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BMT Nigel Gee and Oceanco Form Naval Architecture Firm
UK-based BMT Nigel Gee and Dutch-based superyacht builder Oceanco have signed a strategic partnership for the formation of a new naval architecture and engineering company called Lateral Naval Architects Ltd.
The pairing comes after a successful history of collaboration starting in 2008 with yachts in the 100m+ category. Since then, the companies have celebrated several ground-breaking and award-winning projects such as the 92m Equanimity, 86m Aquijo, 110m Jubilee (pictured), and most recently, the technically innovative 107m Black Pearl, which was delivered in March of this year. The intensely anticipated 109m project Y718 'Bravo' will be the next to launch and will feature several technical innovations developed by the Lateral and Oceanco teams.
The joint goal is for Lateral to provide high quality naval architecture and engineering services to the industry as well as collaborating with the shipyard's own engineering team and network of co-makers and subcontractors. All of BMT's work in the large yacht market will be undertaken by Lateral and will build upon the company's extensive knowledge base and capability in the large yacht market. The newly formed company takes its name from a lateral-thinking approach to problem solving.
"Lateral is a joint venture between our two companies that will deliver to the market more than the sum of its parts," says newly appointed Managing Director, James Roy, who takes on the role after building the yacht division of BMT over the last 12 years. He continues, "With our core competence in naval architecture and engineering, Lateral will remain part of the BMT group and benefit from access to the full breadth of BMT's diverse capability, whilst at the same time strengthening its own expertise and knowledge through the strategic partnership with Oceanco."
On signing the strategic partnership, Oceanco's CEO, Marcel Onkenhout, comments, "With the ever-greater integration of the Oceanco and BMT teams, the formation of Lateral is a natural step in bringing our companies closer together. Lateral will not only deliver high quality naval architecture and engineering to Oceanco with greater focus, but will also work with the best across the whole of the superyacht industry to apply expert knowledge and deliver exceptional projects."
Lateral is located adjacent to BMT's existing offices at Shamrock Quay in Southampton. The company occupies a two-story studio from where the 50 strong team is currently engineering four new builds of over 100m and a host of smaller projects.
"Lateral will not only deliver high quality naval architecture and engineering to Oceanco with greater focus, but will also work with the best across the whole of the superyacht industry to apply expert knowledge and deliver exceptional projects."