Yachting Industry Veteran Graeme Lord Starts Shore Support Company March

In October, former International Yacht Collection (IYC) director and yacht engineer Graeme Lord opened the doors to Fairport Yacht Support. This independent shore support company provides services including International Safety Management; International Ship and Port Security; Yacht Financial Administration and Accounting; Crew Administration, Payroll, and Management; Operations and Technical Management with Flag States/Class Administration; and Worldwide Logistical Support. Fairport currently manages 16 vessels with a total of 2,133 feet represented.

The staff at Fairport all come from within the industry and provide unequaled yacht management with emphasis on the smooth and efficient operation of each vessel.

Lord’s yacht management knowledge comes from an extensive engineering background that goes back to his roots in Zimbabwe, where he worked as diesel technician, and to his time as an engineer on yachts including M/Y Southerly, M/Y Taipan, M/Y Mystère (Refit), M/Y Joanna Alexander, and M/Y Namoh.

Lord is considered an expert in the field of yachting and was chosen to be the Chairman of the Cayman Islands Shipowner’s Advisory Council Yacht Commitee. He has also spoken at yachting conferences around the globe. During his eight-year tenure as Director of Yacht Management at International Yacht Collection, Lord established one of the industry’s most respected teams and grew the department to include 29 vessels representing 4,500 feet.

Fairport’s current staff includes Holly Lord, office manager; Darla Skaf and Romy Barden, yacht accounts manager; Whitney Diedericks, yacht documents manager; Angus MacKenzie, yacht technical manager; and the most recent hire, Andrew Tuhan, yacht technical manager.

Lord named his company after the sailing vessel Fairport for which his great-grandfather was the captain, taking commission in Limerick, Ireland, on May 6th, 1898. His grandmother and her sibling were raised aboard.