Chairman’s Message October/November 2020

I am very pleased to welcome three new members onboard this month:

• FRASER ASIA: A world-leader in yacht chartering, brokerage, yacht management and new builds, with a strong track record and portfolio.
• ASIAMARINE: Sells new and pre-owned yachts and manages them for their owners. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the company and has offices in Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore.
• Northrop & Johnson APAC: Provides full brokerage and new-build services, project management for customized superyacht builds, as well as offering charter services, both charter retail and charter management.

There is also good news superyacht owners and Captains wishing to cruise in the Asian region with the opening up of Indonesia to Foreign flagged Yachts. Catalano Shipping Services Indonesia has issued a simple guide to getting yachts, crews and guests into the country which is now quarantine free.

Thailand is also opening up with the Overseas yachts are now allowed to dock in Thailand, but foreign tourists and crew members still need to adhere to strict health measures, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Tourists will need to apply for a Special Tourist Visa and quarantine onboard the yacht for 14 days, and be tested for Covid-19 tests three times before entering Thailand.

The Maldives is also seeing increased superyacht activity and Mohamed Hameed of Asia Pacific Superyachts says, “We are noticing that a lot of yachts are choosing to visit Maldives quite early in the season this year. Vessels are aware that the Maldives regulations/restrictions are relatively easy, compared to many other Asian yachting destinations and we are potentially looking at a very successful and busy 2020/2021 season.

Travel has definitely become more challenging in recent times but a number of our APSA members are taking the lead. Travel Cue has been busy lobbying airlines on the issue of refunds, especially for marine crews. While GMT (Global Marine Travel) shares some research, which indicates that airline travel may not be as risky as many believe.

More good news comes from Australia which is set to become one of the world’s premier superyacht destinations under plans for a new $200 million maintenance and refit hub. The Queensland Government has also announced that it is investing AUD$20 million for its Stage II development of marina facilities in the Gold Coast which will see the lifting capacity increase to 1200 tonnes and the current facilities more than double in size. All positive news for our Australian APSA members; Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard (GCCM) and Rivergate Marina and Shipyard.

The Asia-Pacific Area continues to play a strategic role in terms of the Azimut|Benetti Group who reported total sales worth over 150 million euros (the two brands’ results for the last 12 months). Azimut Yachts has sold and delivered eight yachts in the brand’s flagship Grande Collection (four 32 Metri, two 27 Metri and two 25 Metri) with 5 more units in the same Collection in delivery in the next six months; Benetti has also sold four Oasis 40M units (two in Australia, one in China and one in Hong Kong) and a B.Yond 37M, so there are plenty of superyachts on their way to Asia.

With all this positive news it is unfortunate that Hong Kong Yacht Show has had to be cancelled, but I was able to represent APSA ‘virtually’ at the Cluster Yachting Monaco Winter Open Day which was held at the YCM Marina. APSA was also represented by Raphael Beaudrey at the Asia-Pacific Yacht Industry High-Level Forum 2020. Webinars will continue to be a way of life and in the coming months APSA will be hosting our own virtual conference the “Grand Tour of the Asia-Pacific” …so watch this space!