The 3rd Annual East Mediterranean Superyacht Forum took place on the 30th of May 2019 at Athens Plaza and was once again jointly produced by Quaynote Communications, the specialist conference company and producers of global events such as Opportunities in Superyachts, the annual conference in Malta and others, and Oceda S.A, a new Greece-based yacht services company.
This International Forum, brought together superyacht industry experts from across Europe and further afield such as yacht brokers, marina operators, yacht managers, lawyers, corporate service providers, yacht Associations, yacht captains and owners’ representatives.
The panelists presented their views on matters such as cruising in the Med, chartering, marina facilities, crew needs and education as well as technology on board superyachts, art maintenance on yachts, tax issues and duty free fuel.
A comparison between cruising in West and East Med showed a great number of 304 marinas in the West Med, while only 19 in the East Med, despite the latter being more popular during the summer season due to its natural beauty, green trees and blue waters.
Although West Med has a large number of marinas compared to East Med, there is a shortage of berth availability for superyachts in the summer which is an additional reason for the increased demand of marinas in the East Med.
Greece was found to progressively attract larger and newer superyachts, which is making the country a very popular destination that needs to facilitate the current administrative and bureaucratic procedures which at the moment makes it difficult for captains, owners and ship managers to cope with and causes delays.
The event was followed by a networking dinner at a traditional restaurant at the heart of Athens, Syntagma, where the attendants had the opportunity to enjoy the Greek cuisine and network.