Helping new-build owners to enjoy taking ownership

‘We took on Burgess as yacht managers eight months prior to delivery of our new 50m Benetti, ASANI. They have been pivotal in the successes until now by bringing in the A+ crew, in-house expertise, relentless work efforts and years of experience. I wouldn’t build without them!’ ASANI yacht owner.

‘Yachts are hugely complex entities,’ says Burgess Yacht Manager, Rory Munro, ‘and getting everything fully operational and ready for delivery is a monumental task on several fronts. That said, it’s something we’ve done dozens of times so, between our technical, operational, crew and finance teams, we have all the expertise a new-build owner needs to make sure the yacht and crew are 100 percent ready for handover and the transition is a smooth one.’

‘ASANI is a 49.9m (163.7ft) Benetti B.Now 50, and we were brought in to help guide it through the pre-delivery process in January this year ahead of launch in June and delivery in August. The help we gave fell under several disciplines in our Yacht Management team and, although much of it was happening simultaneously, let’s look at each discipline separately.'

Charter appeal
‘Our operational team manages several B.Now 50s so we were able to advise on operational matters during the build process. Also, as the yacht is to be operated commercially as a dual-season charter yacht managed by Burgess, our Charter Management team advised on which tenders and toys would give the yacht maximum appeal.

Airtime
‘To keep the yacht in touch with the world we recommended service providers for mobile phones, VSAT, satellite TV and so on, many of which give us fleet discounts as we provide them with so many subscribers. This adds up to a great service with a good saving for owners.

Crew training
‘We worked with the Classification Society and Flag State to arrange various surveys required but not provided by the shipyard. As we sourced all the crew and we know what processes work on other B.Now 50s, we were able to train the crew in effective standard operating procedures. 

Spares
‘To keep the yacht running efficiently and reliably post-delivery, we helped draw up a list of stores, spares and consumables in each of the house, deck and engineering departments.’

‘Again, with our operational knowledge of B.Now 50s, we were able to give technical insights to make maintenance easier and optimise reliability. Alongside the Chief Engineer, we helped to implement a Planned Maintenance System, standard operating procedures and an effective inventory system.’

‘The human resources professionals in our Crew Services team sourced everyone from the build captain down. The advantage to owners is that we take care of everything - and there's a lot to take care of. From crew travel to crew training, employment agreements to payroll, the owner has a dedicated crew manager to keep everything running smoothly.’

‘Yachts come with a huge amount of admin and we deal with all of it. This includes registering the yacht and owner with the Flag State and Classification Society, sourcing a call sign and MMSI for the yacht, sorting out all the certificates not arranged by the builder. Burgess Yachting Financial Services also provided quotes for insurance to cover Hull and Machinery, in-build Protection and Indemnity, crew welfare and owner’s supply goods.’

‘Our experience with this type of yacht made it relatively easy for us to prepare an accurate annual operational budget for the pre-and post-delivery phases. The Finance team opened a bank account for the yacht’s operational costs, arranged a pre-paid credit card for yacht expenditure and supplied clear monthly statements outlining all pre-delivery costs on our unique owner’s dashboard. The funds intended to pay crew costs, like salaries, accommodation, travel, subsistence and insurance, were paid into the crew management account and settled from there.’

‘As a sub-500GT yacht, 499GT to be precise, we needed to implement a mini-ISM (International Safety Management). That involved training the captain and crew in Burgess Manage, our bespoke online Safety Management System, and establishing standard operating procedures based on detailed risk assessments. We also gained an interim Safety Management Certificate from the Flag State, which the yacht needs for delivery, as well as a full Safety Management Certificate for post-delivery operation.’

'While there's a huge amount to do,' Rory concludes, 'it's a well-rehearsed routine for us and whenever problems do crop up, we've got all the experience we need to solve them and keep everything on track, on time and on budget.

'This is the first new build for this owner and it's so rewarding to see the pleasure he's taking from this process - he's really enjoying it and that's how it should be, to be honest. It's been a delight to help him through the pre-delivery phase and we're all thrilled for him.'