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Leisure Marine

Royal Navy USV crashing into yacht raises questions over autonomous vessels in busy harbour

An investigation is under way after a Royal Navy uncrewed surface vessel (USV) collided with Lutine, a 55-foot X-55 racing yacht owned and operated by Lloyd’s Yacht Club. According to the Royal Navy, the incident involved a Rattler craft and occurred during a ‘controlled training exercise’ within Portsmouth Harbour. The collision draws attention to a […]

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Leisure Marine

Azimut-Benetti commits €100m to Tuscany as superyacht growth drives expansion

The slipway launch of Benetti’s latest Class 44M yacht, M/Y Lumina, has marked the start of a new €100 million investment programme in Tuscany as the Azimut-Benetti Group continues to expand its superyacht operations. The investment follows a period of significant growth for the group, which says its production value doubled from €758 million in […]

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Leisure Marine

How Spirit Yachts is modernising luxury yacht ownership

For many luxury yacht owners commissioning builds, the experience begins long before a vessel is launched and continues long after it leaves the yard. At Spirit Yachts, that reality is reshaping how projects are managed, how technology is integrated and how customer relationships are maintained. MIN visits Ipswich to find out more. From weekly build […]

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Leisure Marine

HMRC updates guidance on superyacht fuel duty in UK waters

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued updated guidance that aims to clarify the rules on how fuel duty applies to superyachts and their support vessels in UK waters, and makes clear when those vessels should be treated as private pleasure craft (PPC) rather than commercial operations. The guidance, shared this month (June 2026) does […]

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Leisure Marine

Rise in first-time boaters shifts marina infrastructure investment priorities

A new generation of boat owners is beginning to challenge traditional marina infrastructure. According to EZ Dock’s Ohio-based vice president of sales Mike O’Loughlin, a rise in first-time boaters is pushing marina operators to think beyond slips and square footage towards safety, accessibility, user experience and environmental performance. “Traditionally, docking infrastructure was evaluated almost entirely […]

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Leisure Marine

Freedom Boat Club reaches 450 locations worldwide

Freedom Boat Club, a business of Brunswick Corporation, has opened its 450th global location at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, New Jersey. The latest opening marks another stage in the company’s expansion since Brunswick acquired the business in 2019, with the network now covering more than 35 US states, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand […]

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Leisure Marine

Superyacht Summit Türkiye sets dates for November edition

The Superyacht Summit Türkiye (SST) will return for its fourth edition on 4–5 November 2026, bringing the international superyacht sector to Istanbul. The two-day event is designed to foster high-level dialogue, strategic partnerships, and international collaboration. The delegate list spans the breadth of the sector, bringing together shipyard executives and brokers through to law firms, […]

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Leisure Marine

Marine startups urged to apply for summer fundraising bootcamp

Yachting Ventures and Ocean One Ventures have launched the Summer Fundraising Bootcamp, an accelerator programme for marine startups preparing for fundraising activity ahead of the autumn investment period. The five-week programme runs from 3 August to 4 September 2026 and is intended for up to 10 early-stage companies operating in the leisure marine sector. It […]

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Leisure Marine

DAME Design Awards opens entries for 2026

Metstrade has opened entries for the 35th edition of the DAME Design Awards, marking three and a half decades of the programme’s focus on leisure marine equipment design. The awards programme also continues its practice of directing entry fee proceeds to a selected charitable organisation, with the 2026 beneficiary confirmed as the Royal Netherlands Sea […]

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Leisure Marine

Filing confirms Groupe Beneteau to make over 230 layoffs in Michigan

French boating giant Groupe Beneteau is set to lay off 239 workers in Cadillac, Michigan, in August, according to a state labour alert issued on Monday (22 June 2026). The news comes two weeks after the group confirmed it is to halt production at its Cadillac facility and divest the Four Winns, Glastron and Scarab […]

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Leisure Marine

Flexiteek eyeing hundreds of OEM opportunities that remain untapped

“We’re working with 207 global OEMs at the moment,” explains Steve Moore, global marketing manager at synthetic teak decking maker Flexiteek. He estimates around 850 OEMs worldwide fit the company’s target market profile. With around 600 OEMs on the firm’s potentials list, Moore sees significant opportunities for further growth. Distributor network remains key to boatbuilder […]