Superyacht Times Gulf Summit Takeaways: A conference highlighting the progress achieved while acknowledging the oppurtinies and challenges ahead
JLS Yachts share significant update on UAE clearances, and Gulf Craft sets an opening date for refit and service Ajman facility.
“What’s in a destination?” The answer? More than you think. This premise served as the central thesis of this year’s Gulf Superyacht Summit. Organized by the SuperYacht Times, the two-day event took place earlier this month in Abu Dhabi, bringing together industry leaders and experts from a variety of fields and countries. The panels, presentations, and interviews shed light on an eye-opening observation. There is a shared goal among all parties to position the Middle East market as a thriving yachting hub in the years to come.
The Summit capped off an instrumental year for the Middle East in its pursuit to establish a winter destination for superyacht owners. From the opening presentation by Superyacht Times Founder Merijn de Waard to the closing talk with Heesen’s Laurens Last, the event highlighted the efforts achieved by emerging markets, from Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, to established areas such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in building the foundations needed to create a sustainable superyacht hub that brings over foreign-flagged vessels. Furthermore, the event focused on the opportunities that have yet to be tapped and was forthright in addressing the hurdles that must be overcome. This month’s feature takes the temperature of the developments made and examines three of the event’s major takeaways.
Happy holidays and all the best for 2026,
Faisal
faisal@maritimeobserver.com
“The region has pretty much started from scratch over the last 15 years. We’ve got to remember this has moved rapidly,” said Menelaus Kouzoupis, partner at Stephenson Harwood, on the first day of the SuperYacht Times Gulf Summit. ‘It’s almost reaching the level where in some of the mature markets it’s taken a century to get there.”
Surveying the ballroom at the Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers - populated by superyacht service agencies, shipyards, marina managers, and brokerage houses from the region and beyond - this remark is beyond dispute. It is the developments of the last decade, be it modernizing regulatory policies to welcome foreign yachts, investing in infrastructure to accommodate them, or staging sporting events to bring them over, that have paved the way for the Middle East to be recognized as a choice for today’s owners to cruise in.
Nowhere is this progression more pronounced than in the contrast between the panel topics of summits in previous years and those of today. “The Challenges of Yacht Ownership in the Gulf” has become “How can we attract owners to base their yachts in the Gulf region?”, “The future of the Gulf” is now ”Tracking progress in the Gulf.” and talks centered around the rise of refit services, the Red Sea and building itineraries were discussed with more nuance than was possible before. With the fundamentals laid, the two-day event set its sights on how the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea can continue to mature as a market and become a thriving superyacht hub over the next 15 years. Here are three themes coming out of the summit:
More Power in Unity: The Need for Coordinated Efforts
“The real challenge is to create easy cruising from country to country,” said Ahmad Al Ameeri, Group Chief Executive Officer of Al Ameeri Group Holding, at a panel asking how we can attract owners to base in the Gulf. Roaming between states holds a vast opportunity. For example, attending the F1 in Abu Dhabi, continuing to Oman for topographical exploration, and back to Dubai for business, as put by Salim Tayysoun, managing director of YACHTS1.
Moreover, harmonizing policies benefits not only yachts that set up shop in the Gulf, but also visiting yachts by providing a well-rounded programme that explores the region’s unique attractions. “You need to sell an itinerary,” noted SYT founder Merijn de Waard in the summit’s opening words. After all, the region affords yachts a unique proposition: the chance to extend the summertime, as reiterated by Christos Metallinos in the “building itineraries” panel. The opportunity to offer an itinerary for a 60-70-day swing gives variety to owners looking for a winter alternative to the Caribbean.
The need for a united front extends beyond the GCC, but reaches the Red Sea countries which are establishing their own superyacht sectors. Dr. Khaled Sherif, Chairman of the Egyptian Yachting and Boating Association, says there are some initiatives in that direction by the Suez Canal, all aimed at increasing yacht traffic in the region. After all, Egypt is the gateway for European yachts to go through to the Gulf, as Dr. Sherif reminds us.
However, achieving this level of coordination asks for transformation on a legislative front, requiring each jurisdiction to come together, as Kouzoupis emphasized, which carries greater potential than siloed efforts by each nation. It reinforced the concept of studying foreign markets’ efforts and provided an illustrative tale.
“We don’t want to make the same mistakes that we have in Europe, where everything is getting more and more complicated moving yachts from one country to another,” added Grant Hobart, Deputy Registrar and Commodore at Maritime Cook Islands, at a panel examining Egypt’s growing role. “Being able to enter the port without too many bureaucratic difficulties, I believe this particular moment in time is the right moment for all of the countries in the region to stick together and to be able to create some rules and regulations to make it simpler.”
Repeat Customers with Longer Stays
The surge in wealth creation over the past years, notably from technological and entrepreneurial ventures, along with the explosion of younger, exploration-focused buyers entering the market, has opened up opportunities for new places to position themselves as cruising grounds. According to the Gulf Superyacht Report 2025-2026, there are 6,215 superyachts over 30 meters in operation as of November 2025, up from 5,503 yachts in October 2022.
While a sporting event, such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar, or the annual Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, might bring the fleet over, the real challenge lies in giving the owner an incentive to come back for future seasons and to stay longer, as posited by Rosanna Chopra, executive director at Red Sea Global. As a starting point, it is essential to recognize the vessel’s role as a commercial entity.
“The key to unlocking a huge chartering business, you need to have a process in order to take my yacht out of the Mediterranean and to the Gulf for the winter,” said Kouzopis. “Will I be able to operate, keep it there for six months, and charter it?” he added. Therefore, simplifying the steps to make this easier will only bring the vessels. After all, Jeddah is only ten days away from Monaco. From there, the likelihood of an owner refitting their yacht in the region also increases.
“Service is the missing link for the region,” said Hamza Mustafa, Chief Operating Officer at Port Rashid and P&O Marinas. “We’ve built destinations, built marinas, we’re very good with hospitality, but we lack a proper service facility for mega yachts.” It should be noted that the Middle East’s refit sector has seen a sea change this year, with more facilities launching and existing centers expanding to cater to yacht refit and repair. And as the “regional shipyards” panel discussed, this sector may be unripe in some areas but is still displaying signs of growth. Javier Alcantara, head of projects at Al Seer Marine, addressed the paucity of contractors and the need for alternatives to expand the supplier network. At the same time, Sheriff Nasser, commercial manager at Romeo Marine, laid bare the realities that engineering primarily serves commercial ships. These are some of the challenges that any refit sector comes across, and many have recognized a crucial step toward guaranteeing a prosperous future in this field. Patrick Heslop, chief executive officer at Autore, implored the industry to offer in-house training as key to its growth. This comes at a pivotal moment when owners from the region, or coming to the Gulf, are expanding in size.
Owner profiles have shifted. While some business-oriented owners are spending more time in their vessels, tethered to the world by Starlink, and others are expanding their families, first-time buyers are now considering purchasing larger boats, as noted by Tayysoun. This trend underscores the pressing need for the Middle East to advance and the shortage of superyacht berths.
80% of berths in the Gulf only accommodate vessels up to 40 meters in length, said Mike Ward, Managing Director of Marina Projects, in a presentation overlooking the marina developments of the Middle East. Moreover, superyacht occupancy, notably in the UAE, is increasing, along with the 60 marinas planned to launch in the coming years. As Ward mentions, this is an opportunity to further develop destination appeal. Meanwhile, to enter these ports and marinas, the chance to improve entry and exit timeframes is key.
While entering Dubai can be a seamless process, the summit highlighted the hurdle of entering other states, which mandates the vessel to go to commercial ports, and requiring the crew to wait for up to 6 hours, said Hilary Ackermann, Port Operations and Agency Manager at JLS Yachts, who also stressed that government authorities, who are aware of the rise of vessels coming to the region, are taking proactive steps to change this. Notably, JLS Yachts, having been awarded “golden agent” status by the UAE’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, is now able to issue clearances in as little as one hour. Between governmental bodies and private-sector parties, the efforts to advance the region are recognized, with time being the missing element to completing the mission.
Patience is a Virtue
Central to the summit’s purpose was to reflect on the progress achieved thus far. It has taken place at a dizzyingly fast pace, and as several panelists have reminded us, patience is the secret to the Middle East maturing as a market.
The sector’s growth does not occur in a linear fashion. The region has had to prove its mettle during the 2023 Red Sea Crisis, when the combination of security risks and ballooning insurance rates led to a dip in yacht traffic in the Bab El Mandeb Strait. According to Captain Christos, there has been a 30-40% increase in activity since tensions emerged. This is evidenced by the Superyacht Times Gulf Report, which posted 28 vessels passing through the Strait in 2025, up from 17 in 2024. It’s a trend that suggests interest in the region is there, and signifies the patience needed by stakeholders to adapt to these changes, both internally and externally.
“When you start something new, you need a little bit of education, and it takes some time for all the operators of the field to get acclimated to the new standards being set in place. Said Bahi Naguib. Managing Partner at Felix Maritime Agency. “I think this was us just cracking the door open.”
Overall, it was clear that the participating speakers who attended the summit shared a common goal. There is a unified understanding of what it takes: the values and cultural sensibilities the region offers, the decisions needed to enhance its offerings further, and the potential to drive tourism. While the goals set in the past few years have been scored, the goal post has moved.
JLS Yachts Announced as UAE Golden Agent; Can Issue Cruising Permits in One Hour
Following a partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOEI), JLS Yacht, a superyacht service provider in the Middle East and Indian Ocean, has been announced as the golden agent for the UAE, allowing the agent to fast-track the issuing of 6-month cruising permits to foreign-flagged vessels coming to the UAE.
Gulf Craft Sets Opening Date for Superyacht Service Centre
UAE-builder Gulf Craft Group will be ringing in the new year with the launch of the Superyacht Service Centre (SYSC), a refit facility based in Ajman, UAE. Taking to the stage at the 2025 SuperYacht Times Gulf Superyacht Summit in Abu Dhabi, Gulf Craft Group CEO Erwin Bamps confirmed the opening date of January 1st 2026.