ISS Celebrates a Landmark International Awards Ceremony at Yacht Club de Monaco
ISS Celebrates a Landmark International Awards Ceremony at Yacht Club de Monaco
The International Superyacht Society (ISS) has successfully concluded its 2026 ISS International Awards Ceremony, a milestone evening that brought together close to 1,000 industry members at the prestigious Yacht Club de Monaco on 23 September, from 18:00 to 20:00. The event marked one of the largest and most influential gatherings in ISS history, honouring the year’s most exceptional achievements in superyacht design, engineering, and refit excellence.
Held against the backdrop of Monaco’s iconic harbour, the ceremony delivered a powerful showcase of innovation and craftsmanship across the global superyacht sector. Designers, shipyards, naval architects, brokers, captains, and senior executives filled the Yacht Club’s terraces as the winners of the 2026 ISS Design Awards were officially revealed.
A Night of Celebration, Recognition, and Industry Unity
The ceremony highlighted the finalists across all categories — sailing, motor, and refit — each representing the pinnacle of contemporary yacht design. The atmosphere was electric as the industry gathered to applaud the nominees and celebrate the winners selected from an outstanding field of global contenders.
The event reinforced ISS’s mission to champion excellence and elevate the standards of the superyacht world, with this year’s ceremony standing out for its scale, energy, and the exceptional calibre of projects presented.
2026 ISS Design Award Finalists & Honourees
BEST IN SAIL 24M–40M
KIBOKO 4 – Southern Wind | Nauta Design | Farr Yacht Design
LINNEA AURORA – SES Yachts | Hoek Design Naval Architects
BEST IN SAIL 40M+
AQUARIUS – Royal Huisman | Dykstra Naval Architects | Mark Whiteley Design
KATANA – Perini Navi / The Italian Sea Group | Perini Navi | Rémi Tessier
MAGIC – Vitters Shipyard | Reichel Pugh Yacht Design | Design Unlimited / Pieter Laureys
BEST IN MOTOR <300GT
Ferretti Yachts 800 – Ferretti Group | Filippo Salvetti | Ideaeitalia
Ferretti Yachts 940 – Ferretti Group | Filippo Salvetti | Ideaeitalia
HAZE 2 – Cantiere delle Marche | Hydro Tec | Lawson Robb
RIVA 112’ DOLCEVITA – Ferretti Group | Officina Italiana Design
BEST IN MOTOR 300–500GT
CAMILA – Bilgin Yachts | Unique Yacht Design | Hot Lab
NASIBA – Cantiere delle Marche | Hydro Tec | Winch Design
RAJA² – The Italian Sea Group | ADMIRAL Centro Stile
RIVA 54METRI – Ferretti Group | Officina Italiana Design
RJ – Cantiere delle Marche | Francesco Paszkowski Design | Achille Salvagni Atelier
BEST IN MOTOR 1000–3000GT
ADMIRAL ARMANI 72 – The Italian Sea Group | Giorgio Armani / ADMIRAL Centro Stile
AL REEM – Bilgin Yachts | Unique Yacht Design | H2 Yacht Design
AMOR A’ VIDA – CRN | Nuvolari Lenard
O’MADELEINE – Golden Yachts | Studio Vafiadis | Massari Design
VALOR – Feadship | Studio De Voogt | Bannenberg & Rowell Design
BEST IN MOTOR 3000+GT
BREAKTHROUGH – Feadship | RWD
LEVIATHAN – Oceanco | Mark Berryman Design | Lateral Naval Architects
BEST IN REFIT
NIGHT HOWL – Westport | LMC | Architexture Nautica
NURJA – Abeking & Rasmussen | Focus Yacht Design
SOLACE – Feadship | Pendennis | RWD / Vickers Studio
STARFIRE – Lürssen | Abeking & Rasmussen | Patrick Knowles Design
URSUS – Acico Yachts | Balk Shipyard | Mulder Design / JAB Design
WHO WAS THERE
Amongst the present companies were yacht charter businesses such as SuperSailYachts.com and A2A Yachting, shipyard such as Abeking & Rasmussen who were also sponsors, Naiad Dynamics as one of the largest and most influential engineering companies in the superyacht world, who were also the main sponsors and other types of businesses such as Refit specalists from Turkiye, MonoYachting as well as Diamond in Glass, a patented Austrian technology that permanently fuses real diamonds into handcrafted glass and so many others.
SUCCESS OF 2026 TO CONTINUE
A Defining Moment for the Global Superyacht Community
This year’s Monaco ceremony underscored the strength, creativity, and forward momentum of the superyacht industry. With nearly 1,000 members in attendance, the ISS reaffirmed its role as the leading global organisation dedicated to recognising excellence and fostering collaboration across all sectors of yacht design and construction.
The next major gathering will be the ISS Design & Leadership Gala on 28 October 2026 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, where the industry will continue its celebration of innovation and leadership.
GET IN TOUCH
If you interested in one of these yachts, wish to charter or buy or would maybe like to contribute to ISS for their next award ceremony or wish to nominate someone, please do get in touch with us at charter@supersailyachts.com