BLUE WAKE – THE CONSOLIDATION OF EXCELLENCE: WHY 2026 MARKS THE MATURATION OF BLUE WAKE™
Blue Wake™ 2026 the programme grows up the first edition of Blue Wake™ was, by design, an act of discernment. Not a catalogue of green claims, but a selective framework asking a precise question: does your environmental commitment hold up to scrutiny? Fifty-nine companies said yes and proved it.
That result is the foundation on which the 2026 programme was built. The framework hasn’t changed. The evidence base has grown.
The shift isn’t cosmetic the 2026 programme reflects that shift in two concrete ways. Shipyards can submit both concept designs and existing yachts on display at MYS 2026, each assessed against an evolved set of criteria calibrated to reflect the realities of both shipyard solutions and, for the first time, brokerage activity.
Validation requires verifiable supporting documentation including YETI-aligned evaluations, lifecycle assessments and third-party verified technical data reviewed independently by Water Revolution Foundation. For concept designs and existing fleet assessments, third-party verification through YETI is mandatory, performed by accredited YSEC members or the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN); shipyards initiate and manage this process directly within the software. The principle remains unchanged: environmental credibility must be demonstrated, not declared, and it spans the full arc of a vessel’s development, not only its delivery date.
More significantly, brokers and yacht management firms are eligible for the first time. A yacht’s environmental story doesn’t end at the shipyard. It continues through every transaction, every charter season, every operational decision made on behalf of an owner. Including these participants closes the chain. Blue Wake™ becomes a framework that follows the vessel rather than simply marking its birth.
Why this matters “What we’re building with Blue Wake™ is a framework the industry can actually trust not a collection of aspirations, but a verified body of evidence which supports the construction, design, and management of a superyacht. Bringing brokers and yacht management firms into the programme was the logical next step. The environmental credibility of a yacht lives in every decision made after delivery, not only at the moment of build. Our partnership with Water Revolution Foundation gives us the technical rigour to make that credibility legible to owners and charterers alike,” said Toby Moore, CEO of Informa Prestige.
What the MYS will reflect the solutions on display at MYS 2026 are not a catalogue. They are evidence — of an industry that has moved, in a remarkably short period, from aspiration to operational reality. With the strong support of Water Revolution Foundation, the Monaco Yacht Show’s role in that arc is to hold the standard against which progress is measured.
Applications are open to all 2026 exhibitors until July 1, 2026.
