The Long Route

He is one of the world’s leading boating managers. Great experience and ability to sense a rapidly evolving market. Since 2019 he had joined the Orsi family in Tankoa. A new challenge that Vincenzo Poerio has decided to take on to grow the Genoese shipyard in numbers, quality and sustainability. While waiting to fulfill a personal dream of his: to devote himself full-time to the search for clean nuclear power. Just a dream Read along with us and find out what he said in this interview.

In the past few years, have you not experienced any exaggerations or overdoings in research and design?

In some cases there have been exaggerations. And we have also paid, in terms of the market, for this pursuit of the extreme. Sometimes in this quest for innovation, which is the secret to giving continuity to our product, mistakes were made. We made projects that were never realized because they were too complicated. I believe that in boating as in other fields two principles apply.

Which ones?

Good construction is critical to success in the short run. Innovating, on the other hand, allows

you to maintain that success in the long run. Above all, boats of this size must be beautiful. Owners who come to us want an object that satisfies them primarily from an emotional, and therefore aesthetic or performance, point of view. They know very well that it is neither an investment nor a commercial operation.

Technology has also played a role in improving on-board comfort.

Absolutely. I got my start in this industry over 30 years ago. And when I think about the portholes that we used to mount on board, it makes me smile. Now we can have windows that go from deck to deck, like on the 55 sport we built. We have spans without supports. New technologies and the study of designers have made it possible to adopt solutions on board that were unimaginable just 20 years ago, in terms of beauty and functionality. Thanks to innovations and the work of designers, they are able to meet all on-board needs. Boats today are brighter, much lighter even in their exterior lines, provide performance and comfort. They are also much more beautiful. 

Not a minor factor… 

Of course, boats have to be boats. And even last night I had proof of that. An American customer to whom we presented three boats had no doubt: he chose the one he liked best. He did not make any other kind of evaluation. Design is a search for solutions and must be a stimulus for shipyards to find new solutions, new ways, perhaps in our case it would be better to say new routes.

 Is design also important in the making of the boat?

Undoubtedly. Compared to the big cowlings with overabundant spaces that were seen on construction sites only about twenty years ago, a lot of progress has been made. Even in the implementation phase, designers have given us a great deal of help. Just think of the use of gas fan coils that was inconceivable only a few years ago. Alternatively, the replacement of double pipes with single pipe.

Don’t you fear the deadly embrace between construction sites and designers?

There may be but it is important for the shipyard to maintain its own stylistic features in order to keep its boats recognizable regardless of the designer behind the design. Kind of like what happens in the automotive field as well. Regardless of who designed it, the recognizability of the model and the automobile manufacturer that makes it is immediate.

How do you choose designers?

Here at Tankoa we prefer to work with multiple designers and not tie ourselves to one designer. Based on my experience, I believe that in this way Tankoa offers customers more choices. Everyone has their own style, their own ideas. But each design, as I repeat, must nevertheless retain the recognizability of the shipyard that builds it. Obviously a 40-meter-plus boat is a complex project and it is equally complex to build and sometimes we force the designers’ hand. But the trademark of the shipyard must be respected.

Sustainability has become a mantra of this era. What is your position?

I won’t deny you that the term sustainability induces some skepticism in me. Because we need to clarify what exactly we mean by sustainability.

Please, go on.

I acknowledge at least three types of sustainability. We need to think of sustainability from the perspective of corporate governance. That is, to be sustainable, a company must produce profits. Then we need to consider social sustainability. A company, and in this case a shipyard, employs thousands of people, and guaranteeing jobs is a commitment that the company must maintain over time with policies and investments that guarantee this. Finally, there is an undeniable issue of environmental sustainability. But often when we delve into the subject we find that there is a lot of talk and very little substance. As Paolo Vitelli would have said, «It’s fuffa».

Is it rather tranchant?

We are trying to apply in boating some innovations that come to us from other sectors, especially automotive.

Do you think this is a mistake?

I don’t know if this is a mistake, but in considering the goals, the results are minimal. So far we have only been able to make small savings: we have improved the eciency of engines and hulls by optimizing consumption. We are working a lot on product reversibility and on the recyclability of the various elements that make up a boat: from fiberglass to steel, which we now recover almost 100 percent. 

However, are these benefits overall insignficant?

For the purpose of solving a huge problem like environmental sustainability, they are still inecient solutions. Even in the design of new engines we are still far behind.

Do we need a change of pace?

Definitely, hydrogen, fuel cell and hybrid need to be developed further. I believe that research toward greater sustainability is also an opportunity for shipyards to renew and innovate.

The problem, if any, is the direction this innovation should take.

I believe the solution is to diversify research without foreclosure. When it comes to sustainability, it takes investment and time. Kind of like nuclear power. At present, talking about clean nuclear energy means nothing.

You mentioned Paolo Vitelli, a great man of Italian boating who recently passed away,

with whom you worked for years at Azimut Benetti. What are your memories of him?

A special person, hard worker. I met him in 993 when I was still working in Fincantieri. He

hired me in Benetti where I stayed 26 years. It was a totally new experience for me. After graduating in engineering from University Federico II in Naples, I had started working as a researcher in the university then I had moved to Fincantieri. Joining Azimut Benetti was also entering a world, the world of superyachts, that I did not know. At the same time, Paolo introduced me to it by passing on some knowledge that I didn’t have from an entrepreneurial point of view. Honestly I think I also gave something to Paolo, especially from a more purely technical point of view.

What kind of entrepreneur was Vitelli?

A tireless worker. Often we worked each one in his own oce late into the night, it seemed we were competing, challenging each other. In reality we both loved what we were doing. In fact, Paolo was not involved in finance, his business activity was related to the product, of which he took care of even the smallest detail. I am very grateful to him, also because after six months he handed over the reins of the company to me.

Since 2019 you have been working with the Orsi family in Tankoa.

It is a different kind of experience. I am currently working with the two children, Claudia and Guido. They are much less operational, but they participate a lot in company life. They perceive the high value and social responsibility that a company like Tankoa that employs 700 people has. Obviously only 20 percent are internal to the company, but the supply chain it generates in the area affects the lives of 700 families. This should never be forgotten exactly as we need to remember that companies have to survive.

Mr. Poerio, how do you see the future of Tankoa?

Let’s look at the present. In one year we are able to build 3, maximum 4 yachts, and turnover 120 million a year. e are also expanding our refitting business, which ensures significant margins.

It is surely a good basis for making plans?

This data gives us enough solidity to imagine investing in rebuilding our shipyard. The goal is to be able in 5 years to build, in the new shipyard, what we call «boutique yachts» and also find a niche that should be the comfort zone of production. Currently Tankoa specializes in yachts ranging from 40 to 80 meters, but we would like to expand our market with less demanding boats under 40 meters.

Some little Tankoa?

Absolutely not. This new line will have its own brand completely separate from Tankoa. Also because they are two separate worlds, with different needs and different ways of facing the sea.

Do you think so?

I am sure about this. If we imagine the future of boating, we can assume two types of boats for two types of customers just as there are two ways of experiencing the sea. On the one hand, there is a clientele that demands large boats, 40 to 80 meters, because they like to live aboard. For these boat owners it is important to be able to isolate themselves, to cross oceans, to explore faraway destinations. If we want, an escape route. On the other hand, we have to imagine owners who would like to have a less demanding boat, with a length ranging from 70 to 110 feet, but one that is fast. For faster and certainly less mileage-intensive travel. Life on board itself is an option for these types of boaters.

For comfort issues?

Also. From this point of view, we are working on boat stabilization systems. Rolling and pitching are always a problem for the comfort of life on board.

Do you sail as well?

I was born between Pozzuoli and Bagnoli, the sea is in me. I studied and graduated from the Nautical High School in Naples. In my dreams and plans was to embark and sail. Unfortunately, life forced me to make less adventurous choices, and after graduating in engineering, as I told you, I started working as a researcher in Naples to be close to my family. But the sea is inside me. I own a RIB with which I sail the waters of the Gulf of Naples.

How is that? I imagined you at the helm of one of the superyachts you’ve been building for years, first with Benetti and now with Tankoa.

I don’t like big boats, but I admit that during a vacation in the Aeolian Islands with Tradition, that I had borrowed, I appreciated its comfort and the pleasantness of reaching bays that otherwise I would have seen only from afar with binoculars.

At the age of 70, can one still have a dream in the drawer?

I would like to engage in research, my passion since my college days. The development of clean nuclear energy is a challenge that I am passionate about. I would like to participate in one of the scientific projects on creating nuclear fusion energy. I like to think of a world governed by a mix of energy produced from hydrogen deuterium and tritium. But there is still a long way to contain the heat unleashed by nuclear fusion, and there is still a lot of research to be done.