The rising number of violent attacks on sea vessels around the world has led to a massive uptick in interest in personal safety and anti-piracy measures, according to a provider of private maritime security.

Maritime Asset Security and Training says that it has seen an 80 per cent rise in the number of such enquiries from owners and captains over the last six months – a figure which reflects a worrying rise in the number of attacks. While piracy has hitherto been mainly focused on areas like the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Guinea, this issue of course touches all the owners of the world’s 4,500 super-yachts, given that the average 60 metre-hulled yacht will cost in the region of $55 million.

The issue is all the more topical since many of the world’s superyachts are now gathering for the Monaco Yacht Show – leaving vessels at particular risk over the next three months as they transit between popular maritime destinations in the Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

“It’s clear that pirates around the world are becoming emboldened by successful attacks against commercial ships off places like the west coast of Africa, which in recent months has seen a proliferation of copy-cat incidents,” said Phil Cable, chief executive of MAST.

“As a result owners and masters of super and mega-yachts have become increasingly concerned about the safety and security of their vessels and passengers, particularly those transiting in the vicinity of these high risk areas.”

Super-yachts are acknowledged as being “the luxury of luxuries”; not only are there massive costs of ownership, maintenance and mooring to contend with, but the average owner only spends 60-70 days aboard per year.

That said, these yachts do provide a level of privacy the ultra-wealthy rarely enjoy, so despite the costs and risks which ownership entails we can expect the industry to remain healthy. This is particularly the case among the growing number of Asian ultra-high net worth individuals, for whom super-yachts are a must-have status symbol.