Specialists in Complex Yachting Matters
Specialized technical consultancy for complex cases, powered by 70 years of experience.
Independent Marine Surveyors & Project Consultants
Protecting Owners’ Interests at Sea
Project
Management
Professional yacht project management that coordinates crew and shipyards to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and timely delivery with minimal risk.
Newbuild
Management
Acting as the owner’s representative throughout the entire build, advising from initial specification through construction, launch, and warranty to prevent quality, legal, and financial risks.
Refit & Repair
Management
Refit and repair oversight that secures the expected result on class renewal, maintenance, paint, or conversions, supported by extensive experience and an industry-wide network.
Insurance
Surveys
Hands-on claim adjustment and on-site claim management for leading European yacht underwriters, with direct coordination involving marine lawyers to achieve efficient, tailored outcomes.
Condition & Valuation Surveys
As independent surveyors, we produce detailed reports that protect our clients’ interests and serve as essential documents when evaluating a yacht purchase.
Yacht
Management
Marine Consulting provides transparent, boutique-style yacht management for select owners, backed by 20 years of experience, low overheads, and a trusted network of top service providers.
Expert Guidance
Meet Our Experts
Discover the skills and experience that define our team. We bring unmatched expertise in yachting consulting.
Michael Kurtz
Yacht Consultant
Michael studied economics in Hamburg and joined Pantaenius Yacht Insurance in 1984, eventually running its claims department. He handled major international cases and oversaw the negotiation of high-value, complex yacht claims.
In 1992, he founded Marine Claims Service (MCS), a Pantaenius subsidiary in Hamburg. In the mid-1990s he moved to Monaco to establish Pantaenius Monaco in 1997, followed by Pantaenius Palma in 2006.
Over his career, Michael investigated and managed over 350 yacht claims, including thefts, sinkings and total fire losses—earning him the nickname “Mike the gun”.
A passionate sailor, he has raced dinghies since 1968 and is a member of the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, as well as the Monaco and Cannes Yacht Clubs.
Michael is also an accomplished yacht photographer, a skill developed through decades of travel and work around the world.
michaelkurtzphoto.com
Stefano Ruscitti
Surveyor
Stefano studied naval architecture in Genoa, but his professional career started when he was hired by Michael Kurtz in 1991 for a role in Pantaenius’ claim department in Hamburg.
Stefano’s passion for yachts and his exceptional language skills made him an asset to the company, and Stefano was integral to the company’s international growth.
Stefano went on to support Pantaenius as an independent surveyor in the more difficult Italian market, until he founded the survey company Sea Metria SRL in Genoa, in 2003.
Over the last 35 years, Stefano has followed a vast number of refit and new built projects.
In 2014, Stefano sold Sea Metria Srl to his partners and moved to Monaco – joining Michael Kurtz as a Partner in Marine Consulting MC SARL.
Our Services
Discover the skills and experience that define Marine Consulting MC. We bring unmatched expertise in yachting consulting.
Project Management
Whether converting, refitting, or repairing a yacht, professional and diligent project management is required. We work closely with the crew and shipyard, liaising between all parties, to ensure clear communication, compliance to specification, accuracy, efficiency, and a timely delivery. Our wide experience enables us to finely tune each decision, conveying the necessary details to mitigate the potential for error.
Newbuild Management
Our service begins in the early days of a project, supporting the owner with advice and specification requirements on the technical side to ensure that an adequate and accurate specification is supplied to the shipyard. Our extensive experience acquired over many years and managing many successful projects, enables us to take a more intuitive approach – we can foresee where problems may arise, we can intervene and mitigate inefficiencies before they effect a project, and we remain on hand as advisers during the contract stage and further still during the construction. We protect our clients from major quality, legal, and financial problems. As owner’s representatives, we supervise shipyard processes and verify the quality of subcontractors to assure full contractual compliance. Upon launch, we supervise the tests and sea trials and continue our careful management of the project. And our service doesn’t stop upon delivery of the yacht to the owner, we continue to provide our specialist support throughout the after-sale guarantee and warranty period.
Refit & Repair Management
Whenever yard time is at stake, be it for class renewal, maintenance and repair, new paint, or conversion to realize what you ever dreamt of, our experience, knowledge and contacts to the industry, will assure you get what you pay for.
Insurance Surveys
Claim Adjustment and on-site Claim Management is the core of our business. We have long-standing and trusted relationships with the leading yacht hull underwriters in Europe of the last 35 years. Our direct management of expensive claims, including the day-to-day liaison with marine lawyers, facilities a more individual way of achieving results.
Condition & Valuation Surveys
As truly independent surveyors, our detailed and conclusive reports become essential documents when considering the purchase of a yacht. Our reports are compiled with the sole purpose of protecting the interests of our customers.
Yacht Management
Fed up with cost intransparency, “pay-or-die” scenarios, or constant downtime for your yacht? Marine Consulting provides customized yacht management services for a select number of owners, backed by over 20 years of boutique-style management experience, a slim and efficient organizational structure, no marketing costs or unnecessary overheads, and direct access to a first-class network of hardware and service providers.