The Journal · Method

How the register is built

Where the money came from, counted: tech, resources, royalty, and the seized fleet.

221 hulls are grouped into 11 categories describing how the fortune behind them was made — the organising principle of the whole register.

The numbersIn full
CategoryHullsShareLongest
US tycoons, financiers & sports owners3717%Kismet
Russian/CIS oligarch megayachts3315%Eclipse
European & other tycoons2712%Luminance
Middle East royalty & heads of state2411%Azzam
Historic & legacy yachts199%Hmy Britannia
Tech founders — other199%Leviathan
Support & explorer vessels188%Le Grand Bleu
Tech founders — flagships146%Dragonfly
Asian tycoons125%Nausicaä
Celebrities & athletes105%Pelorus
Sanctioned & seized yachts (2nd tier)84%Lauren L
Method

Categories are editorial, assigned when a hull enters the register, and describe the source of the owner's wealth rather than the vessel itself.

Computed from the register on this page load. Position data runs through 27 Jul 2026; 221 hulls and 175 owners are on file. The same figures are available through the data API.

Keep readingMore dispatches
Positions

Where the fleet is right now

Every hull in the register, counted by the sea area of its most recent AIS report.

Industry

Who actually builds these boats

A handful of northern European yards dominate the register. The league table of superyacht construction.

Registry

The flags these boats fly

A short list of small jurisdictions carries most of the world's largest yachts. Where the register sits.