So why are super-rich Gulfies into super-yachts? Like most wealthy boat owners, it has to do mostly with prestige, says Derek Levy of Spheredawn, a yacht surveying and architecture firm. “There’s a significant amount of mine’s-bigger-than-yours,” he said. There may also be an element of inter-emirate competition in Sheikh Khalifa’s Azzam. After years of watching Dubai quickly build out its infrastructure and attract ever-growing tourist numbers and trade flows, Abu Dhabi has been making its own bid for global recognition. As construction continued in Dubai on the world’s tallest skyscraper in 2008, Abu Dhabi crafted an ambitious new development plan that has it building branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums and local campuses of New York University and the Sorbonne, among many other projects. While public discussion of local politics is considered taboo in these monarchical societies, the Azzam may be yet another way in which Abu Dhabi is using its vast oil wealth to jostle for symbolic position vis-à-vis Dubai, which doesn’t have much oil but has thrived on tourism, trade and a large merchant class. This is not to say Gulf yacht owners don’t enjoy the sea – people in the region have been sailors for centuries, trading and diving for pearls on wooden sailing dhows. These days, though, industry insiders say the regional hankering for big boats is more about posturing than anything else. With oil prices averaging around $100 a barrel for the past couple of years, the Gulf monarchies certainly have a lot of free cash to spend. That’s showing up in the yacht rankings. The world’s 100 biggest yachts are now almost 96 meters long, on average, up from 84 meters in 2009, and Middle Eastern owners are on the crest of that trend. The average yacht length for Middle Eastern owners – there were 31 of them in the top 100 – was about 110 meters, comfortably in first place above Russia, the United States and Europe.
