Gulf Craft, the shipbuilder based in the UAE, took its Majesty 160 to the Monaco Yacht Show, which ran from 23 to 26 September 2026. YachtBuyer announced on 15 July that the 50-metre yacht would make her world debut there. Superyachts.com's round-up of the show, published on 1 October, lists the Majesty 160 and the smaller Majesty 145 among the notable yachts and says that together they signal the builder's move into larger superyachts.
The Monaco show counted 117 superyachts this year, 79 of them debuts, according to YachtBuyer. A shipyard from the Gulf was therefore among the names on the Monaco quayside. The debut itself rests on those two reports, and what follows keeps to what they say.
The scale of the event is worth keeping in mind. The show ran at Port Hercule with more than 560 exhibitors, and the largest yacht in the harbour was the 111-metre Oceanco Leviathan. Next to her, a 50-metre yacht is a mid-sized entry, and the Majesty 160 shared the water with yachts more than twice her length. The UAE was also represented in Monaco through the UAE Pavilion, which Dubai took part in under the Department of Economy and Tourism.
The yacht
The Majesty 160 is a composite yacht of 498 GT. GT, or gross tonnage, is a measure of a vessel's internal volume rather than its weight. She is arranged for up to 12 guests in seven en-suite cabins: a master, two VIP cabins, one double and three twins. Crew accommodation is provided for up to nine.
Cristiano Gatto Design Studio drew both the interior and the exterior, and Van Oossanen Naval Architects were responsible for the naval architecture. The design was nominated at the 2026 International Yacht & Aviation Awards, in the Interior Design and Concept Yacht categories.
Power comes from twin 2,200 hp Caterpillar C32 engines. YachtBuyer gives a range of up to 4,300 nautical miles, the figure that tells an owner how far a yacht can go between refuelling stops, which is about 8,000 kilometres. At full load she displaces about 463 tonnes.
Outdoor space features prominently in the description. Beside the infinity pool, the yacht has a hybrid beach club with fold-down balconies, and she is described as having extensive glazing.
What has not been said
YachtBuyer's July announcement does not give a price, a top speed or a build location for the Majesty 160, so none is stated here. The piece also does not carry comment from Gulf Craft itself. Readers who are considering the yacht will need to ask the builder directly for those details.
A Gulf builder on a European stage
Monaco is not new to Gulf Craft. According to Marine Industry News, the company unveiled an earlier Majesty 160 design at the 2022 Monaco Yacht Show, with production planned at its UAE facility, and said at the time that it was celebrating its 40th anniversary.
What is different this year, in Superyachts.com's reading, is the size of the ambition. The Majesty 145 is a 45-metre yacht with six cabins for up to 12 guests, and with the 160 above it the range now reaches into the superyacht class, where yachts are generally counted from about 24 metres and up. That is Superyachts.com's reading: an assessment, not a statement by the builder.
Home waters next
The same builder is due to appear closer to home in November. The Dubai International Boat Show, now moved to November every year from 2026, is scheduled for 25 to 29 November at Dubai Harbour. YachtBuyer reported earlier that the Majesty 145 was slated for the Gulf Craft pavilion there. There is no word in the sources on whether the Majesty 160 will be in Dubai.
According to Gulf Craft, the company is the anchor exhibitor of the Dubai show. It also plans to show its Nomad, Oryx and SilverCat models, with the Oryx marking its 20th anniversary, and its SYSC refit division will be present too.
For owners in the Gulf, the interest lies in seeing a local builder show in the same harbour as Feadship, Amels and Oceanco, whose yachts also appeared in Port Hercule this year. A debut in Monaco in September, followed by a Dubai show in November, puts a simple question to Gulf buyers: does the region's own shipyard now belong on the shortlist?
The answer will depend on details that the first reports leave open, from price to delivery time. What is already clear is that a UAE yard has chosen the most closely watched harbour in the trade to make its case.
Sources: Superyachts.com, YachtBuyer, YachtBuyer, Gulf Craft, Marine Industry News