john risley yacht

Selfmade Canadian billionaire John Risley is getting himself one of the world’s largest and most innovative yachts. The Lurssen-built $350 million ‘Project Icecap’ is 351 feet long. It will have a powerful hybrid propulsion system, an infinity pool, and a fold-out beach club.

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ICECAP: The next stage of the NORTHERN STAR journey

For fisherman and owner John Risley, life has never not involved the ocean in one way or another. From growing up as a young boy on the misty shores of Nova Scotia, Canada to steering a global empire today that manages the abundant valuable resources that our oceans have to offer, Risley is as much an adventurer in the business world as he is out at sea. Few owners know as much about the last frontier that is our ocean as much as Risley himself and being reliant on its hidden treasures to make a living, few are as passionate about the wellbeing and sustainability of its inhabitants.

Currently working on his latest deep-ocean luxury superyacht that will carry on the famed Northern Star name, we couldn’t think of a better time or issue to catch up with Risley to talk about the yacht life, ownership and protecting our seven seas.

“If you wanna go way back, I guess it all started with a rowboat,” comes Risley’s answer as I ask him to recall his first time at sea. As co-owner of the 51.5-metre Royal Huisman sailing yacht, Meteor , Risley’s time at sea has been spent on a number of different vessels, ranging from deep-sea trawlers and scientific research ships to weekends racing on 20-foot wooden sailing boats. “My first love is sailing, absolutely. Having said that, if you are going to spend a lot of time on the water, then you have to realise there are limits associated with sailing, especially when it comes to longer trips and the logistics that come with that.”

Risley’s love for sailing is what drove his purchase of the 1990 Palmer Johnson, Maysylph (now named Axia ); a 37.5-metre motorsailer that became his first vessel to bear the Northern Star name. His time on this yacht, as it turns out, is what would ultimately put in motion a two-decade relationship with the German shipyard Lurssen and an even more flourishing partnership with Moran Yacht & Ship; Risley’s long-time yacht brokerage firm and advisor. “The step from the Palmer Johnson to the first Lurssen, now thinking about it, probably came from my mentality – something which the entire industry is guilty of, including myself – where I thought bigger is better. I now know bigger is not always better, bigger just means different things. It depends entirely on what you want to do on the water, and therefore smaller is sometimes better. But right now, I am still in the ‘bigger is better’ mode.”

What followed surely can be described as bigger. ‘The first Lurssen’ Risley mentioned is, of course, the 63-metre Northern Star from 2005, better known as Polar Star since changing name two years after her launch. Shortly after, in 2009, another vessel of the same name was delivered by the German yacht builder, this time a 75.6-metre motor yacht that, from a distance, could easily be mistaken as her former little sister. It was on his new Northern Star that Risley discovered the world’s oceans in a way he and his family have never experienced before and drove home the realisation that he needs to take care of this precious environment, even harder.

“I am on the forefront of financial activity from the ocean, not just fishing but also energy and other fields of economic development. I am very lucky having had a rowing boat growing up as a young boy and being exposed to the ocean. The ocean remains a huge area for economic activity on a global front, so I want to spend more time at sea and be more aware of the changes that are taking place in the ocean – there are some dramatic changes taking place, not only affecting marine life but on a larger scale. I want to be close to that, and aware of it all while at the same time being a responsible steward of the ocean and what it has to offer.”

And so, to continue living his dream of a life at sea, Risley has embarked on an ambitious new project by drawing inspiration from decades of work building offshore vessels. “The insight I have into the commercial shipping sector (as we operate both in the offshore supply field as well as deep sea fishing) has given me loads to think about when it comes to the development of my boats. Big motor yachts are, as it stands, some of the most inefficient vessels in the world when compared to heavy-duty commercial vessels and their lives at sea. Knowing this, our new project at Lurssen will probably be the most efficient motor yacht in the world when completed.”

What Risley proposes is a complete redevelopment of the engine room on board his new vessel and the way the power it generates will be utilised. Gone are the days of wasteful hours of running generators and instead, a large bank of batteries will supply the vessel with all the electricity it needs. “The only time the gensets will come online is when the batteries need to be recharged,” he explains. “If you consider the setup which the majority of motor yachts run on, they have two main engines and three gensets. And when these vessels are underway, you have at any given time at least three of those engines running, if not four – which is crazy! If commercial vessels are not operated like that, then why on earth are we operating motor yachts in that way?”

Risley understands that the available modern-day technology needed to make old-school fossil fuels redundant are not entirely up to speed yet, but that this should also not hinder ambitious users to explore the possibilities that the existing tech offers today. “Sure, the Tesla’s coming out in five years from now will have better batteries, but that should not stop you from buying a Tesla today. The field has improved by leaps and bounds and there is no doubt that in five years time there will be even better batteries on the market than what there are today, but that is no reason to not use today’s batteries and available technology.”

Being at the forefront of innovation, however, requires one to have the support and knowledge of an experienced partner to successfully pull of such an ambitious project. Risley found this trust in Moran Yacht & Ship, a firm with whom he has built several vessels and from which he has learned many valuable lessons when it comes to creating superyachts. One topic that clearly stands out to Risley is the value of a broker during the build process. “ If you think about building a very expensive property, who do you have? You pick your builder very carefully, your architect, interior designer and you make sure you have all the professional help that you can get. Yet, people very often go and build large motor yachts and think the right thing to do is to not find and pay a key advisor any commission as if it is an optional cost that they don’t have to incur. Well, you incur the cost one way or the other. You either pay the commission, or you get a vessel that is more expensive, less capable or not up to the standard you originally expected. And I would tell anyone, as someone who has built probably more vessels – not only motor yachts – than most owners, that it is the best investment you can make.”

But for Risley, involving an experienced build partner has far more valuable consequences than merely ensuring the vessel is delivered on time, especially if what you are trying to pull off has never been done before. “You want an advisor who builds large motor yachts for a living. Someone who has three or four projects on the go simultaneously. That is how you learn from other projects and other people’s mistakes. All that data becomes anonymised, and it then becomes not about ‘what is the colour of that guy’s bathroom’, but more about what we can learn from each other in terms of new technology and building methods.”

The yacht in question is the new 107-metre Lurssen project Icecap which, reveals her owner, will be ready for launch in early 2021. Designed to fit in with the Risleys’ off-the-beaten-track approach to cruising, we can expect the new Ice-classed vessel to be brimming with off-road features only available on a ship this size. A large helicopter landing pad with its own sunken hangar will allow easy transfers to shore no matter where in the world the yacht is. For a more tamed sightseeing experience, a special observation room will be located right on the bow for a 180-degree view of the scenery passing by. One thing that certainly won’t be on board, according to Risley, is a submarine. “I am claustrophobic and I have absolutely no desire to be slowly sinking in a glass bowl.”

As the conversation continues, it seems that the most challenging part of the entire operation would be deciding where to take his new vessel when it is completed. “I want to cruise everywhere. I don’t mean to be facetious when I say that, but we don’t really enjoy the heavily-travelled areas. We have been to them, and we don’t really feel the need to keep returning to the same spots time and again, over and over. The times we have been to remote areas, our guests have been awestruck each time by the beauty, such as Greenland, which we have cruised extensively and only scratched the surface. So these are the type of destinations we would like to visit and to which we want to bring our family, friends and business associates along to experience it with us because it is unique. I don’t really see what is particularly unique about the south coast of France. If you keep going there, you will not experience things that no one else has done before.”

I can sense the hesitancy in Risley’s voice as he continues to talk about the benefits of getting outside the regular cruising grounds. “We go into remote anchorages and we love the fact that there is, by definition, no one else around so it is sort of counterintuitive to say that people should do the same with their yachts. On the other hand, I think that the more people are aware of what the ocean has to offer and how unique it is, what fantastic treasures it holds and how to become proper stewards of it, it can only benefit the ocean environment in the long term. I don’t want to pour cold water on those people who keep going back to their favourite spots in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, I would just encourage people to do more things with their vessels than going to those same old places.”

For an owner that has remained so under the radar over his yachting life, John Risley sure has a lot to teach to aspiring owners with ambitions to use yachting for the greater good. But after his ‘ bigger is better ’ phase, will he ever return to building another sailing yacht, I wonder? “I don’t know. At some point in your life, you have to confront your own mortality and say, ‘hey, how long am I going to be here?’. I hope I can keep building boats until I die.”

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The top 100 superyacht Northern Star has been anchored off the north shore of Bar Island in Frenchman Bay for the last few weeks. The 248-foot vessel, built in 2009 for Canadian billionaire John Risley, has its own helicopter landing pad and can sleep 12 in six staterooms. Offered for charter at the rate of $726,000 per week plus expenses, it is operated by a crew of 22. It was recently listed for sale for $170 million.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPT. WINSTON SHAW

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BAR HARBOR — The top 100 superyacht Northern Star has been anchored off the north shore of Bar Island in Frenchman Bay for the last few weeks. The 248-foot vessel, built in 2009 for Canadian billionaire John Risley, has its own helicopter landing pad and can sleep 12 in six staterooms. Offered for charter at …

Billionaire John Risley’s yacht anchors in Frenchman Bay

• Sep 23, 2015

BAR HARBOR — The top 100 superyacht Northern Star has been anchored off the north shore of Bar Island in Frenchman Bay for the last few weeks.

The 248-foot vessel, built in 2009 for Canadian billionaire John Risley, has its own helicopter landing pad and can sleep 12 in six staterooms. Offered for charter at the rate of $726,000 per week plus expenses, it is operated by a crew of 22. It was recently listed for sale for $170 million.

• Frenchman Bay

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What we could do for the price of John Risley’s yacht

Quick now. How many Nova Scotians — earning Canada’s average industrial wage of $58,800 a year — could be hired for one full year for the reported asking price of John Risley’s one new, never-even sailed US$350-million luxury yacht?

Don’t even bother with the currency conversion.

If you guessed 5,992 with a little left over to hire a few summer students at more than a typically generous hourly wage, you probably used the same computer calculator I did.

Since you did so well on that question, let’s try another.

Last week, Nova Scotia’s minimum wage review committee recommended that the province’s minimum wage — currently set at $13.60, the second lowest in the entire country — be increased to $15 on October 1.

The Houston government said it will… think about it.

“We thank the committee for its important work as the minimum wage rate impacts Nova Scotians in every region of the province,” said Jill Balser, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration. “As we decide on the path forward, it’s important that we take a balanced approach and consider the impacts to employers and employees, particularly as all Nova Scotians and businesses continue to deal with the rising cost of living and inflation.”

Perhaps Balser could just ask John Risley — estimated net worth $1.2 billion — to help out.

Currently, around 32,000 Nova Scotians earn the $13.60 minimum wage. With his $350 million available for discretionary spending, Risley could afford to fully fund more than a third of them — 11,218 — at $31,200 per year. That’s how much a person working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks — no vacation at all, this is the real world — would earn at the $15 minimum wage.

Or perhaps Risley could direct his $350 million to help top up Nova Scotia’s current minimum wage by $9.90 an hour to match the latest calculation for a living wage in Halifax , which is $23.50 an hour.

The possibilities are endless.

But it’s also probably fair to suggest we can’t depend on the generosity of the rich to solve our income problems. Well, more than fair…

Last week — the first week of January 2023 — was the week in which Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs “earned” what it will take the average Canadian worker all of 2023 to make.  

Actually, those CEOs didn’t even need a full week to eclipse the yearly earnings of ordinary workers. If we’d started the compensation clock ticking on Monday morning, January 2 at 9 am, in fact, the first lapped-those-working-stiffs alarm would have been triggered just over 24 hours later at 9:43 a.m. on Tuesday.

No wonder the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which compiles such information, calls its latest report on CEO pay, Breakfast of Champions:

Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs broke every compensation record on the books in 2021… Total income? Record-shattering. Disparity between worker pay and CEO-pay? Historic. Amount of CEO pay tied directly to inflation-juicing corporate profits? Unprecedented… Those 100 CEOs, who are overwhelmingly male, got paid an average of $14.3 million in 2021, smashing the previous record of $11.8 million in 2018 and setting a new all-time high in our data series. They now make 243 times more than the average worker wage in Canada, up considerably from the previous high of 227 times the average worker wage in 2018.

Uh, wait a minute… that sounds like inflation to me. Isn’t inflation awful for the economy, worse for all of us? Doesn’t the Bank of Canada keep raising interest rates just to save us from our spendthrift ways? To keep us from wasting our money on expensive frivols like food and shelter and fuel?

Well, responds the CCPA’s report, yes but…

While inflation hurts workers, it’s great for corporate profit that have hit historic highs. When profits go up, executive bonuses are driven way up. In 2021, variable compensation (bonuses) made up 83 per cent of the best-paid CEOs’ total compensation, up considerably from 69 per cent in 2008.  “We think of inflation as bad for everyone, but for CEOs it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Historically high profits based on historically high inflation mean historically high bonuses for CEOs,” [CCPA senior economist David] Macdonald says. “When times are bad, like during the pandemic, CEO bonus formulas are altered to protect them; in good times, like 2021, the champagne never runs dry.

Although “soaring CEO pay” is currently going unchecked, the CCPA argues there are“policy solutions governments can use “to address this rampant income inequality between the rich and the rest of us.”

It’s all about the taxes, stupid. Still. Always.

The CCPA calls for four specific tax changes:

• Limiting corporate deductibility of compensation over $1 million 
• Closing the capital gains inclusion rate loophole, used almost exclusively by the rich
• Implementing higher top marginal tax brackets
• Introducing a wealth tax

Will Ottawa pay any attention? Don’t bet on it.

There’s still that war on inflation they need to win. For us…

Meanwhile, back at the yacht brokers.

According to the business website, allnovascotia.com , reports in German media suggest Risley sold his 107-metre superyacht IceCap — “the 63 rd largest superyacht on the planet,” custom-built with 10 guest cabins, including four for VIPs, a helicopter pad, teak decks, a dance floor, steam room, elevator, beauty salon, and and and — to a Ukrainian-American billionaire just weeks before it was scheduled to be delivered.

The buyer, Len Blavatnik, a former Soviet oligarch who got rich from the privatization of state assets following the break up of the Soviet Union, has apparently already renamed it Shackelton .

Risley declined to comment to allnovascotia , “citing a confidentiality agreement.”

Risley had earlier claimed he needed such a large vessel because “his sailboats and other yachts” couldn’t reach rugged, remote destinations such as the coast of Greenland.

And so it goes. Canada 2023. Pity.

A version of this column originally appeared in the  Halifax Examiner . 

To read the latest column, please  subscribe .

• StephenKimber
• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Income inequality John Risley Living Wage Minimum wage

We need a maximum wage of $500,000. Per year should be set. Any salary over $500000. Should be taxed at 65% this will pay for the minimum wage of $20.00 per hr.

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What could we do for the price of John Risley’s yacht?

Share this:

Quick now. How many Nova Scotians — earning Canada’s average industrial wage of $58,800 a year — could be hired for one full year for the reported asking price of John Risley’s one new, never-even sailed US$350-million luxury yacht?

Don’t even bother with the currency conversion.

If you guessed 5,992 with a little left over to hire a few summer students at more than a typically generous hourly wage, you probably used the same computer calculator I did.

Since you did so well on that question, let’s try another.

Last week, Nova Scotia’s minimum wage review committee recommended that the province’s minimum wage — currently set at $13.60, the second lowest in the entire country — be increased to $15 on October 1.

The Houston government said it will… think about it.

“We thank the committee for its important work as the minimum wage rate impacts Nova Scotians in every region of the province,” said Jill Balser, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration. “As we decide on the path forward, it’s important that we take a balanced approach and consider the impacts to employers and employees, particularly as all Nova Scotians and businesses continue to deal with the rising cost of living and inflation.”

Perhaps Balser could just ask John Risley — estimated net worth $1.2 billion — to help out.

Currently, around 32,000 Nova Scotians earn the $13.60 minimum wage. With his $350 million available for discretionary spending, Risley could afford to fully fund more than a third of them — 11,218 — at $31,200 per year. That’s how much a person working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks — no vacation at all, this is the real world — would earn at the $15 minimum wage.

Or perhaps Risley could direct his $350 million to help top up Nova Scotia’s current minimum wage by $9.90 an hour to match the latest calculation for a living wage in Halifax , which is $23.50 an hour.

The possibilities are endless.

But it’s also probably fair to suggest we can’t depend on the generosity of the rich to solve our income problems. Well, more than fair…

Last week — the first week of January 2023 — was the week in which Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs “earned” what it will take the average Canadian worker all of 2023 to make.  

Actually, those CEOs didn’t even need a full week to eclipse the yearly earnings of ordinary workers. If we’d started the compensation clock ticking on Monday morning, January 2 at 9am, in fact, the first lapped-those-working-stiffs alarm would have been triggered just over 24 hours later at 9:43 a.m. on Tuesday.

No wonder the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which compiles such information, calls its latest report on CEO pay, Breakfast of Champions:

Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs broke every compensation record on the books in 2021… Total income? Record-shattering. Disparity between worker pay and CEO-pay? Historic. Amount of CEO pay tied directly to inflation-juicing corporate profits? Unprecedented… Those 100 CEOs, who are overwhelmingly male, got paid an average of $14.3 million in 2021, smashing the previous record of $11.8 million in 2018 and setting a new all-time high in our data series. They now make 243 times more than the average worker wage in Canada, up considerably from the previous high of 227 times the average worker wage in 2018.

Uh, wait a minute… that sounds like inflation to me. Isn’t inflation awful for the economy, worse for all of us? Doesn’t the Bank of Canada keep raising interest rates just to save us from our spendthrift ways? To keep us from wasting our money on expensive frivols like food and shelter and fuel?

Well, responds the CCPA’s report, yes but…

While inflation hurts workers, it’s great for corporate profit that have hit historic highs. When profits go up, executive bonuses are driven way up. In 2021, variable compensation (bonuses) made up 83 per cent of the best-paid CEOs’ total compensation, up considerably from 69 per cent in 2008.  “We think of inflation as bad for everyone, but for CEOs it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Historically high profits based on historically high inflation mean historically high bonuses for CEOs,” [CCPA senior economist David] Macdonald says. “When times are bad, like during the pandemic, CEO bonus formulas are altered to protect them; in good times, like 2021, the champagne never runs dry.

Although “soaring CEO pay” is currently going unchecked, the CCPA argues there are policy solutions governments can use “to address this rampant income inequality between the rich and the rest of us.”

It’s all about the taxes, stupid. Still. Always.

The CCPA calls for four specific tax changes:

• Limiting corporate deductibility of compensation over $1 million 
• Closing the capital gains inclusion rate loophole, used almost exclusively by the rich
• Implementing higher top marginal tax brackets
• Introducing a wealth tax

Will Ottawa pay any attention? Don’t bet on it.

There’s still that war on inflation they need to win. For us…

Meanwhile, back at the yacht brokers.

According to the business website, allnovascotia.com , reports in German media suggest Risley sold his 107-metre superyacht IceCap — “the 63 rd largest superyacht on the planet,” custom-built with 10 guest cabins, including four for VIPs, a helicopter pad, teak decks, a dance floor, steam room, elevator, beauty salon, and and and — to a Ukrainian-American billionaire just weeks before it was scheduled to be delivered.

The buyer, Len Blavatnik, a former Soviet oligarch who got rich from the privatization of state assets following the break up of the Soviet Union, has apparently already renamed it Shackelton .

Risley declined to comment to allnovascotia , “citing a confidentiality agreement.”

Risley had earlier claimed he needed such a large vessel because “his sailboats and other yachts” couldn’t reach rugged, remote destinations such as the coast of Greenland.

And so it goes. Canada 2023. Pity.

Stephen Kimber

Stephen Kimber is an award-winning writer, editor, broadcaster, and educator. A journalist for more than 50 years whose work has appeared in most Canadian newspapers and magazines, he is the author of... More by Stephen Kimber

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Let the rich get richer and poor poorer and then wonder why there is civil war.

Raise taxes and companies will simply move to another lower tax jurisdiction.

…is a myth made up by rich people to keep you from taxing them at appropriate rates.

And what if it does happen? Everybody gets to go back to supporting a local business instead of a big box store…don’t threaten me with a good time.

If we continue to pretend that we live in a society that cares about humans and other living things (religious dogma and all that) then we need to question why rich people are allowed to get rich. Aren’t the earth’s resources here for all creatures large and small? Risley’s case is particularly illustrative because he got wealthy through the assistance of government money and being allowed to plunder the common resources of the planet for free. As long as there are rich people there will be many more poor people, As long as there are rich people we do not live in a fair and just society.

The rich definitely aren’t saving us. And just a reminder that if you see someone stealing milk at the grocery store, no you didn’t.

Blavatnik is a name well known in London UK context…the Tate Blavatnik Tower was the setting for the young boy pushed over the railing.

We should all have the benefit of the most generous pension plan in Canada – the honour goes to HRM. We should all have the benefit of a big fat check upon retirement – the honour goes to HRM where you will get a long service award of 6 months. No other municipality or government hand them out. Last time I looked at HRM audited statements the unfunded liability for the awards is $81.56 million ( page 15 https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/budget-finances/march-31-2022-audited-financial-statements.pdf ) Professors in the fully funded Dalhousie University pension plan are entitled to a generous defined benefit pension which,like the HRM plan, is not integrated with CPP.

Colin … and?? What does that have to do with article?

All that money wasted on the wealthy.

OMG! It is hard to imagine but I guess every country has its “oligarchs.” I think it is time for a wealth tax AND a liveable wage.

Buying in to the Lürssen Lifestyle

“To those who have never owned a yacht, but who have the means, you don’t know what you are missing,” says John Risley. It’s a decisive statement from someone who certainly speaks from experience: Risley is the ex-owner of the 63-metre Polar Star and the 75-metre Northern Star , now called Bella Vita , both highly capable superyachts built by the family-owned German yard Lürssen . But what does owning a Lürssen entail, and what is it about the superyacht lifestyle that attracts such a wide variety of individuals?

Ask a selection of owners what they love best about their yacht and they will invariably give you a range of answers, but a common theme is always the peace and privacy that a yacht affords. Privacy is a crucial factor in making a yacht feel like a home away from home – rather than a hotel – a place where you can relax and let your guard down with friends and family.

“A luxury hotel is a commercial establishment. A yacht is a home and a place to welcome and entertain family and friends. The two don't compare,” says Risley. By its very nature, a yacht affords an isolation from the outside world, something increasingly rare in this digital age. “I love the feeling of being removed from the stress of traffic and the urban pressures. The whole pace of life slows down on a boat,” adds Risley.

Shahid Khan is a well-known businessman and sports club owner, but in the superyacht industry he is also known for being a repeat Lürssen owner, and currently owning one of the most talked-about yachts since her launch in 2015, Kismet . “I wanted to own my own yacht because it’s an expression of freedom and adventure that cannot be equalled, and the experience you get is one you can share with family, friends and business associates,“ he says. “One of my favourite parts of being on board is knowing that anything is possible, whether it’s a beautiful journey with loved ones or a celebration with hundreds of friends, old and new.”

Lürssen is a well-known name in the superyacht industry, having built some of the most famous yachts over the years, and, recently, many of the largest. The pedigree of a shipyard is certainly a top consideration for many would-be buyers. Kismet ’s 95.2 metres make her one of the largest superyachts in the global fleet today, but the German yard can also lay claim to some even more impressive figures, such as building Azzam , at 180-metres the largest superyacht by length in the world, and Dilbar , 156-metres, the largest by total interior volume, at 15,917 gross tonnes. However, size isn’t everything, and the yard builds yachts from 50-metres in length.

“We chose Lürssen because we wanted safety, stability, quality and lasting value,” says the owner of Lady Kathryn V , a 61-metre yacht launched by the yard in 2011. “Our family always had smaller boats, and after a yachting trip as a guest, we decided we wanted our own yacht. Our times aboard Lady Kathryn V are the best times of our lives, especially when family and friends join us.” Positive feedback about building a custom yacht is not hard to come by, but it can still be a long and sometimes daunting process, which is where choosing the right shipyard to build the right yacht comes in to play.

“Owning a yacht, any yacht, is a very personal experience,” says Risley. “Custom yachts more so, as that experience extends to the design, the construction and the use. A yacht becomes a part of the family because it brings family together, and produces wonderful memories and happy times. I want to build my yachts with a family, and a yard owner whose handshake means something. I want to do business with people who take pride in what they do, who have a long attachment to the business, so it's not just a business, it's a passion and a source of great satisfaction.”

In terms of useful advice for anyone thinking of building a superyacht, Khan’s suggestions are succinct: “I am biased, but I have been yachting for almost two decades, so I feel I have an educated viewpoint on this. The first thing you do is start with the best. That’s Lürssen.”

Like a number of owners before him, Khan has once again put his trust in the family-owned business and built more than one yacht with the German yard, the current Kismet replacing a smaller yacht launched a few years ago.

Kismet has travelled extensively, including to London on a number of occasions. This has to be one of the main draws of yachting: the ability to see so many new places. “I have many ‘favourite places’, so I cannot choose which I prefer,” says Khan. “The way I look at it, cruising to any destination on Kismet is special. Wherever we end up, it’s my favourite place in the world at that time.” And when it comes to onboard spaces, the choice is equally difficult. “The great thing about Kismet is that Lürssen made it possible to have multiple favourite places on board, depending on the environment, guests or event. If I were alone, I’d say it’s the eagle’s nest on the very top deck.  When we have a party or 300-plus guests, then it’s the main saloon with the two-story lounge videos.  However with family, it’s the bridge deck aft with the open air, beach deck and outdoor cinema.”

For the owner of Lady Kathryn V , the bridge deck is also a preferred spot to relax in. “We love the bridge deck salon and bar with its 180 degree floor to ceiling views. This is one of the best parts of owning a yacht: the ever-changing view. And of course the relaxation and privacy.”

Owning a superyacht is certainly luxurious, but that isn’t just down to the first class service or the inherent privacy; there is also the luxury of choice in how to spend your time. Whether relaxing in the world’s hotspots or travelling to the remotest points around the globe, spontaneity is your friend if you so choose, as is deciding to wake up in a new place every day. “Being on a yacht is adventurous and truly dazzles all of your senses,” says Khan. Owning a superyacht truly is an infinitely rewarding experience for those who value time with friends and family away from the eyes of the world.

About Lürssen

The German yacht-builder Lürssen has earned an international reputation as the No. 1 specialist in exclusive, custom-built yachts. The privately run company was founded in 1875 and remains solely in the hands of the 4th generation of the Lürssen family. With a workforce of 2700, Lürssen maintains eight state-of-the-art facilities at Bremen-Aumund, Lemwerder, Berne, Rendsburg, Wilhelmshaven, Wolgast and two yards in Hamburg. Its main headquarters are located in Bremen.

Lürssen Yachts

E-mail: [email protected]

www.lurssen.com

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John Risley: The N.S. Entrepreneur Who Helped Build Three Billion-Dollar Companies

Huddle Staff Insights , Podcast 0

In this week’s Huddle “Insights” podcast, David Campbell and Don Mills continue their series profiling the region’s top entrepreneurs with one of Atlantic Canada’s most successful business leaders, John Risley, someone who has been part of building three different companies that were sold for more than $1 billion each.

Risley shares candid opinions about the kinds of public policy changes needed in Atlantic Canada. He also tells the story about how Clearwater Seafoods was founded and the decision to sell to a company with an ownership group that includes a Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition .

“[We] didn’t’ have family in the business and it made sense to pass ownership on to [peope] we thought would be good stewards of what we had put together over the long term,” says Risley.

“The company will have had its best year ever since the sale, so it’s a great way for them to have started off this relationship with the company performing above both their expectations and our expectations.”

You can listen to the conversation with Risley in the player above. Better yet, search for “Huddle Insights” on a podcast platform like Apple or Spotify. Follow the show and never miss an episode. You can also listen to past episodes on those platforms.

The “Insights” podcast  combines the experiences of an economist, David Campbell, and a social scientist, Don Mills, to explore the challenges and opportunities facing Atlantic Canada, to promote data-driven decision-making among policymakers, and to encourage a wider dialogue and debate leading to greater prosperity for the region.

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Calgary Herald ePaper

How john risley, the nova scotia billionaire who built a seafood empire, ensured it would end up in indigenou, quentin casey.

Nova Scotia’s John Risley is as synonymous with the seafood industry as he is with his lavish lifestyle and generous spirit. He’s come a long way from a dumpy roadside lobster shop to a $ 1- billion deal that ensures a Mi’kmaq community once relocated by the government and cut off from the ocean ‘ will be fishing for the rest of time.’

In Nova Scotia, John Risley is arguably a household name, synonymous with the seafood industry and his many conspicuous possessions. On both fronts, his reputation is well earned. In 1976, he and his brother- in- law Colin Macdonald started Clearwater, a dumpy retail lobster shop on the side of a suburban Halifax highway.

From that simple start, Risley fundamentally changed the Atlantic Canadian lobster industry — transforming it from a seasonal, afterthought business to a year- round, $ 3- billion sector where lobsters are shipped overnight by air to customers in Europe and Asia, a premise unheard of before Risley entered the industry. Along the way, Clearwater matured into a global seafood company.

As his wealth grew, Risley became well known for his lavish spending on superyachts, artwork, planes, charitable causes, as well as houses and private islands around Chester, a Nova Scotia seaside village that has long served as a retreat for wealthy Canadians and Americans.

But there’s much more to John Risley than seafood sales and a penchant for big spending.

He’s the co- creator, builder, and visionary behind three global companies: Clearwater, which he and Macdonald sold in 2021 for $1 billion; Ocean Nutrition Canada, a research and nutritional supplement company that specialized in omega-3 fatty acids and was later sold for nearly $600 million; and Columbus Communications, which started as a one- country cable company and eventually triggered two multibillion-dollar telecom mergers.

Risley’s more recent investments span other global sectors, including renewable energy, alternative protein from insects, international banking, electric vehicles, and outer space — through his controlling purchase of MDA, maker of Canada’s iconic Canadarm technology. Despite all his success, it’s quite possible his biggest deal still lies ahead.

Ultimately, Risley has evolved from a university dropout who initially failed in multiple businesses to one of Canada’s most dynamic entrepreneurs.

WHILE OTHERS WERE HUNKERING DOWN TO WAIT OUT THE PANDEMIC, ENTREPRENEUR AND VISIONARY JOHN RISLEY WAS DRIVING A DEAL WORTH BILLIONS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY PUT CLEARWATER — THE SEAFOOD COMPANY HE HELPED BUILD FROM A ROADSIDE SHOP — INTO THE HANDS OF THE MEMBERTOU FIRST NATION. IT WAS ANOTHER CHAPTER IN RISLEY’S LONG HISTORY WITH THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY, LONG BEFORE RECONCILIATION BECAME PART OF THE NATIONAL DISCUSSION.

The following abridged excerpt, from Quentin Casey’s new biography, Net Worth: John Risley, Clearwater, and the Building of a Billion- Dollar Empire, details Clearwater’s 2017 fight with the Trudeau government and how that showdown heavily influenced the $1-billion sale of the company four years later.

In August 2014, federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau visited Halifax for a $ 1,000- a- ticket fundraising reception hosted at the home of entrepreneur ( and Risley brother- in- law) Mickey Macdonald, who was endorsing Trudeau for prime minister. Trudeau’s Nova Scotia trip also included a boxing match against his host at Mickey’s gym, presumably to help toughen Trudeau’s image. “We need a change and I think Justin is the change we need,” Mickey told reporters gathered to see the fight.

His opinion of Trudeau has since changed significantly.

“I’m very disappointed in that guy. I thought he was sincere but he’s just a weak guy. He’s very weak,” Mickey told me in early 2020, pointing to ongoing pipeline and railway blockades as evidence. “He tried to be a tough guy when he came down and boxed with me. His whole thing was to kick the shit out of me — knock me down and knock me out. He couldn’t even hit me. I was just knocking his punches down. I could have knocked him out a couple times,” Mickey continued. “But I didn’t want to do that. He had his kid there. I just played around with him. ... I didn’t want to (embarrass) him.”

In September 2017, Mickey, as a Clearwater Seafoods board member and significant shareholder, might have secretly wished he’d flattened Trudeau when he had the chance. That’s when Trudeau’s government suddenly attempted to break Clearwater’s exclusive hold on Canada’s offshore Arctic surf clam quota — an unfair “monopoly,” according to the company’s critics.

The federal Fisheries Department announced it was creating a fourth surf clam licence for 2018 — representing a quarter of the total allowable catch — and would award it to an Indigenous entity in Atlantic Canada or Quebec. Clearwater would still hold three Arctic surf clam licences, covering 75 per cent of the TAC.

Risley, Colin and Mickey Macdonald, and the rest of the board believed a quarter of the company’s quota was being “expropriated,” and they were livid — for two main reasons.

One was the government’s expressed motivation: Dominic Leblanc, then the fisheries minister, said the fourth licence would allow an Indigenous community to participate in an offshore fishery for the first time, calling it “a powerful step toward reconciliation.”

“That was a political thing,” Mickey told me. “Those clams are caught two hundred miles offshore ... That wasn’t part of the fisheries of the Indigenous people(s).”

The company’s primary argument, however, was this: the Arctic surf clam was a product of little value until Clearwater pioneered new markets and better harvesting technology in the mid-1980s; therefore, any new quota holder was simply benefiting from Clearwater’s expensive and time- consuming efforts in building the sector from nothing.

“Without Clearwater, the species would be worth nothing,” explained Stephen Greene, a Canadian senator who was Risley’s assistant from 1986 to 1994, the period in which Clearwater was developing the surf clam industry by pumping millions of dollars into vessels and marketing efforts. “We became the largest in surf clams after losing lots and lots and lots of money ... After about seven or eight years of losses, big losses, we figured it out.”

By 1999, Clearwater held all three federal surf clam licences, with the other clam companies having folded or sold out to Clearwater. “All of those transactions were vetted by the government and conditions were imposed on us around investment and jobs, which we lived up to 100 per cent,” Risley explained.

Fast forward to 2017; the surf clam fishery was a year- round operation, with Clearwater’s three licences covering roughly 35,000 metric tonnes of inshell clams. ( The clams, which have red flesh when cooked, are popular in sushi in Japan, China, and South Korea, where they are known as hokkigai or bei gei bei.) Clearwater‘ s surf clam sales totalled around $100 million annually — more than 15 per cent of the company’s total sales.

At the time of Leblanc’s decision, 452 people worked in Clearwater’s surf clam business — on the company’s three clam vessels and in two processing plants.

For Risley, it was further proof the Canadian fishery was myopic. “This is why the industry is a stupid industry,” he told me. “It wouldn’t happen with any other of our natural resources. It wouldn’t cross anybody’s mind that we should arrive on Irving’s doorstep in Saint John and say, ‘Oh, you’ve got too much timberland here in New Brunswick, we’re going to take some of it’ or, ‘ The nickel mine in Voisey’s Bay ( in Labrador) is too profitable, we’re going to take some of it away from you and we’re going to give it to someone else.’ Yet that’s the way we manage the fishery,” he continued, his voice rising with each sentence. “It’s stupid because you can’t legally do that in other industries and yet you can legally do it in the fishing industry. And why the government insists on preserving that right is beyond me. Because it gets the government in trouble! All the time!”

That was certainly the case for Dominic Leblanc, who quickly stepped into controversy.

Clearwater bid for the fourth surf clam licence with Nova Scotia’s 13 Mi’kmaq bands, but their proposal was unsuccessful. Instead, in February 2018, Leblanc’s department awarded the fourth licence to the Five Nations Clam Company, led by the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. Court filings later revealed that Five Nations beat out eight competitors despite not having all its partners secured; the company was also only 25 per cent Indigenous- owned, and didn’t possess a boat to actually fish the quota.

Federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion investigated the decision, ruling Leblanc broke conflict- of- interest rules because Five Nations was linked to his wife’s cousin.

“So on what basis did a New Brunswick First Nations community win the bid?” Risley asked rhetorically, using a sarcastic voice. “Oh, because they happen to be in the same riding as the minister? Oh, OK! I didn’t understand that was the criteria! It was just absolutely absurd.”

For his part, Mickey Macdonald remained annoyed with the lack of accountability. “Fucking Dominic Leblanc,” he said. “He ( only) got moved to a different portfolio.”

In July 2018, Ottawa suddenly cancelled the Five Nations deal without explanation and said a new bidding process would be held for the Indigenous surf clam licence, this time to be reviewed by an independent third party. So Clearwater still held its three Arctic surf clam licences and 100 per cent of the annual quota — but for how long? The company decided it wouldn’t wait to find out.

Clearwater gave one of its clam licences to a coalition of the 13 Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia and one in Newfoundland and Labrador, which, as Risley put it, “proactively removed all the government’s arguments” regarding reconciliation and monopoly control of the fishery.

There were a couple of ironies involved in the federal government’s effort to strip surfclam quota from Clearwater in the name of reconciliation.

The first was the fact that Clearwater had business partnerships with the Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton going back as far as 1988, long before reconciliation was a widely discussed topic. In 2001, Clearwater partnered with Membertou to process snow crab, a profit- sharing venture that created much- needed employment in Membertou. “I see our people here (working at the fish plant) with big smiles, they are taking good paycheques home,” Chief Terry Paul said at the time.

The second irony of the “clam calamity” — as Clearwater director Brendan Paddick put it — emerged later, with the 2021 sale of Clearwater, which was arguably the most significant initiative involving reconciliation to occur during Trudeau’s first five years in office — and yet he had nothing to do with it. It was orchestrated in large part by John Risley.

In the 1920s, Kun’twiktuk ( the Mi’kmaq community that became Membertou First Nation) was removed from its land on Sydney Harbour in Cape Breton and placed on a landlocked hill nearby, breaking the community’s physical connection to the water. When Terry Paul became Membertou’s chief in 1984, the community was in rough shape. There was no work; the community had a large budget deficit, and at one point it was 100 per cent dependent on government. “It was crazy. It was absolutely unacceptable,” Paul recalled.

In the early 1990s, the community embarked on significant changes, notably partnering with private companies such as Clearwater and working in industries as varied as snow crab processing and construction. “We find partners ... to help us learn those businesses,” Paul explained.

Over time, employment rose to 80 per cent, government dependence fell to about 15 per cent of revenues, and graduation rates increased from 30 to 90 per cent. The community — of about 1,400 people — added a casino, a health centre, restaurants, and a convention centre. “There’s people that have ... been away from here many years. They can’t believe that it’s Membertou,” Paul said. “A lot of people say to me that it doesn’t even look like an Indigenous community.”

In the fall of 2019, Paul and a group of his advisers attended a dinner at Risley’s waterfront house in Halifax. There was a significant transaction developing, and Risley wanted Membertou to be part of it.

“Look, we’re about to put Clearwater on the market and it makes a lot of sense for both the buyer — whoever that buyer is — and for you as a community to get involved,” Risley recalled telling the group. “We’d love to have you involved.”

Paul was interested, though he wanted to be more than simply “involved” — he wanted to buy the company, a point he made clear the day after the dinner. According to Risley, Clearwater informed all prospective buyers of Membertou’s interest. “We just encouraged a deal to happen,” he recalled. “We broadcast our view ... that the buyer would be smart to partner with local Indigenous folks.”

Brendan Paddick, the former Columbus Communications CEO and longtime Clearwater director, helmed the sale process. He paused for a moment when I asked him about it, six months after the deal closed. “It’s a bit tough to talk (about),” he said. “John has talked about that one, and I have tried to encourage him to shut up because we’re still under NDAS (non-disclosure agreements) with like 40 potential buyers, where we’re not supposed to disclose literally anything about the process.”

Paddick was specifically concerned about Risley insinuating the purchaser was preordained.

“John says things like, ‘ Oh, we always knew it was going to end up in Indigenous hands and we managed the process to that extent.’ Like, holy shit — do you know how many lawsuits could rise from private equity and other ( parties) who spent significant money looking at the company and assessing the opportunity?” Paddick asked. “You’re essentially telling them it was all rigged from the beginning. It wasn’t. That’s not at all what happened. That’s just John trying to say, ‘ Hey, look, we support Indigenous participation in the fishery.’ (It’s) just the way he says it is probably not the way that it should be worded.”

There were roughly 40 initial bidders for Clearwater, including one very surprising duo: company co-founders John Risley and Colin Macdonald. In fact, it was Risley and Macdonald’s cryptic comments about taking Clearwater private that launched the sale process in the first place.

“Several directors finally put it to them and said, ‘ Guys, you can’t continue to make statements like that and not put them into action. ... What the eff are you up to?’” Paddick recalled.

The board asked the founding partners two questions: At a certain price, would you buy the company? At a certain price, would you sell it?

The answer to both questions: Yes.

“It actually surprised us,” Paddick said. So the board launched a “strategic review” in February 2020, essentially to solicit offers for all or part of the company. And because they were potential buyers, Risley and Macdonald were cut out of the negotiations, which were undertaken by a Paddick-led committee.

A list of prospective buyers grew quickly, despite the global pandemic. “A lot of people were thinking, ‘ Why are you going out now? This is crazy,’” Paddick recalled. “But we had huge interest and very robust valuations and a buyer who saw a huge opportunity.”

It was further evidence of Risley’s innate optimism and appetite for risk: While many people were hoarding food and toilet paper, fixated on their basic needs, he was willing to sell the company that had defined his career.

Membertou’s desire, from the start, was full Indigenous ownership of Clearwater — if not initially, eventually. That position was rejected by all the parties Membertou talked with, including Premium Brands, a Richmond, B. C.- based food company which was determined to add Clearwater to its extensive list of brands — sold in Canada, the U.S., and Italy — spanning meat, bread, pastries, and pasta. Eventually, though, the two sides — despite never meeting in person because of the pandemic — reached agreeable terms. According to Chief Paul, Premium proposed a fifty- fifty partnership, with a promise Membertou would get right of first refusal if Premium ever decided to sell its stake.

On Sept. 25, 2020, Clearwater’s board began negotiations with Premium and FNC Holdings, a coalition of seven Mi’kmaq First Nations, assembled and led by Membertou. The result was a $1-billion deal unanimously approved by Clearwater’s board. For strategic reasons — stemming from lessons gleaned from the Arctic surf clam fight — FNC held all the quotas included in the deal. “The government would have much more difficulty trying to take something from us,” Paul explained, before adding with a laugh — “Again.”

Clearwater shareholders received $ 8.25 per share, a 15 per cent premium on the stock’s value as of Nov. 6, 2020. Though the deal was worth $ 1 billion, Clearwater had a net debt of $450 million, leaving the equity value at around $ 550 million. Most of that flowed to the company’s three largest shareholders: Risley and Colin and Mickey Macdonald. Risley’s estimated take was $ 116 million, while Colin Macdonald’s was $ 126 million. ( They had already secured a huge windfall by taking the company public in 2002.) Mickey Macdonald was to receive just under $97 million.

Chief Paul, a residential school survivor who grew up in a home without running water, cried when Brendan Paddick called to tell him they had a deal.

“When I finally knew that they accepted our offer, it felt — there’s no other word except surreal,” Paul recalled. “Even now it’s hard to believe.” He heralded the deal as a significant act of reconciliation and, for his community, “a return to the waters.” Membertou, stripped of its water access in the 1920s, had secured a stake in a company with myriad offshore fishing licences; operations ranging from Canada to China; nearly 2,000 employees; a fleet of vessels; and nine plants.

“The Mi’kmaq will be fishing for the rest of time because of this acquisition. It means a lot to us because of our culture and history with fishing,” Paul told me. “I firmly believe that John and Colin were a big part of that — a major part of it. I’m so grateful to John for having that foresight and that really long-term thinking.”

When told others had made similar comments about Risley — that he sees things others can’t and can often see ahead to where things are going — Paul agreed. “A lot of the people I associate with are very successful businesspeople,” he said. “Part of what is common with them is they think like 50 years ahead. With John, I think he thinks 100 years ahead! He’s way ahead of me. The guy is very intelligent — very intelligent.” He added: “John Risley is a big part of why we’re able to do what we’ve done here.”

On May 18, 2022, Risley and Chief Paul were panellists at a conference in Halifax focused on ocean- climate challenges. Risley was the first panellist to speak, highlighting his childhood growing up on the water, including his morning fishing trips to the buoy off his house on Halifax’s Northwest Arm. “I learned at a very early age that being on the water is an opportunity for reflection; it’s an opportunity for a connection with something which is truly special,” he told the crowd. “I’ve learned to love the ocean and I’ve learned to respect it.”

At t he e nd of his 10- minute talk, Risley introduced the next speaker: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, who moments earlier had been huddled in deep discussion with Risley at the back of the hotel ballroom. (Risley is trying to develop a 164-turbine wind farm and “green” hydrogen plant in Stephenville. Critics have claimed Furey has a conflict of interest because he previously stayed at one of Risley’s Labrador fishing lodges.) Furey spoke for 10 minutes and sat down immediately after, causing what seemed to be momentary confusion about whether the next panellist would also be introduced or simply start speaking. Eventually, Paul got up and approached the podium.

“I guess John doesn’t want to introduce me,” he joked.

“I’ll do it, but you may not like it!” Risley shot back with a smile.

Then Paul, in his calm and quiet speaking style, talked about the Indigenous fishery. He mentioned ongoing challenges in the inshore fishery, where Membertou commercial fishing boats were sometimes burned, and its lobster traps regularly cut by non- Indigenous fishers. He stressed the need for education so non- Indigenous fishers would understand Mi’kmaq treaty rights. ( The Supreme Court of Canada’s Marshall decision, in 1999, reaffirmed the Mi’kmaq right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing.) “Without ( education), ignorance and discrimination blocks the pathway for everyone,” Paul told the audience.

The offshore fishery, however, was a source of optimism. The Clearwater purchase could create generational wealth for Membertou and the other Mi’kmaq communities, not unlike what Risley and Colin MacDonald had done with their own families. “We know you have to play the game — and play to win,” Paul noted. He also again thanked Risley for his work on the deal, “and for seeing the value that Indigenous people — Mi’kmaq people — bring to the table.”

When Paul finished speaking, Risley rose from his seat near the podium and turned toward him. Risley grew up on the Northwest Arm and attended private school; Paul attended a residential school and grew up on a landlocked “Indian reserve” because his community had been removed from its waterfront land. And yet together they’d helped broker the sale of the company that had changed Risley’s life — and would now hopefully change many lives in Membertou.

The two men opened their arms and hugged.

2023-06-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://epaper.calgaryherald.com/article/282570202510278

John Risley

John Risley is Chairman and CEO of CFFI Ventures Inc., a diversified holding company operating internationally. The company has majority or significant stakes in a portfolio of young companies ranging from financial services, renewable energy and the tech sector. He is also the Chair of Northern Private Capital, a Toronto based fund which invests in high growth opportunities, and Chair of MDA Corporation, Canada’s iconic space company.

Mr. Risley is very active in community affairs, sitting on the Board of a number of charitable organizations. He is a Director of Futurpreneur Canada, and Chair of the Ocean Supercluster. He regularly engages in public policy debate and is a member of the World President’s Organization, The Chief Executives Organization, the Business Council of Canada and the Trilateral Commission. He is also a graduate of Harvard University’s President’s Program in Leadership.

He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1997 and is a member of the New York Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

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Sunrise Yachts Sponsor 2011 Moscow International Boat Show (MIBS)

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Written by Mike Smith

Sunrise Yachts, a luxury yacht building company which is based in Turkey, has been made a main sponsor of next year’s 2011 Moscow International Boat Show (MIBS). The four-day Russian yacht show event is currently scheduled to run from April 14-17 at the Moscow’s Crocus exhibition centre.

moscow boat show

MIBS is organised by the ITE Group and it is one of Russia’s leading boat shows and is an internationally recognised superyacht event. The show covering everything from small parts and accessories to large superyacht with over 9,000 people and 178 exhibitors attended the last year show.

The Paolo Scanu-designed Sunrise 45 yacht is an ocean-going cruising yacht that was released in 2009 to much acclaim at this was the group’s first-ever model.

Sunrise Yachts was founded in 2007 by the German entrepreneur Herbert P Baum along with the French-British yacht builder Guillaume Roché. The luxury yacht group is based in Antalya, Turkey and utilises a 10,000sq m shipyard facility. Sunrise has two sheds measuring 100m (328ft) x 16m (53ft), as well as a 70m (230ft) x 16m (53ft) fully acclimatized paint shed that can accommodate new-build and refit projects up to 65m (213ft) in length and 1,200 tonnes displacement.

The sunrise 45m superyacht by Sunrise Yachts

Along each side of the yacht-building facility, space is available for long-term sub-contractors with the latest equipment and logistics capabilities, along with air-conditioned storage, ventilation and extraction plants. The shipyard is organized as an “assembler,” based loosely on the car industry’s model, with a small, yet powerful project management team charged with running all the in-house long-term sub-contractors.

Please contact CharterWorld - the luxury yacht charter specialist - for more on superyacht news item "Sunrise Yachts Sponsor 2011 Moscow International Boat Show (MIBS)".

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