Mooring more boats in Lebanon

Last month, two shark-like super yachts sat in Solidere marina, the sun’s reflection glinting menacingly off their blacked-out windows. Inside, built-in swimming pools, jacuzzis, radar masts and other space age gadgets come as standard. But that’s what you get for $60 million, a price range that shuts out all but the biggest spenders – and it is these that Lebanon’s marina owners want to woo as an increasing number of Arab owners are looking for suitable destinations to moor their boats. “It is a growth industry. We have more marinas and more people coming from the Gulf,” said Mohamad Chehab of Chehab Marine, a yacht accessory shop in the Starco building. The local yachting sector can be divided into two segments: sailors (mainly European), who include Lebanon in an Eastern Mediterranean cruise itinerary, and Arabs, mainly from the GCC nations, seeking to permanently moor a boat in a Lebanese marina.