James Watt Dock Marina booked up for superyachts until August

The busy Greenock facility has been visited by a number of luxury vessels this year, with bookings already full until the beginning of August.

Last month, a £118million yacht owned by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz enjoyed a short stay at the marina.

Three superyachts have been berthed at the dock over the last couple of weeks – Game Changer, Dapple, and Rocinante.

The vessels departed for a cruise of the west coast on Saturday, but are due to spend another seven to ten days here upon their return.

Superyacht bookings at James Watt Dock are full until early August (Image: Duncan Bryceland)

Graeme Galbraith, marina manager, told the Tele: “This is the first time we’ve had three of that size in at the one time.

“The kickback for the area is that they’ll use local businesses to stock the boats.

“The spend in the local economy is really good as well.

"It raises the whole profile of Greenock.

“In the late 80s and early 90s, Greenock was always that industrial town and saw a gradual decline through those years.

"Up until about 15 years ago this was a derelict dock.

“To see that transformation in such a short space of time is great for Greenock and it’s great for Scotland.”

Pi spent time at the dock last month (Image: George Munro)

Amid increased interest in Scottish cruises, Graeme and his team are working with MGMT Yacht, Superyacht UK and British Marine to promote the marina as a gateway to other parts of the country.

As part of development work currently being carried out at Great Harbour, it is hoped that the dock will eventually have a dedicated superyacht berth which coud hold up to five of the vessels at once.

Graeme added: “Scotland really is beginning to tick a lot of boxes for the superyacht owners. I mean there’s only so many times you can do the Mediterranean.

“They’re coming up to Scotland and every year we’re getting more and more boats."