APSA Chairman’s Message 20 December 2023

Dear APSA Members and Friends

This is the last newsletter for 2023, and it ushers in some major changes for the Asian Region with the news that SanLorenzo S.p.A. has signed a binding share purchase agreement to acquire 95% of the share capital of Simpson Marine Ltd from Mike Simpson. The Simpson Marine Group has represented SanLorenzo in Asia since 2015, and this agreement will allow SanLorenzo to establish a direct presence in the strategic APAC region.

This month we welcome a new member from Queensland, Australia. Pacific Maritime Lawyers are qualified maritime and legal professionals with a breadth of legal, business, and maritime knowledge. Pacific Maritime Lawyers provides legal advice and litigation services with specific experience in superyacht sales and purchases, contracts for charters, commercial maritime law, marine insurance law, maritime employment law and regulatory compliance.

The Horizon Yacht Australia Owners’ Rendezvous brought 10 Horizon yachts and 100 guests to Airlie Beach in the stunning Whitsundays, for a fifth year of laughter, libations and, of course, the Long Table Lunch. Nestled in the heart of the Whitsundays, Airlie Beach is a paradise of white sand and turquoise waters that is the perfect place for celebrating all things yachting.

HFW’s latest edition of ‘Comprehensively Yachts: Industry Briefing 2023’ provides some interesting reading, and is packed with topical comment and analysis, and covers several interesting topics. The Yacht team looks at the continuing economic impact of Russian sanctions, the HFW Marine Insurance specialists consider whether the widely used American Yacht Form R12 is still fit for purpose, and the HFW Admiralty team looks at cybersecurity.

Our 2023 new APSA Member Dörries Yachts, a Germany-based builder, recently unveiled the renderings for a new 70m superyacht concept, Rise, that will no doubt appeal to clients who wants a unique yacht with ‘wellness’ at the heart of the design, but also with Northern European build quality, and without the need to wait years to start the build.

A new refit concept is also being offered by StellarPM and the StellarRefit Service: a remote capability that allows pre-engineered modular manufacturing of custom yacht refit components to provide quality parts that can be built efficiently and cost-effectively. StellarPM creates concept designs, plans and photo-realistic virtual presentations to match a client’s vision, and provides the necessary engineering and production planning to manufacture parts precisely. With the production facilities based in China and Vietnam, and the interiors being manufactured at StellarPM’s own modern furniture facility in Zhuhai, China, it shows just how much the Asian superyacht industry is developing.

It has been a very busy year for APSA with boat shows, conferences and events in Dubai, Singapore, Turkey, Monaco, Fort Lauderdale, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. The APSA Guides, complete with Members’ information, have been distributed to hundreds of superyachts at these events during 2023. The next event on the horizon for APSA will be the Thailand Yachting Conference on 10 January 2024 at the Boat Lagoon in Phuket, followed by the Thailand International Boat Show running 11-14 January at the Royal Phuket Marina, Phuket, Thailand. Gordon Fernandes (APSA General Committee Member) who is based in Phuket will along with Suzy Rayment our Executive Director with be at the Conference and show and APSA members exhibiting at TIBS include Lee Marine, Northrop & Johnson Asia and Seabob (Cayago Asia Pacific). Please let us know if you are planning to be there.

The Association continues to grow in both numbers & recognition and has gained global traction over the last couple of years. I look forward to seeing you at the increasing number of superyacht events and shows happening in the Asia-Pacific Region - you can find a list of these in the last item of this newsletter.

Season’s Greeting to one and all, and best wishes for 2024 from the entire APSA committee and staff.

Nigel Beatty

Chairman