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Ocean Independence, when knowing yachting means living it

From maritime roots to a global network, Ocean Independence combines brokerage, charter, management and new construction expertise

Ocean Independence beyond the yachts: the history, growth and vision of an international name in brokerage and superyacht management

Before brokerage came the sea and the yachts themselves. This is perhaps the most revealing place to begin when looking at Ocean Independence. Its roots predate the current brand and lead back to Peter Hürzeler’s experience in the 1980s, when he was involved in building and operating sailing yachts for charter. Ocean Cruise was established in 1991, with the business progressively moving from direct yacht operation towards consultancy and brokerage. It was a transition from living the yacht to turning that knowledge into a service for those wishing to buy, sell or experience one.

An identity created by bringing different experiences together

Ocean Independence as it is known today took shape in 2005. Ocean Cruise, Velonà Yachting and Sea Independence were brought together into a new organisation, with Peter Hürzeler and Nicholas Dean involved in developing the company. This was more than a change of name. It combined expertise, relationships and geographical presence at a time when the large-yacht market was becoming increasingly international. Further expansion followed, including the acquisition of British brokerage Cavendish White.

Independence as a way of working

The name Ocean Independence already carries a statement of intent. In an industry built around high-value assets, personal relationships and often complex decisions, independence has a meaning that extends beyond branding. Today the company presents itself as a global superyacht brokerage and ownership specialist, supporting clients across different stages of the journey: acquisition, sales, charter, construction and management. The yacht is therefore not approached as a single transaction, but as part of a relationship that can evolve over time.

When the broker becomes an adviser

Brokerage remains one of the pillars of the business, but the work surrounding a large yacht has become considerably more complex. A sale requires market knowledge, negotiation and valuation; a new build brings shipyards, designers, technical considerations and contracts into play; management introduces crew, safety, administration and everyday operations. Ocean Independence has developed its model by bringing these capabilities together within an integrated structure. The broker remains important, but operates within a much broader ecosystem of expertise.

A global network with a local dimension

The company’s headquarters are in Küsnacht, near Zürich, but Ocean Independence operates through an international network extending across many of the world’s principal yachting centres, including Monaco, London, Palma, Fort Lauderdale, Dubai, Athens, the French Riviera, Hong Kong and Auckland. The underlying idea is to combine global reach with local insight: operating across different markets while maintaining professionals close to Owners, shipyards and the places where yachts are bought, built and enjoyed.

The Mediterranean remains at the centre of the map

For an international brokerage, the Mediterranean is more than a summer destination. Monaco, the French Riviera, Palma and Athens form part of Ocean Independence’s operational network and reflect the region’s continuing importance to the global superyacht industry. Owners, brokers, shipyards, crews and charter guests converge here; many of the sector’s defining events take place here; and many of the cruising routes that shape the contemporary yachting imagination begin here.

Human experience and market intelligence

Technology and data have fundamentally changed the way markets can be understood, yet at the upper end of yachting there are elements that remain difficult to translate into an algorithm: reputation, discretion, knowledge of the people involved and an ability to interpret requirements that may not immediately be articulated. Ocean Independence places the combination of expert advice, market intelligence and personal service at the heart of its positioning. The message is significant: contemporary tools should strengthen human judgement rather than reduce a complex relationship to a simple transaction platform.

Building a yacht means coordinating an idea

New-build activity perhaps demonstrates better than anything else how far modern brokerage has moved from the image of the simple intermediary. Before a yacht exists there is an ambition, an intended way of using it and a long sequence of decisions. Turning those ideas into a new vessel involves shipyards, designers, naval architects, technical specifications, contracts, schedules and budgets. For a company such as Ocean Independence, working through this process means becoming part of the journey from an Owner’s idea to the finished yacht, while representing the interests of the person commissioning it.

The real product is continuity

One aspect becomes clear when looking at Ocean Independence as a business: sales, charter, management and construction appear to be separate activities only when considered individually. For an Owner they can become successive stages of the same journey. A charter may provide an introduction to large-yacht life; ownership may follow, then a new-build project or the management of a more complex vessel. The ability to accompany these transitions therefore becomes an important part of the company’s value.

A company reflecting the transformation of brokerage

From its early connections with life on the water to the international organisation of today, Ocean Independence also tells the story of how the broker’s profession has changed over recent decades. Yachts have become larger and technologically more sophisticated, but the ecosystem required to operate them has grown even more. Behind a yacht there is no longer simply a transaction: there is expertise, relationships, management, design and an understanding of the sea that remains the point from which everything begins.

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Ocean Independence
Ocean Independence – Our Offices

03 September 2026
© MED Yachting Editorial Team
Ocean Independence, when knowing yachting means living it
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The information in this article has been sourced from and adapted from official sources and/or press releases, in accordance with our editorial code of ethics.