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SEA Index® Workshops October 2025

Monaco, OCTOBER 14th 2025

We are pleased to share with you, the collective key findings from your recent SEA Index workshop at the YCM.

Our valuable discussions driven by your inputs, framed by the Feasibility vs. Urgency matrix, yielded clear priorities on how the SEA Index and your actions can transition from an environmental measure to an indispensable financial and operational asset. This report summarizes the consensus on the most urgent and feasible actions needed to drive market change in asset value, port policy, and refit ROI.

I. Report Analysis: Table 1 – Ports and Marinas Framework.

The discussion at Table 1 focused on exploring the legal and operational framework for ports and marinas to offer preferential treatment to less environmentally impactful yachts and SEA Index certified yachts. The results, plotted on the Feasibility vs. Urgency matrix, clearly define the industry’s consensus on immediate action versus long-term challenges.

A. The “Sweet Spot”: High Feasibility & High Urgency.
Six ideas clustered in the top-right quadrant, representing the most powerful areas for immediate action. These results suggest a strong preference for mechanisms that leverage existing infrastructure and operational policy rather than relying solely on price manipulation.

Post it ideas placed on axis Implication & SEA Index Link:

  • Priority of berth given to SEA Index rated yachts. This directly validates the core goal of the table. It is seen as highly feasible because it is an operational policy decision (tie-breaker clause) rather than a complex pricing regulation. This is the single most direct preferential mechanism.
  • Mandatory shore power connection. This is seen as an urgent and feasible infrastructure mandate. It is a direct CO2 reduction measure.
  • Integrate waste management into pricing. Participants see waste management as a core, controllable port service. Integrating the cost/fee structure with a yacht’s environmental performance (and waste complexity) is a feasible policy change.
  • Adapted port infrastructures for less impactful yachts. This supports mandatory shore connection, but extends the scope to include technical facilities beyond electricity (e.g., modern grey/black water disposal points). It’s feasible because it aligns with modernization plans.
  • Adapted policy for water usage & consumption. Applying a “bonus/malus” mechanism (rewarding low use) is seen as an easy-to-implement policy that immediately impacts operational behavior. It uses the existing billing system to drive change.
  • Surcharge applied to the yacht in the event of pollution. Naming it a “surcharge” instead of a fine makes it sound regulatory and less punitive, fitting into existing commercial liability frameworks. This is a crucial risk/cost internalization mechanism.

Synthesis of Priorities: The participants prioritized policies that mandate operational best practice and directly link the SEA Index to operational privilege.

B. The “Difficult but Necessary”: Less Feasible & More Urgent

Only one item landed in the bottom-right quadrant, but its implications are significant.

  • Impose a minimum SEA Index standard for all boats entering ports and marinas. While highly urgent (it would drive massive fleet change), it is seen as less feasible because it would be a massive regulatory barrier to entry. It requires broad, coordinated political consensus across many jurisdictions, which is difficult to achieve quickly. This is the ultimate goal, but not the first step. 

C. The “Long-Term Challenges”: Less Feasible & Less Urgent

The bottom-left quadrant identifies issues that, while important, are currently too complex or politically difficult to achieve.

  • Reduction of berthing prices SEA Index rated yachts. Participants correctly noted that while this works in private or semi-private ports (like those in Monaco), it becomes very difficult in publicly run ports. Legal constraints, public accountability, and uniform pricing laws make direct CO2 discounts less feasible than applying an exemption from a surcharge (as seen in Solution #1 of the briefing).
  • Political choices. This serves as a vital acknowledgment: ultimate, meaningful change requires bold regulatory commitment (top-down). However, since political change is often slow, participants correctly deemed it less immediately feasible or urgent to focus on for this workshop. The current task is to build a roadmap around the slow political process.
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Conclusion and Recommendations for table 1- Ports and Marinas framework.

The results indicate that the most effective roadmap for the Ports and Marinas & SEA Index lies in focusing on operational mandates and priority access rather than pure pricing discounts.

Ports and Marinas should prioritize developing clear, ready-to-implement guidance for ports based on the high-priority cluster:
1. Develop a model “Tie-Breaker” Clause based on SEA Index certification.
2. Create Model Policy Language for making shore power connection mandatory 
3. Produce a Simple CO2 Tariff Framework that integrates waste management and water bonuses/maluses.

II.Report Analysis: Table 2 – Refit Yards & the SEA Index: Measuring Progress.

The discussion at Table 2 focused on creating tangible, value-driven methods for refit yards to leverage the SEA Index and other environmental mitigation practices. The participants effectively prioritized ideas that move the conversation from environmental compliance to financial ROI (Return on Investment) and diagnostic efficiency.

A. The “Sweet Spot”: High Feasibility & High Urgency.

Two key ideas landed in the top-right quadrant, showing consensus on the most effective immediate actions to drive refit investment. Both prioritize quantifiable financial incentives and pre-refit tools.

  • Investment on the future with insurance reductions, priority access to ports and better resale price for less environmentally impactful yachts. This is a powerful validation that monetary incentives (lower insurance, higher resale) are the primary drivers for owners to commission an eco-refit. Participants are asking the SEA Index to integrate these benefits into a clear, unified value proposition. This confirms the link between Table 2’s output (refit proof) and Table 3’s topic (asset value).
  • Creation of an estimated feasibility platform designed by the refit shipyards. This addresses the need for upfront transparency and trust. Yards are seen as the ideal agents to design a tool that maps out costs and long-term savings for owners. This tool would use the yacht’s “before” SEA Index rating to calculate the ROI of specific refit measures.

Synthesis of Priorities: The most urgent and feasible strategy is to monetize the SEA Index certification and equip refit yards with a transparent, cost-saving diagnostic tool before any physical work begins.

B. The “Core Challenge”: Central Consensus

One ambitious idea was placed squarely in the center of the axis, suggesting it is neither simple nor impossible, but represents a core infrastructural need.

  • Every yacht to have access to a global monitoring system of the yacht’s entire energy consumption load, that can be adjusted depending on the presence of the owners on board or not. This highlights a major data gap. While the SEA Index calculates energy intensity based on design data, the industry yearns for a dynamic, real-time CO2 reporting system that accounts for operational variables (like owner absence). This is a high-value long-term goal requiring significant investment and standardization across the global fleet. Its central placement reflects its high desirability but complex implementation.

C. The “Foundation Stone”: High Feasibility for Diagnostics

One crucial idea was placed high on the Feasibility axis, confirming the practical first step in the refit process.

  • The possibility to identify for each yacht entering a refit shipyard, the weakness points in terms of environmental impact. This is seen as a highly feasible and essential pre-refit diagnostic service. Before creating a cost-saving platform, the yard must know what needs fixing. The SEA Index framework should be used to provide a simple, rapid environmental audit identifying the most CO2 intensive systems (e.g., outdated lighting, inefficient HVAC). This is a high-feasibility measure that immediately adds value to the yard-owner conversation.

Conclusion and Recommendations for table 2- Refit Yards & the SEA Index: Measuring Progress.

The results from Table 2 provide a clear two-pronged strategy for engaging refit yards:

1. Prioritize the Financial Toolkit: Immediately focus efforts on packaging and communicating the monetary returns associated with a certified refit (insurance, resale, priority access).

2. Develop a Diagnostic Blueprint: Create a standardized SEA Index Refit Audit/Blueprint that allows refit yards to quickly and credibly identify a yacht’s environmental weak points and then generate a guaranteed ROI estimate for the owner. This makes the process of getting a refit transparent and financially compelling.

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III. Report Analysis: Table 3 – The Hidden ROI: Protecting Your Asset Value.

The discussion at Table 3, aimed at Owners and Captains, confirmed that sustainability is primarily valued through the lens of financial security and risk mitigation (the hidden ROI). The post-it data reveals a clear mandate to focus on operational fuel data and future-proofing as the most urgent and feasible value propositions.

A. The “Sweet Spot”: High Feasibility & High Urgency.

The participants prioritized direct operational and commercial advantages, validating the focus on ROI and efficiency.

Priority Idea Implication & SEA Index Link

  • Addressing the fuel consumption of the yacht. This is the most urgent and feasible operational concern. The direct cost of fuel is the largest variable expense for an owner. Leveraging the SEA Index data (or underlying operational data) to certify lower-than-average consumption immediately translates to a strong financial USP (Unique Selling Point) during resale.
  • Insuring the yacht is future proof by making it adaptable to potential future regulation. This speaks directly to risk mitigation and asset protection. Owners want assurance that their multi-million-euro asset won’t become obsolete or face heavy taxes/restrictions in 5 to10 years. The SEA Index serves as this verifiable “Future-Proofing Certificate,” supporting a premium valuation.

Synthesis of Priorities: The top two priorities are tightly linked: mitigate the cost risk (fuel) #2 and mitigate the regulatory/resale risk (future-proofing).

B. The “Operational & Commercial Levers”: High Feasibility Consensus

Three ideas clustered just below the high-urgency quadrant, representing highly practical, feasible marketing tools that should be implemented quickly.

  • Promoting the main and auxiliary engines fuel consumption. This reinforces addresses fuel consumption but specifically highlights the need to market both engine types. This is feasible because the data is already captured for the SEA Index certification. It creates a granular and credible financial argument for a prospective buyer.
  • Comparing maintenance costs of the auxiliary & main engines. This is a highly practical and specific ROI point. Lower CO2 intensity often implies newer, better maintained, or more efficient systems, which should reduce unexpected maintenance costs. This shifts the focus from fuel (OPEX) to system reliability (CAPEX impact).
  • Being able to promote priority berths in specific yachting hot spots for best yachts. This validates the work of Table1. Participants clearly see the operational privilege (priority berthing) gained through the SEA Index as a valuable USP for a brokerage yacht.
  • Being able to leverage SEA Index certified yachts. This acts as the overarching confirmation that the certification itself is a marketable asset. The collective value of all benefits (Future proofing, Addressing Fuel Consumption and being able to promote priority berths in specific yachting hot spots for best yachts) should be branded simply as the “SEA Index Advantage.”

C. The “Brokerage Context”: Critical but Variable Focus

Two ideas were placed centrally, specifically relating the brokerage process, indicating they are viewed as critical but highly dependent on the circumstances of the sale.

  • Leveraging best captain practices in maintenance for brokerage yachts. This idea is seen as more feasible than leveraging refit possibilities below. Brokers can readily compile evidence of high maintenance standards (logbooks, service records). Linking this to the SEA Index rating suggests owners can make their Captain’s efforts formalized as part of the vessel’s market value.
  • Leveraging refit possibilities for brokerage yachts.  This idea is considered more difficult or less urgent than above idea. While offering “refit potential” is useful, it introduces uncertainty for the buyer (cost, time). Sellers/Brokers prefer to focus on the current, proven value rather than future expenditures. This links back to Table 2’s need for strong ROI guarantees.

D. The “Long-Term Vision”: Less Feasible & Less Urgent

The lowest-ranked idea points to an aspirational, long-term goal.

  • Through SEA Index certification granting access to marine protected areas (MPAs). While highly desirable for prestige and cruising opportunities, granting access to MPAs involves complex, slow-moving international governance. Participants correctly view this as a low-feasibility/low-urgency item for immediate implementation, even if it is a major long-term incentive.

Conclusion and Recommendations for table 3- The Hidden ROI: Protecting Your Asset Value.

The results provide a clear roadmap to build the sales pitch around 3 pillars:

1. Fuel Performance: Center the narrative on the certified vessel’s superior fuel efficiency and lower running costs.
2. Asset Security: Highlight the future-proofing aspect against regulatory risk to support a premium resale value.
3. Operational Privilege: Package the benefits from Table 1 and the Captain’s maintenance data to prove the yacht is a high-value, turn-key asset.

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We would like to thank you all for dedicating your time to conduct our first series of SEA Index interactive workshops. We believe we achieved the initial aim which was to hear from your different perspectives what challenges and opportunities the superyacht sector faces when addressing actionable sustainability plans. Our goal is to use the findings below as a guiding tool to continuously improve, measure progress. We will of course be keeping you in the loop for future formats, updates, and we invite you to send us your feedback on the above.

We hope you had as much fun as we did and look forward to seeing you all soon!

Kindest regards,

The SEA Index Superyacht Eco Association team.

Content Disclaimer

This report summarizes the collective ideas, opinions, and discussions generated during the SEA Index Superyacht Eco Association Workshop on October 14, 2025. These findings are intended solely for informational purposes and to guide future strategic planning for the SEA Index Superyacht Eco Association.

The participation of any individual or organization in this workshop, and its’ content, does not constitute a legally binding document, commitment, or obligation for any participant, entity, port, or shipyard to adopt, implement, or adhere to the ideas or proposals discussed herein.

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