Yachting news from Interparus (11.04.23)

New marina in Albania

On Friday, in our Telegram channel, we announced news about a new marina in Albania. Today, as promised, we will tell you more.

Just recently, the Albanian investment group Balfin announced that it will invest 350 million euros (or 381 million dollars) in the development of tourism in Albania. Almost all funds will go to the creation of a marina for 438 mooring places.

The new marina will be located in the city of Vlore. The city itself is famous for its old industrial port. Investors are looking to transform this port into a state-of-the-art marina for yachts and superyachts. According to experts, the marina will create a powerful inflow of finance into the country's treasury and should become a new tourist point on the map of Europe.

In addition to the marina, it is planned to create all the necessary adjacent infrastructure. So, hotels, residential buildings, commercial facilities will be built nearby. Also, the port renovation project will be carried out as part of a public-private partnership. There has never been such a project in the history of the country.

Vlora is the third largest city in Albania with a population of 100,000 inhabitants. In addition to the old port, on the territory of which a new marina will be built, the city also has the second largest port in the country.

Looking forward to more boats from South Africa?

Since last July, the giant Robinson drydock has been closed in South Africa - it has been updated and modernized for almost a year. Before it was closed for modernization, it was the most important dock in the entire Cape Town, because it was there that not only yachts and catamarans were produced, but also superyachts and merchant ships.

The dock was finally opened last week. It is gradually starting to work in full force, but already now there are intermediate results. First of all, superyachts were serviced in the dock. With the launch of the dock in full force, South Africa will become an even more attractive destination for superyacht owners. 

Very soon sailing yachts will return to the dock. Prior to closing, Robinson managed to take on the 32m yacht Southern Wind and an unnamed 43m aluminum sloop. Alex Blaine, executive head of the port where the dock is located, said: "The commissioning process has been a very collaborative process of all stakeholders and is a prime example of government, industry and business working together towards a common goal." 

Currently, support for the dock and nearby infrastructure does not end there - plans are underway to build a land-based facility to provide additional service for yachts and superyachts.

Yacht boom in Spain

Something strange is going on in Spain. In the first quarter of 2023, 1315 boats (!) were registered in the country, of which 850 were for private use, and another 465 for charter. This data was provided by the Spanish National Association of Marine Companies (ANEN).

For boats up to 6 m in length, the figure has increased. In 2023, small yachts began to buy 6% more than in 2022. As for boats of other sizes, then everything is a little sadder, because their performance has fallen. 

What other interesting statistics does ANEN give us? Interesting data are available regarding the types of boats. So, people began to buy more folding inflatable boats (demand increased by 50.5%), jet skis (42.9%) and motor boats (4.5%). Large motor boats and medium-large sailing yachts have lost their positions.

Well, where without charters! The Balearic Islands continue to lead the way in registrations with a share of 30.1%, followed by Catalonia with 21.4% and Valencia with their honestly earned 12.9%.

But so far this is an intermediate result. It will be possible to judge with confidence about some trend for the year closer to the calendar middle of the year, that is, by the end of the second quarter.

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11.04.2023