Luxury motor yachts have never been known for their environmental friendliness—gulping gallons of fuel per nautical mile and polluting waters. But that is changing.
The super yacht industry is becoming more eco friendly with many boat builders showing off fuel efficiency, sustainable materials, hybrid technologies and much more.
At the Monaco Yacht Show in September, new eco yacht models were on display.
Take the 197-foot sailing yacht "Seven," manufactured by Perini Navi in a collaboration with naval architect Ron Holland and the interior design firm Dante O. Benini. It has a 205-foot mast and a 170-foot mizzen mast so its sail size amounts to 22,000 square feet. That helps power things along more efficiently. Moreover, it’s made of aluminum and can sail into smaller ports because of a small keel design improvement.
Or take the LEED-Platinum certified Safira. She gets 62 gallons per hour of cruising. Moreover, lighting is LED and composite materials were used instead of wood, saving an estimated 200 teak trees. What wood is used on the interior is reclaimed. The boat was designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built by Florida’s Newcastle Marine.
Other famous yacht makers are joining the eco fray as well.
Hinckley, a 90-year-old legendary American boat builder, is working on a fully electric yacht. And others are bringing about clean propulsion and low-energy consumption technologies.
Luxury magazine says there are strong market reasons why the yachting industry would want to embrace sustainability. “Hybrid propulsion systems, electric motors and even soot filters reduce carbon footprints and ensure benefits that passengers definitely notice: smoother, quieter rides. Composite decking saves teak trees by the hundreds per vessel, but manufactured materials can also be more durable and efficient to maintain than wood. Longer hulls and more narrow beams improve performance and reduce propulsion demands,” the magazine reports.
Sailing the seas no longer means also polluting them.