SST2026 AGENDA

4-5 NOVEMBER

THE PENINSULA ISTANBUL

Please note that this agenda is currently under development and remains subject to change. We will continue refining the programme and updating session details on a regular basis. Additional speakers, moderators, and new agenda elements will be announced in the coming weeks.

4 NOVEMBER

9.00 - 18.00 | PANELS & NETWORKING

19.00 | COCKTAIL RECEPTION

DRAFT AGENDA – SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Reading the Market: What 2026 Told Us and What 2027 Might Bring

The 2026 market was defined less by a single direction than by a widening gap between resilient segments and areas where momentum began to weaken. Longer build slots, rising costs and changing client priorities are making timing, confidence and selectivity increasingly central to every decision. 

This panel will examine what recent transactions, order books and the major 2026 yacht shows revealed about buyer behaviour, how wider capital flows and economic cycles are shaping demand, and whether Türkiye’s continued rise now places it in a new tier of the global yacht-building market.

From Contract to Delivery of Complex Yacht Projects

Large yacht projects are shaped as much by governance and alignment as by design and engineering. From the first contract, specification and GA decisions through technical reviews, sea trials, certification and delivery, each stage creates new points of pressure and potential drift. Over a multi-year build, owner expectations evolve, project realities change and the relationship between shipyard, project team, class and flag becomes increasingly critical. 

This panel will examine where complex projects most often lose momentum, how stronger communication and decision-making structures can keep them on course, and what effective delivery and warranty support should look like once the yacht leaves the yard.

What Can Yachting Learn from Luxury’s Biggest Brands?

Luxury is no longer built through prestige and visibility alone. Across fashion, hospitality, automotive and aviation, the strongest brands are creating direct relationships through communities, creators, membership models and highly personalised experiences. For yachting, the opportunity is not to copy these sectors, but to understand which ideas can strengthen relevance without diluting what makes the industry distinctive.

This panel will explore how yacht brands can build deeper cultural relevance, create more meaningful relationships with clients and evolve their strategies to speak the language of a new generation of buyers.

  • ENES YILMAZER

    ENES YILMAZER

    LUXURY & YACHTING CONTENT CREATOR | ENESPLUS

  • Samuel Bolton

    SAMUEL BOLTON

    INTERNATIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR | QUINTESSENTIALLY

The Global Economic Impact of The Superyacht Industry

THE SUPERYACHT LIFE FOUNDATION PRESENTS

Mediterranean Dynamics & The Making of a Luxury Destination

This panel will explore how changing regional dynamics influenced movement across the Eastern Mediterranean and Gulf regions during 2026 Season, while examining which regions gained advantage, and what now defines a successful luxury destination: not only attractive cruising grounds, but also marina capacity, service quality, connectivity, hospitality, cultural relevance and the ability to deliver a consistent experience across the entire journey.

Designing for the Second Owner: Is the Industry Building Interiors That Last Beyond Delivery?

For decades, yacht interiors were designed around a single owner, a single vision and a single moment in time. Today, owners are younger, technology evolves faster, and expectations around sustainability are changing. The challenge is no longer creating an impressive interior at delivery, but designing spaces that remain relevant, desirable and adaptable years later.

This panel will examine how far personalisation should go before it begins to undermine resale value and future flexibility, whether interiors are being designed to absorb technological change, and who should take responsibility for protecting long-term adaptability across the project. It will also consider whether durability, evolution and reduced need for replacement should become the industry’s clearest measure of sustainable interior design.

Yacht brokerage is moving beyond the traditional transaction-led model as technology, data and changing client behaviour reshape how yachts are discovered, evaluated and sold. AI and intelligence tools are beginning to improve parts of the workflow, but the wider challenge is structural: a fragmented market, a more complex client journey and rising expectations around transparency, speed and advice.

 This panel will examine where trust is now built, what platform thinking means in practice, and which capabilities will distinguish future-ready brokerage businesses from those still operating under the old rules.

The New Rules of Yacht Brokerage

Choosing a shipyard is about far more than price, capacity or delivery dates. Every owner brings different ambitions, priorities and ways of working, while every shipyard has its own culture, strengths and project philosophy. The most successful yacht projects begin not with the contract, but with finding the right long-term partner.

This panel explores how owners, brokers, owner’s representatives and shipyards evaluate each other before committing to a project. What creates genuine alignment between the parties? How do trust, communication, cultural fit, technical expertise and long-term vision influence the success of a yacht programme? And as Türkiye continues to strengthen its reputation in yacht building, what distinguishes Turkish shipyards in the eyes of international clients?

Finding the Right Long-Term Partner in Yacht Building

The Decisions Behind Simena by Ares Yachts