAYC are construction and refi t 

management advisers and consultants. 

They carry out appraisal of technical and 

contractual specifi cations and act as 

owner’s project managers; in addition 

they act as yacht brokers and offer post 

delivery management. Their contention 

is that with considerable regional 

experience of the region they can 

address the particular needs of Middle 

Eastern or Middle East based clients. 

PAYC also work with a shipyard, 

which they describe as being in “the 

Arabian Gulf”; unfortunately there was 

insuffi cient time to visit the yard. The 

yard can build in steel and or aluminium 

up to 50m and has two bays along 

with workshops and offi ces. It is not 

geared up to seek refi t work at the 

moment, although has one minor refi t 

currently under way. The company has 

two builds at the yard and a minor refi t 

– the former yachts are 34m steel and 

aluminium Vripack designs. 

The overheated economy in parts of the 

UAE may have created a bubble, but 

now it’s not wholly burst but defl ated. 

Those who developed more slowly 

seem to have the upper hand, and new 

regional players are coming forward. At 

least one lesser known Emirate is about 

to have their time in the sun. As we went 

to print Societe Nautique de Geneve 

(SNG) for Alinghi announced the choice 

of Ras al-Khaimah (also to be home to 

Space Adventures spaceport) as the 

venue for the February America’s cup. 

Tork Buckley 

Images: Abu Dhabi Mar © Dick 

Holthuis Photography, Aldar, IGY 

Marinas, Platinum Yachts and Al 

Seer Marine 

To comment on this article, email 

issue107@synfo.com with subject: 

Superyachting in the UAE 

146 

the yacht report

TYR107 pp132-146 Middle East Yard Report.indd - SuperyachtEvents

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?