SEA Index certification expands to smaller pleasure boats

The Superyacht Eco Association (SEA) Index – an emissions measurement tool originally developed for yachts above 24 metres – is extending its certification programme to cover smaller pleasure boats.

The SEA Index was designed by Yacht Club de Monaco, and acts as an independent and impartial reference tool that allows stakeholders to measure the carbon intensity of yachts over 24 metres. To date, the SEA Index has certified more than 120 vessels using a carbon emissions assessment framework for yacht design.

The expanded scope of the index includes smaller pleasure boats from 10 metres, covering both monohulls and catamarans. SEA Index, working with Lloyd’s Register, has developed reference models for displacement, semi-displacement and planing monohull boats, as well as production catamarans up to 35 metres.

According to the organisation, the framework enables shipyards and manufacturers to incorporate environmental performance considerations during the early stages of design across larger production volumes. It also allows owners and buyers to access comparable environmental information across different vessel sizes, while providing ports, marinas and financial stakeholders with consistent environmental benchmarks for their operations.

Extending the methodology brings benefits

“This expansion marks an important evolution for the SEA Index and for the boating industry at large,” says Bernard d’Alessandri, president of SEA Index and secretary general of Yacht Club de Monaco.

“By extending the methodology to pleasure boats from 10 metres, including production vessels and catamarans, we are moving towards a more inclusive and accessible framework for environmental transparency. This is about ensuring that credible and consistent environmental assessment is not limited to a small segment of the fleet, but progressively becomes available across the full spectrum of boating.”

Chris Craddock, LR global lead for marine asset and operational performance, adds: “The SEA Index methodology has been further refined to better reflect the diverse operating profiles of production yachts and superyachts, together with the significant differences in hydrodynamic performance associated with varying hull forms and speed regimes.

“By benchmarking vessels against dedicated reference lines derived from rigorous methodologies aligned with IMO decarbonisation measures, SEA Index delivers a fair, transparent, and globally consistent framework for evaluating environmental performance across the yachting sector.”

The initiative supports an international network that includes yacht owners and captains, marinas and ports, including 25 locations across the Mediterranean, Seychelles and St Barthélemy, together with 87 marinas through the Japan Marina & Beach Association, as well as maritime industry stakeholders including banks, insurers, shipyards and technology providers.