The Kuwaiti market for luxury yachts and pleasure craft is soaring as the Gulf economy booms.

Al Boom Marine, the Kuwait agent for Gulf Craft Inc, the leading UAE builder of luxury yachts, has reported sales of about 80 vessels in the past 12 months, from weekend runabouts to the up-market Majesty 75.
“We have a new marina now that makes mooring less of a problem, and that coupled with a surge in disposable income has led to an unprecedented demand for boats and yachts,” says Adel Al Sumait, managing director of Al Boom.
Roughly 75 per cent of total sales have been in the pleasure craft sector, including many of Gulf Craft’s Ambassador Class yachts up to 36 ft in overall length.
Al Boom has also been responsible for selling the first six Oryx 40 sports cruisers to be built by Gulf Craft, after the Oryx series was revealed at the 2005 Dubai International Boat Show.
But the high-value business has come from the upper ranges of Gulf Craft products, starting with the Ambassador 44 and extending to the Majesty yachts flagship series, where Al Boom has two Majesty 75s on order.
“Yachting and boating in Kuwait is really on an upward growth trend,” says Al Sumait. “We are seeing the effects of increased oil revenues, inward investment, and a general surge in the economy.”
Gulf Craft’s executive manager Erwin Bamps says Kuwait is developing as an increasingly important market for the company, especially for high-end models such as the Majesty Yachts range.
Its new strategic alliance with Kuwait’s Rehal Logistics is a further stimulus to new business from Kuwait, the resulting financial injection helping to create additional manufacturing facilities while synergies with Rehal give access to fast-growing new markets.