What It Actually Costs to Own a Princess S72 in Hong Kong

The Princess S72 is one of the most-listed large motor yachts in Hong Kong, which makes it an unusually instructive benchmark for anyone stepping up into the 70ft class. It is a genuine pocket sport-bridge superyacht — fast, imposing, built to be seen. It is also the size at which “casual ownership” ends: a 72-footer is not a boat you run with a part-time boat boy on weekends, and the annual numbers reflect that.

This is a buyer-side analysis. We don’t sell yachts and we don’t take listing fees, so we have no incentive to make the numbers look smaller than they are. Here is what a Princess S72 actually asks in Hong Kong, where that asking sits against the market, and what one costs to keep every year.

The asking price — and the gap behind it

Across current Hong Kong listings, Princess S72 asking prices typically sit in the HK$12M–24M band, with enormous spread by year, engine hours, specification and refit history. At this level, two examples of the same model can be millions apart. But the asking price is a starting position, not the market itself.

From observed listing behaviour — how long these boats sit, how askings move while listed — we model an asking-to-transaction gap of roughly 8–20% in this bracket. Bigger boats sit longer and draw from a thinner pool of capable buyers, so a long-listed S72 often carries more negotiating room than an equivalent 50-footer. None of that is visible if you only read the headline number on a listing page.

Can you actually berth a Princess S72 in Hong Kong?

This question should come before price, and at 72ft it bites harder than at any size below. Berths that can take this length are genuinely scarce in Hong Kong — the longer the LOA, the fewer marinas can physically and contractually accept it, and the longer the waitlists run. Committing to a boat at this price without a confirmed berth is the most expensive mistake available to you.

Before you commit to a specific vessel, confirm a realistic berthing path for its length — a marina berth that takes 72ft, a private arrangement, or a Greater Bay Area cross-border option with its trade-offs. We map the current situation in our Hong Kong berthing and mooring blueprint.

Annual cost of ownership (modelled)

This is the part that decides whether ownership is comfortable or a running burden. The figures below are modelled ranges for a Princess S72 kept and used in Hong Kong — treat them as a planning baseline, not a quotation.

Why crew is the line that changes everything at this size

The jump from the 50ft class to 72ft is, in cost terms, mostly a crew jump. A boat this size is very rarely run owner-only for long: most owners keep at least a full-time captain who handles berthing, systems, sea trials and the constant low-level upkeep a vessel this complex demands. Entertain or cruise seriously and a deckhand or interior crew member joins, and the number climbs again. If your plan was to drive it yourself on weekends, the S72 is precisely the size at which that assumption usually breaks.

Depreciation and resale: the exit nobody plans

A yacht is a depreciating asset — and the bigger the boat, the heavier the depreciation in absolute dollars. For an S72 buyer the core issue is liquidity: at this price point the pool of capable buyers at resale is small, and a mispriced or tired example can sit for a very long time. Princess is Hong Kong’s most-listed brand, which helps recognition but also means more comparable supply. A boat bought well — at the right point in the asking-to-transaction gap — and kept in genuinely good condition is far easier to exit than one bought at full asking and under-maintained. At this level, your discipline going in and your discipline on upkeep together are your exit strategy.

When you should not buy a Princess S72

• You don’t yet have a confirmed berth that takes 72ft. At this size and price, solve that before anything else.
• The annual running costs above would strain you. If HK$1.25M–2M+ a year is a burden, step down a class — this is not the place to economise.
• You plan to run it yourself without crew. An S72 generally needs at least a full-time captain; budget for it or reconsider the size.
• You expect it to hold value. It won’t — big boats depreciate heavily in absolute terms. Plan for it.
• You’d buy at full asking without checking days-on-market and price history. On a boat this size, the negotiating room left on the table can be seven figures.

Run your own numbers

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Our read on the policies, berthing moves and price signals shaping Hong Kong yacht-buying decisions — estimated market values, running-cost benchmarks, and the analysis behind them. No spam, no sales pitch, unsubscribe anytime.

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