Ras Al Khaimah is getting a 98-berth marina for superyachts and megayachts of up to 85 metres. Wynn Al Marjan Island announced Wynn Marina on 5 October 2026, with IGY Marinas, the Fort Lauderdale-based operator, running the harbour when the resort opens in September 2027. In a region where most berths stop at 40 metres, an 85 metre limit is the figure that matters.
What has been announced
According to Wynn's announcement, the marina is a circular basin with a radial berth layout and a maximum depth of five metres. Marina Solutions International designed the harbour. Dewan Architects + Engineers designed the Capitainerie at its centre, which handles arrivals, marina operations, concierge and captain services, and lets guests check in to the resort without leaving the yacht. Provisioning, transport and restaurant bookings run through the same building.
The resort around it is large. Wynn describes 1,530 rooms and suites, 22 restaurants, lounges and bars, a theatre and a beach club, on Al Marjan Island, about 50 miles from Dubai International Airport. Khaleej Times reports that the opening moved from March to September 2027 because of supply chain constraints, and that the budget, originally $5.1 billion, has risen by $600 million. Two groups of private homes, Marina Estates and Ocean Estates, are planned around the waterfront.
Wynn says the marina will hold more yachts, and larger ones, than any other hotel-attached marina in the UAE. That is Wynn's own claim, and the qualifier carries it: Dubai's large commercial marinas take bigger vessels, as the figures below show. As a resort marina, though, nothing in the country is announced at this size.
Why 85 metres matters in the Gulf
The Gulf's shortage is not berths. It is long berths. Mike Ward, managing director of Marina Projects, told the SuperYacht Times Gulf Summit that 80 percent of berths in the Gulf take vessels only up to 40 metres. A 50 metre yacht has a short list of places to stay, and a 70 metre yacht a shorter one.
The fleet that needs those places is growing. SuperYacht Times data counts 311 privately owned superyachts over 30 metres across the Arabian Gulf states, 5.3 percent of the global fleet, with UAE residents owning 48 percent of them. Dubai's tourism department has counted 15 marinas and more than 3,000 berths in the emirate alone. On Ward's figure, few of them take a 60 metre hull.
Where an 85 metre yacht can berth in the UAE
Most Gulf berths stop at 40 metres. Wynn Marina, due in September 2027, adds a long-berth harbour in Ras Al Khaimah.
98
berths at Wynn Marina
85 m
largest yacht it will take
5 m
maximum basin depth
80%
of Gulf berths take 40 m or less
Maximum yacht length by marina
Bar length shows the largest vessel each marina lists. Berth counts are as published by each source.
Sources: Wynn Al Marjan Island (October 2026); Khaleej Times; Dubai Harbour; Noonsite (Mina Rashid); Mike Ward, Marina Projects, at the SuperYacht Times Gulf Summit. Wynn has not published how many of its 98 berths take 85 metres.
For the largest yachts, the list in the UAE today is mostly two Dubai addresses. Dubai Harbour lists 705 berths for vessels of up to 160 metres. Mina Rashid, the traditional port of entry for visiting superyachts, lists 424 berths for yachts of 15 to 80 metres and seven alongside berths above 80 metres, according to the cruising guide Noonsite. Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina is the base for the emirate's yacht programme.
Wynn Marina adds an option outside Dubai and Abu Dhabi, further up the coast. What it does not yet answer is how many of the 98 berths take a full 85 metres: Wynn has not published the split of berth lengths. Until it does, it is safer to read 85 metres as a maximum, not a typical berth.
What it means for owners
For owners who already winter in the Gulf, the useful questions are practical.
Draught. A five metre maximum depth suits most motor yachts in this size range, but large sailing yachts and some explorer yachts draw more. Owners of deep-keeled boats should check the depth at the specific berth, not the basin maximum.
Price. No berth rates have been published, and none should be assumed. That is normal for the region: Dubai Harbour and Mina Rashid also quote on request. Berthing is one of the ownership costs least visible before signing, as AVNET's breakdown of what a superyacht costs to run found.
Operator. IGY Marinas, owned by the US boat retailer MarineMax since 2022, says it runs 24 marinas across 15 countries, including Cannes, Porto Cervo, Ibiza and St Katharine Docks in London. It was appointed operator at Wynn Al Marjan in August 2025, so the contract predates this announcement by more than a year. Captains who know its European harbours will find a familiar operator; whether IGY's network terms will apply in Ras Al Khaimah has not been said.
Residency. Abu Dhabi and Dubai now grant a 10 year Golden Visa to owners of yachts of 40 metres or more, as covered in AVNET's guide to the superyacht Golden Visa. A new long-berth marina gives such yachts one more place to be based. Neither published scheme names Ras Al Khaimah, and Abu Dhabi's runs through Yas Marina, so a Wynn berth does not by itself make the case for a visa.
What to watch before 2027
Three details will decide whether Wynn Marina becomes a base or a stopover. The first is the berth split: how many berths take 60 metres or more. The second is the shape of the offer, whether it is annual contracts, seasonal berths or short stays for resort guests. The third is how arrivals and customs clearance will work for yachts coming from outside the UAE, which the announcement does not cover.
Max Tappeiner, President of Wynn Al Marjan Island, described the marina as "not simply a place to berth a yacht, but an integral part of the destination." For owners, the more useful measure is simpler: one more harbour in the Gulf that can take an 85 metre yacht, in a market where most of the existing berths cannot.