Daria Tomassetti: “New shipowners look for silence onboard and stability”

Despite her almost 30-years’ experience in the superyacht sector, her passion is still that of a young girl during her first stage. In fact, she is always busy, all year round, because customers (especially millionaires) have no fixed working hours and a very peculiar agenda.

Daria Tomassetti’s career is rather unique: broker, ship broker, and one of the first women working in a sector almost exclusively managed by men.

This is probably why she was so determined to emerge, relying on her detailed technical knowledge achieved while working in shipyards. In fact, Tomassetti can discuss and give suggestion about almost all aspects regarding the yachting sector.

Her expertise ranges from agreements, taxation and insurance polices to hull lines, propulsion or even generators. Customers admire and trust her, and consequently get back.

This is way Tomassetti is entrusted with tasks requiring an ever-growing responsibility, although she works on her own and provides assessments and opinions even to the giants of the sector and to companies headquartered worldwide with hundreds of employees. “And I wonder why it is not the other way round”, she laughs.

“I fill in the gaps left by international brokerage companies: sometimes in one year I conclude 2-3 negotiations, but obviously the amounts involved can be significant”.

Tomassetti is headquartered in Rome as she started her career in a shipyard in Fiumicino dealing with charter activities. Besides the brokerage sector, she also gained experience working in the companies Apreamare and Palumbo.

“In 2008, I got back to brokerage: I overcame the crisis of that year, and of subsequent years, focusing abroad: I like dealing with foreigners, although I work mainly with Italians”, she explained.

She entered the superyacht sector only recently, dealing with boats up to 40 meters long.

“At present, there are not many boats between 24 and 45 meters long available, especially the most beautiful ones. Second-hand prices are still high, but recently they recorded a slight decrease. For 50 or 60 meters long units it is different, but in this case there are some problems with construction shipyards”, she observed.

Tomassetti revealed that a new generation of shipowners just entered the market: “they are aged between 30 and 40, very wealthy and with great skills, sometimes even technical skills. Many of them want to sail their own boats, thus they do not hire a master because they want to enjoy an even greater privacy. In fact, sometimes finding a balance between yacht size, spaces, guests and crew is not easy”.

What are new shipowners looking for? “In general, they spend much more time onboard compared to a few years ago, and they have very peculiar destinations. They look for an increasingly strong connection with nature, and they live their sailing experience as a way to bring their family together. In fact, when they are onboard, people can get very close”.

As concerns style and technological solutions, Tomassetti identified several interesting trends: “spaces onboard must be as wide as possible because there is an increasing demand for everything that makes you feel closer to water, such as beach clubs, side platforms and slides. Stabilizers and noise reduction systems are becoming increasingly popular as today the most important feature for superyachts is not their performance, rather their sailing comfort. This is why the focus on consumption reduction and the so called ‘lowering’ of the boat to sea level is increasingly great”.

What is the secret to continue in such a difficult market for so long, being totally independent? “I love my job so much that I never stop working. I also like helping my customers conclude deals. I managed to help selling the same ship several times in a few years, or to sell a ship after many years at a higher price than the original purchase price”. That’s why they come back.

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