With Thailand opening to superyachts, now is a good time for foreign-flagged yachts to consider cruising or chartering. Thailand’s high season from November to February, is when the weather is generally at its best throughout the country.
Howden Insurance Brokers (HK) Ltd recently completed the purchase of the business portfolio of Expat Marine Ltd, a long-established insurance broker in Hong Kong focussing on SME business, High Net Worth, Employee Benefits, and yacht insurance. Colin Dawson, a Founding Member and APSA’s first Chairman has partnered with Expat Marine Ltd, looking after yacht owners and their covers for the past 12 year. He has confirmed that this partnership will continue with Howden, adding “This partnership will allow us to benefit from Howden’s reach in the market, have access to insurers we previously didn’t have and join with a network of Howden offices, enabling us to improve our offering to clients. It also allows teams at Howden to access my 25 year’s specialist experience with yacht insurance, assisting them give greater value to their clients,”
Port Louis Marina recently welcomed the ARC+ fleet of yachts that sailed from Cape Verde to Grenada. The first to arrive was Piment Rouge, who successful made the crossing in 12 days 14 hours at sea. Arriving after 2,424nm of sailing, there were loud cheers from the crew and music blasting out from the comfortable deck of the catamaran to hail their arrival.
For the past year Indies Trader have been working on the launch of the Indies Trader Apparel Division. The online store is now live in the USA and Australia and they are happy to ship internationally.
It has been a long wait but Australia is now welcoming Superyachts and crew again, exemption and quarantine free, after the Covid Pandemic slammed borders closed in March 2020.
To fight against the covid-19 epidemic, the French Government and local authorities have decided, within the framework of their respective competences, to strengthen the conditions of entry into the territory of French Polynesia to protect against the OMICRON variant which is spreading around the world.
APSA member Diane M. Byrne of MegayachtNews.com will be moderating the Superyacht Sustainable Design Webinar, presented by Quaynote Communications, on January 19, 2022. Anticipated to attract more than 100 senior-level international attendees, the Webinar is for those with a vested interest in sustainable superyacht ownership, management, or operations. Panellists include representatives from Winch Design and the Water Revolution Foundation, among other industry firms. The panel will discuss subjects like the designer’s influential role in ensuring sustainability, how concerned future clients will be about the issue and what they will be looking for, and finding solutions for new builds and especially refits.
Lantau Yacht Club (“LYC”) is delighted to welcome a 51m Feadship yacht, the largest member yacht to date in December. 2021 has been a challenging yet eventful year for the LYC with a few accomplishments. LYC is accredited as a Five Gold Anchors marina by the Marina Industries Association positioning us among the most outstanding marinas in the world for its exceptional facilities and remarkable services. LYC was also the first marina to launch the first-ever yachtcation package in Hong Kong, drawing a lot of interest from the yachting community and received commendations from many yacht aficionados who came to try out our state-of-the-art facilities. We have also become a hip and exclusive venue for industry and private events – events held during the year included Ferretti Group Breakfast Reception in April, Princess Yachts Experience in May, and Prestige Exclusive Day & Asia Yachting Brokerage Boat Show in November.
The President and AIMEX Board of Directors announced the appointment of two new directors for 2021-2022 at the Annual General Meeting, held on Tuesday November 30, 2021:
As the joined operations of both companies begin Colin Dawson believes that the tie up will allow for new opportunities, a wider reach, and more options for clients in 2022. The combination of insurer relationships and market expertise will allow for greater assistance for yacht owners in what continues to be very challenging conditions in the yacht insurance markets. While premiums and deductibles have increased so have claims. With this insurers are becoming more nervous of the risks of taking on yachts and many are pulling back from the cover they are prepared to offer. Dawson comments ‘Expat Marine joining forces with Howden serves to increase our ability to look after clients throughout the Asia-Pacific region and I hope this partnership gives owners move confidence in approaching us to assist them. With this I look forward to growing the business and levels of service to clients in tandem with my new colleagues at Howden’.
