Oyster Yachts, a leading manufacturer of luxury blue water sailing yachts, has announced a partnership with LR to secure a safety certification process which will be implemented on all new yachts built by the Southampton based company.
Under the terms of the agreement, LR will approve the design, materials and build quality of all hulls and decks on Oyster yachts. In order to ensure compliance with LR Rules, an LR surveyor will inspect all yachts in production once per week. As a result, all newly built Oyster vessels will carry an LR Moulding certificate immediately upon completion.
Oyster’s continued commitment to meeting safety standards in all aspects of yacht construction means that they will become the only British builder of sailing yachts under 24m to carry out such high-level certification.
Oyster will secure complete quality control over the construction of its hulls through a new mould production facility in Norfolk, the first time this process has been brought in-house. The facility will provide over 20 jobs in the area, as well as the increased capacity to produce five hulls at any one time. The mould production facility is expected to open in September, with the first LR certified yachts to begin moulding in September.
Joanna Pohorski, LR UK&I Area Manager – Marine & Offshore, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Oyster and supporting them in this journey, bringing an increased assurance for safety and quality to their vessels. We work with clients all across the world but on this occasion it is rewarding to be involved with another company that is also a part of the Southampton maritime cluster and local to our own Global Technology Centre.”
Richard Hadida, Oyster’s CEO, said: “It is incredibly exciting to be working with such an esteemed, globally recognised partner in LR, another great British brand. This third-party accreditation will assure all Oyster customers that their yachts are crafted in accordance with relevant international standards, particularly with regards to safety. By bringing total control of our hull construction in-house for the first time, we not only continue to provide more jobs in the Norfolk area but also scale-up production capacity. This is key to our growth plans as orders continue to increase. There are precious few smaller vessels with this level of certification, and this is yet another way in which Oyster’s yachts set themselves apart.”
