Italian shipyard Sanlorenzo is tapping into the remote working trend by configuring its yachts with custom-built offices and Starlink internet connectivity so high-net-worth professionals can be productive at sea. Jenny Southan reports
According to HR platform Localyze, Millennials make up about half the global digital nomad population. Known for their “blended” working lives, they know how to make the most of new technologies and only need an internet connection to work from anywhere in the world.
Recognising this shift, Italian shipyard Sanlorenzo says that an increasing number of high-net-worth Millennial digital nomads are now “WFY” (working from yacht), onboard vessels with purpose-built offices, deskspace and advanced satellite dishes that are key for enabling passengers work from the middle of the ocean.
With regards to office’ design, this is “as fluid and as flexible” as all other parts of a Sanlorenzo yacht interior. Clients can recreate their office at home or at work depending on their profession, and can design various “laptop-friendly spaces” throughout the boats. At Sanlorenzo, this is “incorporated to one degree or another on most new yachts”.
Sanlorenzo boats are equipped with high-speed internet from Elon Musk’s Starlink, ensuring them a connection wherever they are in the world, both in-motion and while anchored. Starlink delivers global coverage to the vast majority of the Earth’s rivers, lakes, oceans, and can withstand extreme conditions while at sea, including cold, heat, sleet, heavy rain, and hurricane winds.
Globetrender recently toured the new 28-metre Sanlorenzo SL90A (pictured in this story), which was temporarily moored in London and is now available for the Mediterranean sailing season. Designed and built in Italy, it is up for sale for €8.5 million euros, and is ideal for an owner operator who has the capabilities to captain the yacht themselves.
Whoever buys it can fully customise the interior design – right now it’s just a blank canvas but furnishings include pieces from Minotti, Flos and Casina.
“With Sanlorenzo, yacht layouts and interiors can be designed for purpose, be that a place to welcome business associates, an alternative to the more traditional ski chalet, as escape for the family, with convivial dining spaces, interconnecting rooms and a garage filled with toys, or as a vessel to simply entertain their own aquatic passions, such as scuba diving”, says the company. 
Interestingly, the San Lorenzo SL90A has a unique asymmetrical design with just one walkway on each side instead of two, creating more space for the lounge and bedrooms. The yacht sleeps eight guests with space for four crew, and bathrooms feature marble from the Italian quarry by the shipyard. Personally, we couldn’t think of a better place to set up an office, with nothing but the horizon ahead of us. 
Sanlorenzo also predicts that in ten years’ time, the average superyacht buyer will be a Millennial with a high consideration for eco-friendly and sustainable products.
The company’s 2030 roadmap is “deeply rooted in providing more sustainable solutions to future buyers due to a significant increase in demand from prospective purchasers. For example, an innovative new hydrogen fuel cell system co-designed with Siemens Energy could improve a yacht’s eco-footprint while at anchor by around 90%. This could aboard Sanlorenzo vessels as soon as 2027.