Superyacht Brokers Unite for Ukraine

According to recent figures from the United Nations, more than two million Ukrainian residents have now fled the country in a bid to escape the ongoing Russian invasion. Fleeing to their neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, the Ukrainian people have been left with little possessions in this devastating time. 

CEO of Fraser Yachts, Raphael Sauleau, announced on his LinkedIn at the weekend that Fraser Yachts has begun an initiative to help Ukrainian refugees and residents. By collecting donations to deliver to Poland and other neighbouring countries, Sauleau emphasised in his post that, ‘any help and support is welcome to alleviate their burden’, and suggested blankets, sleeping bags, sleeping mats and numerous other essential items as recommended donations. The UN recently announced that Poland has taken in over one million Ukrainian refugees, providing food, shelter and medical care, and is in vital need of donations to support the high number of people who are arriving there.

Leading yacht brokers, Burgess and Ocean Independence are among the many in the brokerage industry to have joined in support of this initiative, encouraged to help those in need in Ukraine. 

Sauleau commented, ‘I wanted to help and decided to organise a donation through our office in Monaco so I reached out to the yachting community for their support. I reached out to the LYBRA members and many provided donations from their local offices such as Ocean Independence, N&J, YCO, IYC, BURGESS and many other companies as well. We hired one truck, and now a second one, due to the volume of donations that we are receiving.’

Such an initiative is an amazing example of how the industry can work together to create a positive impact on those in need.