The Future of Marine Stabilisation CMC Marine has been quietly revolutionising the way superyachts move through water. We sat down with Pietro Cappiello, CMC Marine vice president, to talk family heritage, electric ambition, and why data is the new compass.CMC Marine has a strong family story at its roots. Can you tell us where it began?
My father was deeply embedded in the commercial marine world, working with Rodriquez Cantieri Navali on the development of control systems. That background shaped everything. When we started CMC Marine, we had a very clear philosophy: slow and steady growth, built on the foundations of professional engineering. We weren’t in a rush. We wanted to do it properly.
What did that look like in practice, particularly when it came to building your team?
We’ve always had a young team, and we’ve always invested in developing them. We recruit talented engineers and train them specifically in what we need, R&D, product development, the detail work that makes the difference. Retention is always a challenge, as it is in any technical industry, but people management is at the heart of everything. Get that right and you keep the knowledge inside the company. More recently, we opened an R&D facility at our Milan office, which is located right next to a highly respected technical university.
That proximity has been invaluable for recruiting young engineering talent and feeding fresh thinking into the business.
How do you stay close to the realities of life on board?
Our main channels are the captains and the chief engineers. They’re the ones living with our systems day to day, and their feedback is gold. We also work closely with our after-sales department during commissioning, that moment when a product goes from our factory onto a yacht is incredibly telling. All of that knowledge feeds directly back into R&D. It’s a continuous loop, and it keeps us up to speed with product development and is crucial for ongoing product development.
CMC Marine made the decision early on to go electric. What drove that choice?
Simply put, electric is better. It’s faster, more precise, and cleaner. The sustainability angle is more talked about now, and we fully embrace it, but it wasn’t the central motivation at the start , technical superiority was. When you go electric, you also gain something else: integration. Rather than fragmented suppliers and systems, you have one unified environment that connects naturally with everything else on board.
That simplicity has enormous value forth yacht and the crew.
You’ve grown internationally. How have partnerships evolved as CMC Marine has expanded?
Our first partnerships were in the USA, and they taught us a great deal. We developed a model where we look for partners once we’ve reached a critical mass in a new geographical region, and quite often, partners come forward and approach us first. That’s a good sign. It means the reputation is travelling ahead of us.
It has evolved over the years. For example, in the US, we initially went there and looked for a partner because we knew there were a lot of yachts in that market. Once the number reached a critical mass, we decided to open our own office, as there were so many that we needed to have direct control. Now, however, it’s more common for third-party companies to approach us and offer to become service centres, as they realise that more and more boats are equipped with our systems. That’s a good sign. It means the reputation is travelling ahead of us.
Tell us about your approach to data and remote monitoring.
This is increasingly central and vitalto how we work. We collect remote data from our systems in the field and use it to build predictive models , essentially, a proactive service framework that identifies issues before they become problems. The data we gather during sea trials is particularly valuable because it’s real-world, real-conditions information. We layer it over time, run it through cyclical analysis, and use the findings to continuously refine both our products and our simulators.We have one of the most advanced simulators in the industry, capable of modelling yacht behaviour and delivering time-based predictions that mirror real life conditions. The simulator feeds development, commissioning decisions, and control optimisation , and every new data set makes it sharper.
What about the power architecture behind the systems?
We work with DC Hi Voltage configuration, which enables CMC Marine stabilizer systems and thrusters to operate with high-voltage direct current power. This solution is ideal for hybrid yachts or those fitted with battery packs and DC-buses. Another key advantage is theEnergy Recovery System that can balance power spikes and manage demand , so you’re not just drawing power, you’re also capturing and reusing it. On a hybrid platform, that’s a meaningful efficiency gain. This innovation, inspired by the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) first introduced in Formula 1 and gradually adopted by the yachting world, recovers the energy produced during fin stabilizer deceleration and reuses it in the acceleration stage. The result is a significant reduction in the number of power peaks the generators are required to handle and up to 50% less power consumption, while delivering excellent stabilisation performance even at zero speed. The fins can therefore operate with only one generator in service, reducing noise, vibrations and emissions.
And on the engineering side , what’s the latest in fin and thruster design? 
We brought in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) engineers and aerospace specialists to work on our fin design, and the results have been significant. The new range of LA (Low Aspect Ratio) blades, designed and developed in-house by CMC Marine for displacement superyachts. These blades with a reduced aspect ratio are designed to improve hydrodynamic efficiency and increase comfort on board, especially when at anchor. An evolution of Stabilis Electra LR, the new blades reduce drag by 30% and feature a rounded edge that helps to limit turbulence.
Finally, how important is research and academic collaboration to CMC?
It’s fundamental. We have a long-standing relationship with the University of Naples and collaborate on research that goes well beyond product development. We publish white papers together, not because there’s a direct commercial return, but because advancing the science is important to us. That kind of work , genuinely independent, rigorous research , raises the level of the whole industry, and that’s something we believe in.
For more details visit : www.cmcmarine.com
