How will the war in Ukraine affect European yachting?

Start of hostilities

In the early days of the war in Ukraine, one of the frequently cited topics was the West's alleged dependence on Russian oil and gas exports. The obvious impact for the yacht and superyacht sector is the supply of diesel fuel. 

Fuel markets have already reacted. For the third time in the past week, the price of marine diesel fuel has jumped by about $70. While there has been some leveling off between these events, it looks like the trend will continue. 

Most of the European fleet at this time is in the shipyard or in the marina. However, potential market volatility and rising prices are significant factors for the European fleet and superyachts worldwide.

About fuel

One point quickly becomes clear. The claim that since Russia produces a lot of oil, prices will rise because supplies are limited is too simplistic. While Russian oil exports may be relatively high and important to the country's economy, refined fuel exports have been limited since 2020. 

This happened due to the fact that the EU tightened restrictions on sulfur emissions. These limits aim to reduce the sulfur in marine fuel oil to a maximum of 0.50% and 0.10%. These rules are in effect worldwide as of January 1, 2020. Most Russian refineries have failed to comply with these restrictions. Therefore, they export fuel directly to the European market, where it is already processed. 

This did not affect Russia's ability to trade crude oil with the EU. Now, however, preliminary deliveries of fuel from the USA, the UAE and other countries are already beginning. The EU is slowly but surely phasing out both gas and Russian fossil fuels. 

Arrests and privatization of property

One of the most important events is the arrests and privatization of the property of Russian oligarchs. It is clear that yachts are also subject to sanctions. Most of them are superyachts. The yachts of big businessmen and oligarchs have already been arrested and are awaiting their fate in ports and marinas.

What will happen next with these yachts? Most likely they will be resold, and the proceeds from the sale will go to charity. A similar fate awaits penthouses with luxury homes. In the United Kingdom (Great Britain), they decided to elegantly solve the problem with empty houses - refugees from Ukraine will be settled in them. 

Prohibition to enter the water area of ports

The next stunning piece of news was a ban on Russian ships entering the waters of ports in almost half of the globe. Great Britain, France, Canada, the USA - these and many other countries have banned ships and yachts flying the Russian flag from entering their ports.

Some countries, as is usually the case, evasively ignored such decisions. Among such countries, the Maldives was noted - a small squadron of yachts of Russian oligarchs has already headed there. 

Outcomes

Directly for ordinary yachtsmen in Europe and the world, a really serious problem can be an increase in the cost of fuel. However, experts believe that prices will level off over time. This problem, according to them, is extremely short-lived. 

In addition, at the moment it is better not to visit the Black Sea - active hostilities are underway both on land and water, and in the air. Given the “blind” shelling by the Russian troops, it is not surprising to get into a very unpleasant situation.

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07.03.2022