Home / Industry / Associations
Boat life cycle assessment: industry bodies survey builders
Three trade associations want one shared method for measuring the environmental impact of a boat. Before they settle it, they are asking builders and suppliers what they already do and what holds them back.
Associations NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH
On 17 September 2026 the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), European Boating Industry (EBI) and the US National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) opened a joint survey for boatbuilders and supply chain companies around the world. It closes on 23 October 2026.
The subject is life cycle assessment: working out the environmental impact of a boat across its whole life, from raw materials and production through use to disposal. The three associations are developing a method meant to be applied the same way in every market. The questionnaire asks how familiar companies are with such assessments, what barriers they see, what training they need and which legislation they expect.
What is new is the step from intention to fieldwork. Builders who take part get a say in the method before it is fixed. For owners nothing changes for now: there is no requirement to produce a life cycle assessment for a recreational boat.
What this means for owners
From an insurance point of view the survey changes nothing for owners today, in liability or hull terms. It concerns builders and suppliers of production boats first, sailing yachts, motorboats and catamarans alike. Should environmental data start to appear in sales documents, it is worth asking your insurer whether it has any bearing on repair decisions after a claim.
Our view as NAMMERT, not part of the news. Your own policy wording decides.
Where this comes from
- Source: European Boating Industry, 17.09.2026
- Source: Trade Only Today, 18.09.2026
The text is our own; the sources supplied the facts and figures, not the wording.
