Billionaires ‘disappointed’ after superyachts banned from Naples port

A superyacht owned by Bernard Arnault – the world’s second-richest man – has been banned from docking in Naples owing to a new regulation that has left multibillionaires “thoroughly disappointed” about missing out on staying at the southern Italian city.

Symphony, the LVMH boss’s 101 metre long, six-deck vessel was cast adrift off the coast of Naples before being told it could not be hosted at Mergellina port due to a recently introduced limitation on size.

The ban reportedly came as a surprise to the fashion tycoon, who has previously been able to dock the yacht, which contains a glass-bottomed swimming pool and outdoor cinema, at the port.

Corriere della Sera reported that the media tycoon Barry Diller was also forced to renounce Naples after the Mergellina harbourmaster banned yachts of more than 75 metres in length for security reasons.

A source at the port said the move was “incomprehensible” given that megayachts had been able to dock there for the past 20 years, and that Naples would miss out on the type of visitor who brought some lustre to a city that “often makes the news for negative reasons”.

“I am getting many letters from magnates saying they’re thoroughly disappointed that they can’t dock in Naples any more,” the source added.

One of the letters, from a company that charters a yacht owned by a Turkish billionaire and is registered in the Cayman Islands, said: “Our boat measures 85 metres and I have seen larger ones moored there without any problem. Why is this no longer possible? Big yachts bring money, they bring jobs, and it’s really regrettable that they can no longer stop in Naples.”

Business unions have also criticised the new regulation.

“There are many consequences,” Costanzo Jannotti Pecci, the president of the Naples unit of Unione Industriali, told Il Mattino. “There is a feeling that superyachts mustn’t come to Naples. There even seems to be a lack of awareness of the pleasure that a tycoon might get from our city. The fame of a city such as Naples increases through these people.”

Massimo Luise, who manages a pier at Mergellina that hosts luxury yachts, told Corriere della Sera that while he respected the rules, the economic repercussions for Naples were considerable.

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“It’s a shame for Naples, a special city full of culture and tradition which can no longer welcome guests of the calibre of Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Jeff Bezos and Jennifer Lopez, who over the years have come here,” he said.

While Naples may be out of bounds, the rich and famous have been attracting attention as they enjoy other parts of Italy. Last week, a Spanish tourist and fan of DiCaprio almost drowned after attempting to swim to a superyacht moored off Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany to get a glimpse of the actor, who was onboard.