The Austrian shipyard specializing in the construction of electric catamarans has just announced its bankruptcy. A receivership is out of the question.

Sad news from Klagenfurt, Austria, with the announcement of the bankruptcy of Silent Yachts, otherwise - and strangely - known as Asap Trading GmbH. 

The yard specialized in the construction of electric (hybrid) catamarans and owned 7 100% (!!) subsidiaries, some of which were dedicated to the production of a single model... ASAP Production GmbH, ASAP 62 EUR GmbH, Silent Yachts Explorer 100/1 GmbH, Silent Yachts 62 INT GmbH, Silent Yachts Explorer 120/2 GmbH, Silent Yachts 82 INT GmbH and Silent Italia S.r.l.. 

The company's liabilities would amount to 45.8 million euros, against assets of 5.1 million, with 36 employees affected by the bankruptcy, 13 in Austria and 23 abroad. 

Created in 2017, Silent Yachts had made a name for itself with its electric catamarans of cubic design - due to relatively rigid photovoltaic panels - and its communication boasting its leadership in the field, forgetting the reality of a market created by Poland's Sunreef Yachts with its Eco models.

According to Silent Yachts Asap's management, the shipyard was confronted with an unscrupulous Dutch-Turkish subcontractor, who left with 40 million euros in customer deposits, and whose initial upgrade had required major investments, bearing in mind that Silent Yachts had also taken over a shipyard in Italy (Fano) in 2022.

Decoding - Silent Yachts has always been something of a mystery on the yachting market, with a complex corporate structure, disproportionate communications, a real lack of transparency and a policy of subcontracting that proved fatal. In the meantime, customers who have paid deposits are left out in the cold, and will no doubt long regret having chosen a builder with such a fragile structure. This sad news reminds me of a very interesting discussion at the "Au Mal Assis" brasserie in Cannes last September, on the realities of this shipyard...