METSTRADE 2025, the world's largest business-to-business marine-equipment trade show, ran November 18-20, 2025, at the RAI Amsterdam convention centre in the Netherlands. Unlike the shows the public visits to see finished boats, METSTRADE brings together the engine, electronics, materials and services suppliers that equip shipyards worldwide — the link in the chain that rarely shows up in a yacht's launch photos.
Table of Contents
- What METSTRADE is
- 2025 dates and venue
- Why a trade-only show matters
- How METSTRADE compares with 2025's other shows
- The Brazil connection
- What was not disclosed
- FAQ
What METSTRADE is
METSTRADE stands for "Marine Equipment Trade Show." By its own description, it is the world's largest B2B marine-equipment trade show — closed to the general public and built for professional buyers: shipyards, naval architects, distributors and fleet buyers. There are no finished boats for sale in the aisles, unlike a consumer boat show; what moves through the halls instead are engines, marine electronics and navigation systems, hull materials, marine furnishings, design software and port-logistics services — the inputs that, months or years later, turn up assembled into a finished yacht.
2025 dates and venue
The 2025 edition ran Tuesday through Thursday, November 18-20, at RAI Amsterdam, the convention centre that hosts the show every year. Opening hours ran 10:00-18:00 on the first two days and 10:00-17:00 on the final day, per the venue's official calendar. RAI Amsterdam sits a short ride from the Dutch capital's historic centre, in a city Europe's marine industry regularly chooses for large events because of its logistics and hospitality infrastructure.
Why a trade-only show matters
Most yacht-industry coverage clusters around consumer shows — Monaco Yacht Show, Cannes Yachting Festival — where finished yachts sit on display for buyers and onlookers alike. METSTRADE plays a different role, and for anyone tracking the industry's longer-term health, an equally important one: it is where builders lock in supply contracts, test new technology, and decide what materials and systems will equip the next generation of boats. A strong year of consumer-show orders — as 2025 has been for Italy's major groups — typically feeds through into more buying activity on the B2B side, since every yacht sold still needs an engine, electronics and finishing before it leaves the production line.
How METSTRADE compares with 2025's other shows
The table below places METSTRADE alongside other marine trade shows that ran in 2025, highlighting the format gap between a B2B event and a consumer show.
| Show | Format | Venue | 2025 dates | Disclosed figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| METSTRADE | B2B (trade only) | RAI Amsterdam | Nov 18-20 | Not disclosed in sources reviewed |
| FLIBS (Fort Lauderdale) | Consumer | Fort Lauderdale, USA | Oct 29-Nov 2 | 1,300+ boats, 1,000+ exhibitors |
| Monaco Yacht Show | Consumer | Port Hercule, Monaco | Sep 24-27 | 29,956 visitors, $2.9bn fleet for sale |
| Cannes Yachting Festival | Consumer | Vieux Port & Port Canto | Sep 9-14 | 55,000+ visitors, 103 debuts |
| São Paulo Boat Show | Consumer | São Paulo Expo | Sep 18-23 | 750+ boats sold (+7.1%) |
The missing attendance and exhibitor figures for METSTRADE in that table are not a reporting gap on our part: trade-only shows closed to the general public tend to report metrics more privately, aimed at the industry itself, and the official sources reviewed for this article — METSTRADE's own site and RAI Amsterdam's calendar — did not publish a visitor or exhibitor count for the 2025 edition.
The Brazil connection
Brazil's marine industry sits inside this global supply chain even without a confirmed physical presence at METSTRADE itself in the sources reviewed. Brazil is an active exporter of recreational boats — domestic yards sold 559 boats abroad in the first half of 2025, roughly half of everything exported the prior year — and, like any shipyard anywhere, depends on the engine, electronics and materials suppliers that circulate at shows exactly like METSTRADE. Readers following international superyacht charter can browse the fleet available at voguer.yachts; for boat rental on Brazil's coastline, the domestic catalogue is at voguer.com.br.
What was not disclosed
In the interest of transparency: the official sources used for this article (METSTRADE's own site and RAI Amsterdam's calendar) confirm the 2025 edition's dates, hours and venue, but do not publish a visitor count, exhibitor count, floor area, or any awards presented during the show. We would rather state that gap plainly than estimate any of those figures.
FAQ
What does METSTRADE stand for? METSTRADE stands for "Marine Equipment Trade Show." It runs annually at RAI Amsterdam and is described by its own organizers as the world's largest business-to-business marine-industry trade show, built exclusively for professional buyers rather than the general public.
When did METSTRADE 2025 take place? Tuesday through Thursday, November 18-20, 2025, at the RAI Amsterdam convention centre in the Netherlands. Opening hours ran 10:00-18:00 on the first two days and 10:00-17:00 on the final day, per the venue's official calendar.
Does METSTRADE sell finished boats? No. It is a trade show for equipment, materials, electronics, engines and services used in building and outfitting vessels — its audience is shipyards, designers and distributors, not end buyers of a finished yacht. Finished boats appear at shows like Cannes, the Monaco Yacht Show, or the São Paulo Boat Show.
How many people attended METSTRADE 2025? That figure was not disclosed in the official sources reviewed for this article. Trade-only shows closed to the general public tend to report metrics more privately than consumer shows like the Monaco Yacht Show, which disclosed 29,956 visitors for its 2025 edition.
What is the difference between METSTRADE and a show like Genoa or Cannes? Genoa and Cannes are consumer shows, with finished boats on the water for visitors and buyers. METSTRADE is closed to the general public and gathers the equipment and service suppliers that stock shipyards — two ends of the same industry, one facing the end consumer, the other business-to-business.
Does Brazil take part in METSTRADE? The sources reviewed for this article do not confirm Brazilian exhibitors at the 2025 edition. Brazil participates in the global marine-equipment supply chain chiefly as an exporter of finished boats, having sold 559 boats abroad in the first half of 2025.
Why should a boat renter or charter client care about a B2B show? Because the health of the supply chain — engines, electronics, materials — directly affects the timeline and cost of building new boats, including the ones that end up in rental and charter fleets. A show like METSTRADE is the gauge for the part of the industry that rarely appears in a finished yacht's photos.
Where can I find official information about METSTRADE? On the show's own site, metstrade.com, and on RAI Amsterdam's events calendar, the convention centre that hosts it every year. Those were the two sources used to confirm the 2025 edition's dates, hours and venue in this article.
