Erwin Bamps, CEO, Gulf Craft Group

With the Majesty brand of models ranging from the 60 to the 175, how would you describe the Nomad series, which spans the 65 to the 101 tri-deck?
Nomad has a different take on yachting. The exteriors have more classic lines, a more timeless design than Majesty, which is more contemporary on the outside.

With its Superyacht series, Majesty needs to compete with the top Italian and British motoryacht brands, the likes of Benetti, Ferretti Group and others building contemporary-style yachts and superyachts. Majesty then has different competition in the 60-100ft range. Nomad is competing with the likes of Horizon, Numarine, Sirena and so on. Honestly, Nomad has fewer competitors than Majesty.

The Nomad 101 is the flagship of the Nomad fleet of exploration-focused motoryachts

For the people who want to prove themselves to others, owning a Majesty is a great statement, to make people turn their heads when you cruise by. Owners of Nomad yachts care less about people think of them. It’s more about the connection to nature, the mothership that brings you to that distant cove, distant marina, and you worry less about being seen.

Is Nomad more affordable than Majesty?
Nomad focuses less on the bells and whistles, but the level of fit and finish in the interior is very similar. Nomad is the equivalent of an offroad car. It’s pitched as a long-range, explorer-style yacht.

This reminds me of a Majesty yacht owner, who told me he didn’t want to go too far out at sea. I explained that Majesty yachts are oceangoing and can cruise long distances, but he said: “Yeah, but then people can’t see me anymore!” So, Majesty is a bit about ‘see and be seen’, while Nomad is about heading off to remote, secluded islands. Nomad yachts have explorer-style looks and are about exploring, although not in the sense of heading to Antarctica and ice regions.

The Nomad 70; other Nomad models include the 65, 75, 95 and 101

It’s a bit like buying a Porsche four-wheel drive; if you take it off road, you’re worried about stones hitting the outside and damaging the paint. With a Range Rover, that’s the fun. They have a different soul. You could say they’re in competition, but it’s not the same customer focus. It’s more the look and feel.

When you enter a Majesty, it’s like you enter a Porsche Cayenne and the focus on the finish, the stitching, while in the Nomad, it’s about where you put the toys. Of course, it’s important to have toys in a Majesty; it’s just not the first consideration.

Oryx has had a rebirth in 2025 with the world premieres of the 32FX and 37FX open models and the enclosed 47LX. What’s your hope for this cruiser series?
I see tremendous potential in Oryx. That segment in the market has been growing. When we launched Oryx, it was catering mostly to younger people who wanted to have it as a family boat, maybe even a fishing boat. It had to have air-conditioning, a cabin, with people able to go downstairs for some AC then go back on deck.

The enclosed 47LX led Oryx world premieres in 2025

It was mostly a day boat, a weekend boat at most. It was designed with the specific needs of Asia and the Middle East in mind. It became very popular in the inner Gulf, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia. It was never very strong in Europe because it didn’t cater fully to how people in the Mediterranean or Florida viewed boating.

Oryx is now trying to become a more globally oriented product range that suits a lot of people, not only in the Middle East and Asia but also in the likes of Croatia, Turkey, Florida or Australia.

We’re developing a range with open versions and closed versions offering protection against the rain or the cold or the heat. The open versions are for those people who like fishing, centre console or the pilot cabin with a three-sided windscreen, which helps you against the elements. The options work in different climates. Also, there’s now a bit more focus on the fit and finish, the looks and creating that emotion that helps younger people fall in love with a product like that.

How are the new Oryx models being received?
We’ve invited captains, brokers and potential new dealers to come and test the boats. I’ve invited people from Thailand, from Croatia and other parts of Europe, from the US to have a closer look at the boats and say what they like and don’t like.

The open Oryx 37FX (above) also debuted in 2025 along with the 37LX and 32FX

We had people fly in from Puerto Rico, so we could ask how it could be more suitable for their market, for the Bahamas, for Central America. We’re looking to see how we can set Oryx apart from Axopar, Saxdor and what everybody else is doing.

What are your thoughts on the potential of the SilverCat series, which launched in 2020?

Powercats are still new in the Middle East. Even in Europe, the sector is still up and coming. Clients are getting their head around how to make maximum use of two hulls.

Is it because you want a stable boat to go fishing or flyfishing or do some trawling? Or do you want the double hull for more deck space? Or can it be, like we did at Prestige, to also offer more room downstairs?

There are a lot of people looking at powercat design from different angles, to find out how clients really want to use a catamaran design to optimise the type of boating they want to do. Likewise, Gulf Craft is trying to find how powercats can serve the markets we’re feeding today.

SilverCat’s 35CX debuted at the 2025 Dubai International Boat Show

SilverCat models include centre consoles, like the new 35CC and the 40CC, which are good for the sport fishing market. Then we have the enclosed Lux versions for family boating, where people want to have some fishing capability but can sit indoors in air-conditioning if they want to have lunch. It could be used for some island hopping around Thailand or Malaysia.

Now we’re expanding into even bigger sizes and there are new models on the table that explore other ways of using a powercat. Ultimately, powercat clients want to benefit from space, stability and fuel efficiency, so we can maintain those principles and build completely different platforms based on that. Gulf Craft has the advantage of being able to build small ranges, experiment a little with different layouts, try a couple of concepts, put them to market and see how people respond.

So far, one of the most active client bases is sportfishing, so we’re promoting those strongly. With the enclosed versions, we’re trying to find if people want fully enclosed or not, or if they want a flybridge. We’re testing the waters a little bit.

Do you see SilverCat as potentially having global appeal?
Of all the brands, I’m most bullish about SilverCat. Of our brands, I think it has the highest growth potential, if not necessarily the highest turnover. I think the powercat platform has probably the biggest potential to bring newcomers to the boating market and new owners to Gulf Craft. I believe SilverCat has the power to bring more people to boating than the Majesty brand.

SilverCat’s 35CC also boosted the powercat brand’s growing portfolio

Of the four Gulf Craft brands, do you view any as only being appealing to certain regions or markets?

In production terms, there are brands that make more sense to sell close by than on the other side of the planet purely based on the cost of freight and logistics, which accounts for a much higher percentage of a small product than of a big product.

So, it makes more sense to focus on the smaller models in nearby markets, although potentially for international markets if we’re able to ship 10 or 20 at a time. Again, that means you need to have a strong distribution network in more distant markets.

Do you see Asia as a key market for all the brands?
Is it the type of boating people want to do? Yes. Does Asia have lots of islands? Yes. Does it have a client base that would like to do that? Yes. Can we bring the product cost effectively into the market? Yes.

Among the four brands, how much of the annual turnover does Majesty account for?
Majesty is still the defining factor in the success of Gulf Craft, and we still want to increase its turnover because we want to grow the whole pie. Denison’s representation will boost Majesty as a whole, but relatively we would like to reduce its percentage of our total turnover as we better develop and grow the other brands.

The 120 by Majesty, the Gulf Craft Group’s flagship brand

That’s why we’re building new plants and facilities in both the UAE and the Maldives. I’m signing more orders for machinery than I am for materials for new boats. We’re investing heavily in travel lifts, gantries, equipment for the factories, and we’ve done a lot of piling in Umm Al Quwain, where we’re expanding.

However, your primary focus remains on developing the dealer network?
Yes, using my network to bring the right partners to the table and connect more dots. The market has changed, so we need to help develop some existing partners as well as find new partners.

The dealerships might no longer be Gulf Craft dealerships but a Nomad representative in a market where other dealers are representing Oryx and Silvercat, or Majesty and SilverCat. The dealer who brings in superyacht clients might not know how to sell a SilverCat product. As the client is different, so maybe the salesman should be different.

And if a group represents all the brands, they may have different sales teams for different brands. On a Majesty, you don’t necessarily give a prospect the keys and say ‘try it’, but on a SilverCat, you do.

gulfcraftgroup.com