May

The Maldives has announced an ease in lockdown restrictions starting from 29th June 2020. International airports will open in phases from 1st July 2020. Per the current plan, the first phase will allow arrival of private jets and visiting tourists,” reports Mohamed Hameed, Asia Pacific Superyachts director in the Maldives.“There will be health guideline to follow until a vaccine is available and these releases may change at any time, depending on the situation and the virus spread in the community”, Hameed added.

Islands such as Koh Samui are heavily reliant on the tourism and hospitality industry, and many Thais and non-Thai residents on the island have provided help to those most in need. Asia Pacific Superyachts and Sisters of Samui (SOS) have been working with food providers and those helping to fund purchases along with volunteers who organise transport and facilitate distribution.

SuperYacht Group Great Barrier Reef member – the crew of M/Y Spirit have been nominated for the International ACREW Crew Awards! The MaritimeMT Crew Awards have been developed to reward crew that have proven themselves to be the very best at their job. The Awards will be both a personal achievement and an industry-wide recognition of professional excellence.The Awards will be both a personal achievement and an industry-wide recognition of professional excellence.

The Vitelli family and the Azimut Benetti SpA Board of Directors are pleased to announce an important change in the Company’s top management team. On September 1, 2020, Franco Fusignani will hand over responsibility for the Benetti Division, to Marco Valle, who remains in charge of the Azimut Division, and will take on the role of Group CEO with full responsibility for both Divisions to ensure integrated business management.

Despite the ongoing implications of covid-19, AIMEX, ACMG and Superyacht Australia continue to promote Australia’s first-class marine services. The 2020 Australian marine industry awards remain open and the submission deadline has been extended to Tuesday 30 June to ensure that the time is right, and the stars of the Australian Marine industry can be honoured and acknowledged.

The new Travel Cue Greece office will begin operations on 1 st June 2020. Customers will benefit from the expanded service capability in the Mediterranean area, operated under Travel Cue’s unified ‘One Company’ core philosophy.

SuperyachtNews has revealed that both SYBAss and LYBRA have withdrawn participation in Monaco Yacht Show 2020. A letter sent to Informa, and seen by SuperyachtNews, explains that both associations, who acted cooperatively through this process, have doubts over the safety of the show, the ability and/or willingness for clients to attend and whether the show is appropriate within the context of the global pandemic. The letter further outlines general discontent with how the show has been run in recent years. SYBAss accounts for 20 of the world’s premier superyacht manufacturers and LYBRA accounts for eight of the world’s leading superyacht brokerage houses.

As global travel restrictions and lockdowns continue to impact on the boating industry, it is very difficult to plan for the future. Recent news says that both the Cannes Yachting Festival and the Monaco Yacht Show will be taking place, but with severely restricted visitor numbers and strong implementation of social distancing measures. Two boat shows are also planned for Asia later in the year: the Singapore Yacht Show (15-18 October) and the Hong Kong Yacht Show (19-22 November). We will keep you posted as more news comes to hand.

Hong Kong APSA members are being treated to a half day tour of the Lantau Yacht Club on Friday 12 June, 2020. The tour will start with a walk-through of the marina, and then take in the panoramic views of Discovery Bay and its world-class 18-hole golf course. Then down to Club Siena to see the resort’s fitness centre and infinity pool, and finishing up at the Auberge Hotel for a cocktail reception.

Innovation takes many forms. In a world in which isolation has become the norm and almost every major event around the world has been cancelled, the desire to create a meaningful platform to bring the yachting community together was the impetus behind two new initiatives developed by Azimut Yachts: the e-Boat Show series and the Azimut Yacht Virtual Lounge.