Russians’ obsession with sea and boats is growing with every year. Some buy motorboats and yachts to escape the boring routine, while others do it – along with purchasing expensive cars and real estate – to uphold prestige.
Of course, to afford a personal vessel, one has to be rich or very rich. These people have been running a yacht fever of late, which they probably view as the most eloquent way to demonstrate their financial status and being part of the elite.
Moscow is often dubbed a port of five seas, although it is not a seaport in the usual sense. But the per capita number of boats in Moscow is evidence of its residents’ love of water travel. In absolute figures, the United States tops the list of nations with the greatest number of privately owned boats (17mn), followed by Canada (5.5mn) and Sweden (1.2mn). No official statistics is available in Russia so far.
Still, the number of people obsessed with boats is growing in Russia with every year. Russia is in for a real yacht boom, as is clear from the long waiting lists to buy the wind-driven beauty of your dreams. Russia is behind the rest of the world as usual, since other countries had overcome the boat fever several years ago. However, many local companies’ marketing specialists suggested developing the yacht business some five years ago, and they were right.
Foreign manufacturers were quick to respond to the market needs by starting dealerships in Moscow, St Petersburg and other Russian cities. Their sales went up.
“Selling boats is a serious business,” says Alexander Markarov, director general of the Moreman group and owner of the Aurora Yacht Club. “Two years ago we stopped selling from a warehouse.
Boats are delivered to owners directly from the shipyards. Some customers are lucky to have them soon, while others have to wait, especially if they have ordered custom-built boats. Bavaria models are delivered very quickly – sailing yachts with 10m to 17m hull, or 12m motor yachts. West German-made boats are the best selling of all.” “Why?” “Because German manufacturers have found a way to combine cost-efficient serial production with manual finishing.” Boats are cheaper for individual customers in accordance with Russian law.
If a company buys a yacht, it must pay 41% of its cost in taxes (18% VAT plus 23% duty), while individual clients pay 30%. This is closer to what European boat lovers have to pay. The minimum tax levied in the EU is 16%.
Foreign models are subject to customs duties (another 20% of the boat’s value), a 21.5% VAT of the total cost of the boat and delivery, and the dealer’s commission. All this brings the boat’s price up 44%.
However, customers do not have to pay the whole amount when making the order. They can make an advance payment of 10%, then pay the remaining amount in instalments.
A yacht is a luxury article, hence the price. State-ofthe- art models that Russians admire in the Mediterranean may be so expensive that even our wildest guess would be below their actual value. Boats made by best foreign shipyards are now available in Russia – yachts from Italian Fеrretti, Реrshing and Аzimut/Benetti, Dutch Feadship and Amels, German Lurssen, and French SNP Boat Service Group Rodriguez SA.
A customer has to wait several years for the delivery of a super prestigious model, but the long waiting does not scare them away.
For example, a luxurious 130’ powerboat is being built at one of the Dutch shipyards for a major Russian businessman.
He will have to pay around $7mn for his order, which is not that much compared with what the Chukchi governor paid for his yacht last autumn.
Roman Abramovich’s floating home, Pelorus, is worth around $120mn. The 115m boat steered by a 40-member crew even has a mini-sub on board, “just in case.” Luxury boats are not necessarily individually owned. A group of Samara businessmen, for example, pooled to buy a yacht. The largest local group of companies, SOK, which includes firms in many spheres of business, paid $15mn for Ulybka (Smile). The 33m wonder was built at the Moscow Shipyard, MSSZ.
It is a four-storey floating hotel finished with rare wood, Honduran Mahogany.
Those who saw it say Ulybka even outmatched the president’s Pallada, which is 5 meters shorter and 75% cheaper.
Moscow shipbuilders are not impressed by unusual orders. One of the custombuilt luxury yachts recently launched there was 38m long and cost €7mn.
The one currently in construction is 45m long and has been tentatively estimated at $14mn-$16mn.
MSSZ Director General Dmitry Mironenkov is convinced the shipyard will have enough contracts in the future. It already has orders for seven boats of the same class (33m-45m long). MSSZ boats cost 30% less than similar Western models.
True, they are delivered 1-2 years after the order is placed, but it is the same with foreign ones.
The current MSSZ lineup has been developed in close cooperation with engineers and designers from Dutch Vripack, while major German surveyor, Stefan Zucker & Partner GmbH, ensures quality.
The plant plans to launch the production of small batches of yachts soon, which means the orders will be performed quicker. The shipyard guarantees meeting each customer’s demands for exclusive interior finishing.
The yachts we have just discussed are large and expensive. But middle-class Russians, who now buy used and new foreign cars, can also afford boats, although smaller and cheaper ones.
Andrei Lisin, marketing director of RestMar, told FC Novosti that US-made Bayliner motorboats have been in high demand lately. “The demand for Bayliners is double the supply,” he said.
RestMar is the official dealer of US Bayliner и Maxum, Trophy, Meridian Yachts, Swedish Nimbus, as well as Yamaha and Arctic Cat vehicles.
The Americans are certainly interested in the Russian market, selling up to 120 boats a year in several Russian cities.
This is not the limit, however. Bayliner makes business class and economy class boats; the latter cost $15,000 and up. The most expensive Bayliner boats cost between $180,000 and $190,000.
American motorboats are bought by as many companies as individuals in Russia.
Customers want different models, but prefer fast and elegant ones. Distributors seldom have the required amount of such boats. When buying a boat, one should bear in mind the storage and maintenance costs. The relevant infrastructure is often underdeveloped in Russia.
To rent a berth in a yacht club costs at least $2 per meter per day. But a slipway is the best and most expensive place to keep the boat in winter (up to $25,000 a season). However, most yacht clubs in Russia do not provide slipways for boats longer than 12m (39’). Such boats are either ferried to the neighbouring countries where such docks are available (like Finland) or kept outside under moisture-proof covers.
Moscow boat owners usually keep their boats out of town on the Klyazma reservoir, and happily spend weekends in the numerous local yacht clubs. Some think nothing of driving a long distance every time they wish to sail their boats moored in Dubna or Konakovo.
Others prefer keeping their boats in town and going sailing in the evening.
Moscow has four traditional yacht clubs today. New berths are being intensively built, too, but even so, they are unlikely to accommodate all the boats. For example, residents of Alye Parusa, an elegant residential area in northwest Moscow on the Moskva Channel, have filed 87 applications for individual berths, with only 36 available in the local yacht club.
