The internet definition of a yacht seems to be:

1% = giant superyacht owned by a billionaire 99% = every other boat 😆

The environmental concerns around mega yachts are real, but it's funny how the word "yacht" covers everything from modest cruising boats to floating palaces.

I ended up reading a few yacht guides here: https://www.yachttrading.com/yacht-encyclopedia/ and realized the category is way broader than I thought.

“巨型游艇”在环境上是无法防御的。世界必须禁止它们。

Better to turn them into artificial reefs if you see them

This is why I fucking hate the do your part bullshit.

Corporations and wealthy don't have the same pressure or responsibility, but it's us as consumers who have to put all the extra work and thought into changing our routines and habits (not to mention how much more it could cost)

Fuck these fucks. Greed killed the earth.

Now do cruise ships.

seems like the world should ban filthy wealth lifestyle. How should we proceed, any idea anyone ?

Bluntly banning Megayachts seems excessively interventionalist when you could instead ban the fossil fuel engines they use and ban the emissions. Make them pass a smog test that’s no more lenient than a car. Why not effectively force them to be wind and solar powered and thus force them to blow their money on advancing green energy? If that kills the megayacht business anyway, well then fair enough.

This is just a "feel bad" story rather than an actionable policy suggestion since, as the author acknowledges, regulating these yachts is going to be rather difficult because they can just sail somewhere else. Plenty of countries will welcome them in return for the economic activity associated with being a haven for the super-rich.

And when they're moving, they're highly inefficient as well. With a displacement ship hull designed to part the water their top speed is limited by their own length. A ship cannot overtake its own bow wake and with a length of let's say 70 meters you end up at a top speed of about 20 knots. Which isn't slow, but also not that much faster than cargo or passenger transport (maybe going 10 to 15 knots).

While a cargo ship is mostly longer and could theoretically sail faster, it is designed to be economical. It gets an engine that is most efficient at a certain speed, for example 12 knots at ahead standard, the propeller is cut for efficiency etc.

A yacht is designed to be comfortable and fast. It gets powerful engines that combust however much they need to combust. The propeller may be designed to produce less noise or vibration instead of being most fuel efficient.

Watch them manage to ban canoes and write exemptions for the mega yachts. We know that's exactly what will happen.

One thing I personally hate about megayatchs is how boring they all look. They look basically the same, white with black, and its just super boring. If I were going to be an evil billionaire flaunting my wealth, I would build somethin cool, like a 1:1 scale replica of the American WW2 Tennessee-class battleship. Sail around the world with 14 inch guns, and rule the high seas, making every yatch cower before my mighty steel ship.

Then sink because its 2023 and I'm a greedy billionaire who neglects things like basic maintenance and common sense.

Little surprise, then, that megayachts have been associated with crimes including money laundering, prostitution and illegal drug use.

This comment works against the author’s credibility. You don’t need to spotlight controversial laws against the personal freedoms of consenting adults to make megayacht owners look bad. It’s like saying “the rapist also smokes marijuana!” And isn’t prostitution and drug consumption fair game in international waters?

Second, the fact that yacht owners can choose which country’s flag to sail under – and can fly a flag of convenience if they choose – means it would be extremely difficult to enforce such a tax.

That’s interesting. Though I didn’t know they had to pick a flag. Surely they could buy a tiny island and create their own country with their own laws. There’s a book on how to do that.

Too bad the ones with the gold (and the megayachts) make the rules.

No one human has any more claim to this orbiting rock than any other. Just that some people have acquired more means of persuasion to get what they want.

Those yachts probably aren't too difficult to commandeer.

I'm surprised I don't hear more stories about them being targeted by pirates.

Asking in earnest.. international water.. is the no laws thing for real? What's stopping some modern day Karli Morgenthau Green Peace types from blowing these boats up?