Aug 2022
London Counsel Barnabas Finnigan provides insight into the importance of ESG and sustainability for the new generation of yacht owners in the below edition of Superyacht International’s Next Big Thing series.
Welcome to Superyacht Investor’s (SYI’s) Next Big Thing. In this series, we ask industry insiders to identify the next big thing in superyachting, what challenges the industry may face in dealing with the topic and how they can be overcome.
For our third episode in the series, we are joined by Barnabas Finnigan, counsel, Conyers. In the interview, Finnigan discusses the future of superyachting and the importance of sustainability for younger owners. “Given the demographic, new owners are more environmentally aware, I really think there will be a move towards ESG [Environmental, social, and corporate governance], renewable materials and efficiency,” he said.
Finnigan said that the availability of materials, lead times and infrastructure will be the biggest obstacles the industry must overcome to become more sustainable.
“It’s all well having an electric yacht, but if you can’t charge it at the port you are going to, or refuel the hydrogen cells, that will present some logistical issues,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how the wider industry adapts to support that.”
As an offshore lawyer, providing legal advice in the Cayman Islands, Finnigan works with a particular focus on shipping finance transactions, including vessel registration and aviation finance.
Conyers is an international law firm with offices in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands, specialising in the laws of the respective jurisdictions. It also has bases in the financial hubs of Hong Kong, London and Singapore.
Finnigan has previously been recognised as one of Airline Economics’ ‘40 under 40’ leading individuals in aviation finance in 2020. He has previously contributed to the Cayman Islands chapter of The Aviation Law Review (3rd – 7th Editions).
This article was first published in Superyacht Investor.