🎙️Exclusive Interview: José Marco Casellini, CEO of M3 Monaco & Skilled Lawyer.
- M Abti
- 18 hours ago
- 6 min read
Exclusive interview with Atty. José Marco Casellini, Partner at law firm Gambazzi Berra and CEO of M3 Monaco: Scalability, credibility, flexibility, integration among Biodiversity, Smart Technology, and Energy Efficiency are essential drivers towards the future of Responsible Marinas.
🗣️CORE CONCEPT: Energy resilience, advanced technology and data connectivity are prior for Smart and Sustainable Marinas. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most powerful catalysts available to us, provided we are clear about what it does and does not do.
BIOGRAPHY
Attorney José Marco Casellini is the CEO of M3 Monaco, a consulting and certification firm based in Monaco that specialises in the creation, development, and sustainable management of marinas, yacht clubs, and sailing academies. At the same time, he leads a well-known International Corporate Lawyer counting on a long-lasting experience as an Asset Manager with a long and successful business track record.
Endowed with extensive knowledge in legal, financial, and strategic advisory matters, he contributes to the development of high-value projects with a focus on Innovation, Sustainability, and long-term Performance. A passionate sailing enthusiast and Advocate of Ocean Protection, he has long promoted the vision of marinas as more than infrastructure assets, supporting their evolution into dynamic waterfront environments that combine hospitality, services, and responsible development.
His background in law, finance, and business leadership underpins his commitment to advancing Sustainable and Value-generating Marina, and Yacht club concepts.
MONACŒCOART® is pleased to propose readers this exclusive interview to Atty. José Marco Casellini where he depicted the evolution of Responsible Marinas, highlighting new challenges and how to use the latest trends of technology effectively from a cost-benefit perspective.
ℹ️ M3 Monaco Smart and Sustainable Marina : Official Website
🔸Questions
🗣️ The past edition of M3 Monaco focused on eco-friendly, sustainable business models and data management as a strategic lever for Responsible Marina Management. Can you give us some previews of the 2026 edition? What are the priorities you would place on the podium (in the top-three ranking) for importance and urgency?
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🗣️ Will the High Seas Treaty have major implications on Sustainable Yachting and Marina, requiring stricter adherence to international environmental protections in international waters?
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🗣️ Can we consider AI-driven energy optimisation as one of the most powerful catalysts for Yachting sustainability? In what terms and within what limits?
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INTERVIEW
MONACŒCOART®: Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina is a premier international event held at the Yacht Club de Monaco, annually. Launched by the consulting firm M3 Monaco and supported by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, it has now become a highly professional hub and a privileged networking stage to put into practice the Transition towards Sustainable Yachting and Marina, gathering skilled architects, investors, and startups to share their vision and present tangible solutions. The past edition focused on eco-friendly, sustainable business models and data management as a strategic lever for Responsible Marina Management. Can you give us some previews of the 2026 edition? What are the priorities you would place on the podium (in the top-three ranking) for importance and urgency?
🗣️ Atty. José Marco Casellini: The 2026 Rendezvous, our sixth edition, will take place on the 20th and 21st September at the Yacht Club de Monaco, once again just ahead of the Monaco Yacht Show. After five years, the event has developed from a showcase of ideas into a working platform, and this year's programme reflects that. We have revised our structure to better accompany start-ups at different stages of maturity, spotlighting pre-revenue innovators who need visibility and investor access from post-revenue companies ready for commercial partnerships, and we continue our scouting with Yachting Ventures to surface the most relevant solutions worldwide. The architecture competition, our awards, and the SMART Dock laboratory continue as core foundations.
If I had to place three priorities on the podium, by importance and urgency:
First, moving from pilots to scale. The technologies exist; the urgent task is turning demonstrations into commissioned infrastructure and daily operational practice. That is the test of credibility for the entire sector.
Second, the energy resilience of marina infrastructure, meaning shore power, electrification, storage and intelligent energy management, so that ports become active nodes of the transition rather than passive consumers.
Third, data connectivity as the operating system of Responsible Marinas, integrating Biodiversity, Digital iInfrastructure and Energy Flexibility. Importance and urgency converge here: without shared standards and interoperable data, sustainability claims cannot be measured, and what cannot be measured cannot be financed.
MONACŒCOART®: The High Seas Treaty (formally the BBNJ Agreement) officially entered into force, establishing legally binding rules to conserve marine life across nearly two-thirds of the global ocean, with particular reference to Environmental Impact, Marine Protected Areas, Equitable Benefit Sharing, Waste Management and Eco-friendly Propulsion. Will this new regulatory framework have major implications on Sustainable Yachting and Marina, requiring stricter adherence to international environmental protections in international waters?
🗣️ Atty. José Marco Casellini: The entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement in January 2026 is a genuine milestone for ocean governance, and we welcome it. I would offer a precise reading, though. The Treaty governs Biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the high seas, whereas marinas and the large majority of yachting activity take place in coastal and territorial waters that remain under national law. So the direct legal reach over a marina operator is limited.
The real significance is indirect, and in my view more powerful. The Treaty raises the floor of expectation for the entire maritime sector. It normalises the logic of environmental impact assessment, of Marine Protected Areas, of equitable and science-based decision-making, and that logic inevitably cascades down to coastal infrastructure, to cruising routes for large yachts crossing oceans, and to the financiers and insurers who increasingly price environmental risk. It strengthens exactly the agenda our Rendezvous has championed for six years.
It is also worth being honest that much of the operational detail, such as how high-seas protected areas are designated and how impact assessments are conducted, will be defined at the first Conference of the Parties, still to be scheduled. The framework is binding; the instruments are being built. Our role is to ensure the yachting and marina community is ready to keep going in that direction. Every effort should be made to remain focused on it.
MONACŒCOART®: Can we consider AI-driven energy optimisation as one of the most powerful catalysts for Yachting sustainability? In what terms and within what limits?
🗣️ Atty. José Marco Casellini: Yes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most powerful catalysts available to us, provided we are clear about what it does and does not do. What it does is make existing energy systems intelligent. In a Marina context that means: accurate demand forecasting, smart-grid and shore-power orchestration across many berths, optimisation of battery storage and renewable inputs, predictive maintenance that prevents waste and downtime, and digital twins that let operators test decisions before committing capital. These are not abstractions; they directly cut energy losses and emissions in day-to-day operations.
The limits matter just as much.
First of all, AI is an optimisation layer, not an energy source. It makes a system efficient, but it cannot substitute for clean generation, electrification and sustainable fuels.
Secondly, it has its own footprint: the computing behind AI consumes energy, so we have to make sure that optimisation gains genuinely exceed the cost.
Thirdly, it depends entirely on data quality, interoperability, and cybersecurity, since a connected Marina is also an exposed one. And finally, we must guard against 'AI-washing', intelligence deployed for marketing rather than measurable impact. Used with that rigour, AI is a powerful accelerator. Used carelessly, it is a distraction. Our ambition at M3 is firmly the former. ***
✒️ Maurice Abbati
Strategic Communication Specialist, Editor in Chief, Journalist, Executive.
Lecturer and Author in English in the field of Environmental Communication to foster Circular and Blue Economy
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