SuperYachts Are Going Through a Growth Phase: More, Bigger, and Pricier.
Despite tariffs and wars, the $13.8 billion super-yacht business is cruising. Last year, 360 preowned superyachts of at least 30 meters—nearly 100 feet—sold for $6.4 billion, up 36% from 2024, notes Fraser Yachts in its 2026 Global Superyacht Report. Another 211 new superyachts were sold, up from 199 a year ago, with 19 over 260 feet, compared with 13 in 2024. In all, the superyacht world includes over 6,200 vessels, up from 4,550 a decade ago.
Still, sales trail 2021’s pandemic peak, when 497 preowned and 319 new vessels were sold. Postpandemic sales dipped, then rebounded. They could rise more, says Fraser CEO Anders Kurtén, if more big boats—200 to 230 feet—were on the market.
Last year, Breakthrough, a 390-foot yacht powered by hydrogen fuel cells, sold for $793 million—tops among new yachts, says Fraser. The largest vessel sold last year, at 446 feet, was Flying Fox, which Luxury Launches reported was bought by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. Among new boats, the trend is toward “larger, highly bespoke builds,” says Fraser, with average length rising to 159 feet.
One trend: sustainability. Power sources like fuel cells are now more feasible. Kurtén points to diesel-powered yachts less than 20 years old that can slash emissions by converting to hydrotreated vegetable oils. Then there’s wind. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos’ 410-foot sailing yacht Koru —estimated cost: $500 million—remains an outlier. Only 14% of superyachts for sale feature sails.