Yacht Infrastructure Summit Names Refit and Marina Investment Speakers

A fuller agenda for Amsterdam's infrastructure debate

Organisers of the first Yacht Infrastructure Summit have published the speaker programme for their 18 November 2026 event at METSTRADE in Amsterdam, moving the project beyond an initial conference announcement to a practical discussion of investment and operating capacity. The one-day gathering will bring together marina owners, private investors, specialist suppliers and managers of major superyacht refit facilities.

Marina World and SuperYacht Times are organising the summit with Safe Harbor as a principal partner. Their 9 October programme identifies more than twenty speakers and examines an industry problem that has become increasingly visible: large yachts can be constructed in several years, while a new marina or heavy-refit yard may take considerably longer to finance, permit and build.

The current timetable is provisional, with some places still marked for speakers to be confirmed. It should therefore be treated as the published programme for a forthcoming meeting rather than a record of speeches already delivered.

Designing facilities for increasingly large vessels

A morning discussion on creating an effective superyacht marina is expected to include Colby Cooper of Safe Harbor, Mike Ward of Marina Projects, Wyndham Tops of Red Sea Global and Jamaine Campbell of Elite Dynamics. Their combined backgrounds span operational management, marina consultancy, destination development and software.

The session is likely to examine how a new marina balances berth capacity with shore power, water, waste reception, shelter, security and the demands of visiting professional crews. Designing a site around a headline maximum yacht length is not sufficient if turning space or reliable technical services cannot support the vessels in practice.

Later in the programme, Bellingham Marine's Jeffrey Pratt, Plus Marine's Franco Ceroici and Haskoning's Gosse de Boer will explore engineering costs and the way equipment suppliers and advisers respond to changing yacht requirements. The organiser has not presented their positions in advance, so no specific investment recommendation should be attributed to those speakers yet.

Refit yards have a different financial problem

Stewart Parvin of Cantiere Rossini is scheduled to present a case study on investing in a new refit shipyard. He will also join Andrew Hutchinson of Invest Gold Coast for a broader discussion of the business case for refit facilities, including the need to balance costly infrastructure with sufficient year-round demand.

Heavy lift capacity, deep-water access, covered workspaces and reliable electrical supplies can require considerable capital before any yacht enters a yard. The business case must take account of specialist labour, safety arrangements and the availability of subcontractors whose work may be needed only during particular stages of a refit.

Oliver Corlette of Black Mountain Partners, a former chief executive of Porto Montenegro, will contribute a case study on marina development. The session offers a chance to consider how large projects are structured over years rather than focusing entirely on short-term occupancy.

Private capital and the operational future

The programme includes a panel on private equity and institutional investment in marina infrastructure, together with a discussion of how professional management and digital tools may change the operation of existing sites. Investors entering the sector need to assess land tenure, construction risk and regulatory requirements alongside expected income from berths and marine services.

The day is due to end with a conversation between Baxter Underwood, chief executive of Safe Harbor, and Merijn de Waard of SuperYacht Times. Their scheduled interview is expected to address the creation and realisation of value in marina and refit networks, rather than announce the completion of a particular new port.

The newly released speaker list is a distinct update from the summit's initial launch announcement earlier in the year. The accompanying aerial photograph comes from the organiser's genuine coverage of existing marina infrastructure, and is used as a contextual image rather than a rendering of a proposed Amsterdam site.