Most eye-catching yachts on display at 2023 Dubai Boat Show

Friday, March 3rd, 2023

Leisure Marine

The biggest edition of the Dubai International Boat Show to date is well underway at Dubai Harbour, with exhibitors at the five-day event (1-5 March 2023) reporting interest from buyers from all over the world.

Superyachts are in high demand in the region, with no sign of inflation biting for now — and the show is becoming an increasingly important marketing event for the world’s biggest brands. This demand is evidenced by the over 44 global and regional launches expected to take place throughout the week.

More than 200 boats — some new, some in production for years — are currently on display on land and water.

In total, over 1,000 companies and brands in the marine industry are exhibiting at the event, many presenting innovations for the first time.

Beneteau, BehneMar Yachting, De Antonio, Ferreti, Gulf Craft, Lagoon, Ocean Independence, Riva, Sanlorenzo, Silent Yachts, Sunreef and Sunseeker Gulf, among many others, are unveiling brand-new vessels at the Dubai International Boat Show 2023.

Visitors to the show can see Sunreef’s 24-metre Sunreef 80 Eco catamaran, which has composite-integrated solar panels built into the hull sides, mast, superstructure and bimini roof. The company says the Sunreef 80 Eco is a “pioneer in green yachting”, and the first hull was delivered to Dubai in March 2022.

Among the diverse line-up, the largest in both length and price tag is Ocean Independence’s 68m Soaring, built in Germany by Abeking & Rasmussen and valued at AED350m ($95.3m).

UAE-based luxury boatbuilder Gulf Craft has officially unveiled its Majesty 111 and the surprise new addition, the Nomad 101. Abeer Al Shaali, deputy managing director at Gulf Craft, said DIBS 2023 has been “phenomenal” so far.

“We’re seeing a huge influx of crowds, some of whom are visiting us for the first time, which is really exciting,” says Al Shaali. “The two yachts we brought to the show have already been sold, and we have many serious leads looking at making purchases. I don’t think we’ll leave here without selling at least three or four yachts.”

Revenue at Gulf Craft in 2023 will be twice as high as the company’s previous best year ever, chairman Mohammed Alshaali reports.

Silent Yachts, the world’s first ocean-going production yachts powered by solar energy, is also reporting an impressive event, says Ahmed Almousawi, the boatbuilder’s general manager. “Everyone is wild about our product because it’s the first electric yacht in the world. Many people do not know that such a thing already exists, yet we have 16 of them in the water worldwide and 26 currently in build. Many people are proud to bring this product to the region, and we have several interested clients that are planning to visit our headquarters in Mallorca to take things forward.”

Italian yacht manufacturing company Azimut returned to Dubai International Boat Show this year, exhibiting the Gulf Premiere Fly 68, the Fly 53, and larger vessels, the S10 and Grande 27M.

Britain’s Princess Yachts has a six-boat line-up including the show premier of the flagship X95 plus three models from Princess’s award-winning F Class Flybridge range, the F45, F50 and F55, in addition to the Princess V50 Deck salon and the Princess V60.

Another debut at the five-day event came via BehneMar Yachting, as the superyacht consultancy and official dealer for Cigarette boats in the Middle East introduced the region’s first Cigarette power performance boat, a move that Tim Trenker, chief executive officer at BehneMar Yachting predicts will “rock the market in the weeks, months and years to come.”

Trenker adds: “We are very pleased with Dubai International Boat Show. I see a lot of further growth potential, and I forecast that we’ll soon be using both sides of the marina – one just for superyachts and one for yachts under 34 or 40 metres.”

The show’s new location was also welcomed by Bush & Noble, regional distributor for Sunseeker Gulf, which is exhibiting Sunseeker 74 and Sunseeker 65. Brett Noble, co-founder of Sunseeker Gulf, says: “The event so far has been fantastic. As Bush & Noble, we’ve been attending the Dubai International Boat Show for 10 years, and we’ve seen the evolution over that period – particularly since the show moved to Dubai Harbour. This year, we’re getting a lot more feedback and buyers than we have in the past. In fact, we’ve had at least half a dozen serious leads in 24 hours.”

Other new vessels launched at the event by some of the world’s most notable superyacht brands include the Beneteau Grand Trawler 62, De Antonio D46, Ferretti Yachts 780, Lagoon Catamarans Seventy 8, Riva 88’ Folgore, and the Riviera 72 also debuted during day one of the show.

Dutch superyacht firm Oceanco also revealed details of its latest superyacht concept, Aeolus, on the first day of the show.

Named after the Greek god of the wind, the 131-metre Aeolus features spectacular exterior design from Giles Taylor, in partnership with Oceanco, and interiors from Njord by Bergman Design House. At the heart of the yacht’s design is a reference to the J Class sailing yachts of the last century.