You’d be forgiven for assuming the Maldives, a country that is 99 per cent water and a playground for the uber wealthy, comfortably caters for the yachting elite. The archipelago’s 172 luxury resorts, many of which are built on private islands, offer every conceivable amenity, from sublime underwater spas to incongruous snow rooms. Yet a purpose-built super yacht marina is a glaring omission from the list, an anomaly that Atoll Estates is looking to change.
The UAE-based company has revealed plans for a five-star development set within 500 hectares of a natural lagoon in the South Malé Atoll. Located just 21 miles from Malé International airport (which completes a large expansion in 2025 to cater for the estimated 4.3 million travellers passing through each year), Zamani Islands will comprise three individual resorts spread across eight islands. Designed in partnership with Dubai-based architects Killa Design, it promises to host the island chain’s first dedicated super yacht marina.
“By providing state-of-the-art facilities for super yachts, the marina will attract more high-net-worth individuals and yachting enthusiasts to the region,” says Amit Majumder, co-founder and managing partner of Atoll Estates, who believes the influx will boost local tourism. “The increased yachting traffic will foster the development of related services and infrastructure, further establishing the Maldives as a premier yachting destination on the global stage.”
The initial phase of the development, set to open in 2026, will include the first of three distinct resorts made up of a collection of private residences, each with a private pier for yacht tenders. Lifelong berthing at the marina (once complete) will also be included. The second “multi-experiential” resort is aimed at families and couples with a private island beach club for over 21s, while the third “lifestyle” resort will have a total of 300 keys, a yacht and sailing club and the largest events and entertainment venue in the country.
Spanning a whopping 60,000 square metres, Zamani Islands marina’s full-service facilities are pitched to include crew amenities, provisioning, maintenance and access to a yacht club. Of the 120 yacht berths, 60 will be dedicated to super yachts upwards of 30m in length, with a single dockside mooring of up to 200m. Other resort amenities include the first medical spa in the country (though Soneva’s two wellness complexes may have pipped them to the post), personal butler service, and 28 food and beverage venues, including an underwater restaurant.
It’s no secret that the Maldives’ wide-open waters, vibrant coral reefs and diving hot spots make it a yachting haven. Around 70 to 100 large motor and sailing yachts arrive in Maldivian waters each year (per 2021-2023 Maldivian Coast Guard cruising permit applications). The country’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean also makes it a convenient stopover for yachts travelling between the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. According to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the Maldives saw more visiting yachts than Hong Kong and Singapore combined in 2023, slightly outpacing Thailand. So why has there not been a super yacht marina in the pipeline before now?
“For the past 20 years, the Maldives’ private resort tourism model has proven highly profitable and pretty low risk,” says Splinter Fangman, a yacht and berth broker at Edmiston. “With a super yacht marina, it’s still a gamble whether the yachts will actually use it.”
For vessels upwards of 70m that can sustain themselves at anchor for weeks at a time, the Maldives’ current lack of infrastructure isn’t an issue. Yachts like 134m Serene and 97m Faith are self-sufficient floating resorts equipped with their own high-end amenities, even the aforementioned snow room. Provisioning and fuel bunkering is done ship to ship using a large barge that caters for private island resorts. Though the opportunity to dock at a marina to use shore power, turn off systems and generators, and allow the crew to go ashore is appealing, it’s not a requisite, says Fangman, especially for owners who prize privacy above all else.
For smaller yachts that depend on the services of a marina, making the crossing to the Indian Ocean can be challenging. That said, the Maldives is well placed to capture substantial traffic in the burgeoning Asia-Pacific yachts, while vessels based in the Middle East regard it as an attractive alternative to the crowded anchorages of the Caribbean.
“A marina in the Maldives will pull through huge numbers of yachts from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf,” says Donovan Chong, an independent marina entrepreneur. He cites the 146m Lürssen-built Opera, owned by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, which typically berths in Dubai, as a frequent visitor to the Maldivian archipelago.
Demand for a marina that caters to the super rich is now a strategic focus for the Maldives, adds Chong, who notes there are several additional imminent marina projects in the pipeline. “The Maldivian government has made it a top priority to explore new tourism verticals beyond hotels and resorts and to establish the Maldives as the ‘eastern terminus’ of the yachting world.”
He believes a dedicated marina will unlock the untapped potential of the Maldives as a charter (yacht rental) hot spot, and that future resorts need to be built around the marina, rather than treating it as an amenity. Majumder agrees. “Zamani Islands is more than just a residence; it is a lifestyle — one that seamlessly blends the opulence of land and sea, providing a haven for those who appreciate the finer things in life.” In other words, build it and the yachts will come.
