Erwin Bamps speaks on the new era of Gulf Craft: an exclusive interview at the Cannes Yachting Festival

Gulf Craft 2.0: Designing Six New Yachts in a Single Year

The first part of the interview with Erwin Bamps dives straight into the core of Gulf Craft’s industrial strategy: how to manage such an intense development timeline while maintaining high design and engineering standards. The answer stems from the group’s structure itself: Gulf Craft operates multiple manufacturing facilities in the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives, supported above all by a major in-house engineering and design team capable of working simultaneously on numerous projects.

From this perspective, 2026 has been particularly significant. “This year we actually have six new additions,” Bamps explains, emphasizing how this result is made possible by combining internal expertise with collaborations alongside external design studios, including Cristiano Gatto Design and Phathom Studio.

The group’s portfolio adds further complexity to this process: Gulf Craft operates with ranges extending from 35 to 175 feet, an industrial scale that compels the shipyard to maintain a constant pace of innovation. “Basically we have no choice but to continue to show innovation in every market segment that we operate in,” Bamps stresses. It is a statement that encapsulates the core philosophy behind Gulf Craft: not concentrating on a single segment, but building a sufficiently diverse lineup to capture different needs and markets.

A Truly Global Strategy

The second topic addressed in the interview concerns the market. Following a period of rapid expansion in international boating, Gulf Craft is working to consolidate its presence through a global distribution network. Erwin Bamps shares that over the past 18 months, the group has invested heavily in building and strengthening its dealer network. The result is business growth that extends well beyond traditional markets in the Mediterranean or the Persian Gulf: “It’s not just in the Mediterranean, which is one of the traditional markets for boating. It’s not just in the Gulf, where we have enhanced our dealer network in the Middle East, but also into the US and even into the Southeast Asian and African markets.”

This leads the CEO to define Gulf Craft as a company that is now “truly global and multinational.” This characteristic becomes particularly crucial in a market phase where performance can vary significantly from one region to another. Portfolio diversification allows the group to offset potential slowdowns in certain segments with stronger demand in others.

Gulf Craft operates simultaneously across monohulls, catamarans, leisure craft, and superyachts. If a market slows down for a specific type of vessel, Bamps explains, higher demand may emerge for larger yachts: “We’re able to continue to be present in most markets and shift our focus depending on which product ranges are growing in those markets at the time.” Yet within this broader picture, one phenomenon is surprising even the shipyard itself: the growth of power catamarans.

Power Catamarans: The Segment Surprising Gulf Craft

The power catamaran world is one of the areas where Gulf Craft intends to focus most heavily. Bamps explains that owner expectations are shifting, and those entering yachting today are seeking a different experience than in the past. For this reason, according to the CEO, power catamarans can address a growing demand oriented toward space, comfort, stability, and efficiency. “Power catamarans are definitely on top of our list of priorities,” Bamps confirms.

It is not merely a commercial matter. The multihull configuration also plays an important role in Gulf Craft’s perspective on energy efficiency. The superior stability and hydrodynamic efficiency typical of a catamaran can deliver lower fuel consumption compared to a monohull while providing an equivalent on-board experience.

True Luxury According to Erwin Bamps: Having More Technology Without Sensing It

One of the most compelling passages of the interview touches on technological innovation. The industry is bringing an increasing number of systems, features, and devices on board. At the same time, according to Bamps, contemporary owners do not necessarily want to deal with a machine that is harder to operate. The demand seems almost contradictory: more comfort and more technology, but less complexity. “People want an increasing level of comfort and higher complexity, but at the same time, they want more reliability and less hassle in the way they manage, operate, and enjoy a yacht,” says Erwin Bamps.

Yacht owners, the CEO continues, “want all the comfort that they have on land replicated on their boat. They don’t want to downscale their expectations. They want at least the same, but with a sea view.” The challenge arises when all this technology has to be operated. Bamps observes that modern owners do not necessarily want to read technical manuals or attend training courses to learn how to operate their yacht: “They don’t intend to read the manual. They don’t intend to do a training course to understand how to operate it.” From this stems one of Gulf Craft’s key design priorities: simplifying the user interface, integrating technologies intelligently, and making maintenance easier as well. “The user interface of everything we do, the integration of technology, and the simplification of maintenance and operations are key.”

In this context, Bamps speaks of “purposeful innovation”—innovation designed with a specific goal: improving the on-board experience without adding unnecessary layers of complexity. “It’s about purposeful innovation that makes boating easier and more accessible.” This concept is set to become increasingly important in the superyacht segment as well. According to Bamps, it is not uncommon today for an owner to purchase a 100-foot yacht as their very first boat. Product expectations are therefore exceptionally high, even when a professional crew is on board. And the benchmark is no longer just within the marine industry: “The client’s expectations for this type of yacht go beyond a five-star hotel experience.”

Sustainability Starts with Not Building

The final part of the interview tackles one of the most complex issues facing the yachting industry: sustainability. Gulf Craft is working on material selection, production processes, and using recycled materials in building new vessels. However, Bamps invites us to look at the issue from a broader perspective. According to the CEO, efforts introduced during the construction of a new yacht may have a limited impact when weighed against the entire product lifecycle. This gives rise to a statement that Bamps says he often repeats: “The greenest boat is the one that never gets built.”

The concept is not merely theoretical. In 2026, Gulf Craft turned this philosophy into a new business area by launching its Superyachts Service division, dedicated to refitting and remodeling existing yachts. The goal is to extend the lifespan of vessels rather than replacing them with new builds. “We launched in 2026 our new division Superyachts Service, focused on refit and remodeling of existing vessels.” A particularly compelling aspect is that the division does not work exclusively on Gulf Craft vessels. The group can also undertake projects on superyachts built by other shipyards, executing comprehensive refits covering interiors, engine rooms, and other shipboard systems. “We believe that by giving new life to products that have already been built, whether built by us or by others, we substantially reduce the carbon footprint.” It is an approach that shifts the concept of sustainability from just the manufacturing stage to the total lifespan of the yacht.

Slow Luxury: The Future Is Also About Speed

Bamps’s environmental perspective extends further to fuel consumption, one of the most immediate aspects when discussing the impact of motor yachts. Gulf Craft’s response is not necessarily about foregoing luxury, but about interpreting it differently: “We try to guide people towards slow, quiet luxury: enjoying the water and not just the speed.” This concept connects directly to the growth of power catamarans. Their hydrodynamic efficiency, according to Bamps, allows for a given experience on the water while consuming less energy. Hence Gulf Craft’s vision for a yachting industry capable of exploring different paths: refitting, material optimization, hull efficiency, user-friendly technologies, and a refined idea of luxury—less tied to speed and more to the quality of the experience. It is a vision that neatly captures the group’s new phase: a shipyard that continues to invest heavily in its product line and global expansion, while simultaneously seeking to redefine the very meaning of innovation.

Conclusion

The exclusive interview with Erwin Bamps presents the image of a company in full transformation. Gulf Craft 2.0 is not merely about scaling up size or increasing the number of models; it reflects a broader evolution in how yachts are designed, distributed, and experienced. The six new releases in 2026, the Majesty 145, the surge in power catamarans, and the expansion of the international network all testify to the group’s industrial ambition. Yet it is perhaps the concepts of simplicity, quiet luxury, and refitting that point most clearly to its future direction.

At its core, Bamps’s message is unequivocal: the yacht of the future must offer more comfort, more technology, and an increasingly sophisticated experience, but it must do so without becoming a complex machine to manage. And above all, sustainability cannot be limited to finding the most eco-friendly material; it must also question the necessity of building a new vessel when a second life can be given to an existing one. Gulf Craft’s strategy thus follows a clear line: innovate more, simplify the user experience, and build only when truly necessary.

Sources and References

Erwin Bamps – FAQ