Asia Pacific

Hong Kong Yachting Festival in the Works

The Hong Kong Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (HKCYIA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Verventia Pte Ltd to help develop, organize and operate an annual Yachting Festival in Hong Kong under the auspices of the International Cruise & Yachting Festival – International Cruise & Yachting Festival (Hong Kong) (ICYFHK).The MOU was signed between Ms Kara Yeung, Executive Director, HKCYIA, and Mr Andy Treadwell CEO, Verventia, at the Asia Pacific Superyacht Conference (APSC) in Singapore on April 11, 2019.

150m Superyacht Unloaded in Auckland

Asia Pacific Superyachts NZ’s managing director, Duthie Lidgard, was on hand for the 150m superyacht unloading from the yacht transport vessel at Auckland's North Wharf.A ship transporting superyachts arrived in Auckland to drop-off and pick up vessels, including a monster 150m motor yacht, as reported by the New Zealand Herald. The DYT Yacht Transport vessel visits Auckland twice a year and docked at Wynard Quarter January 11th, off-loading about four yachts and taking on two…

Exova Warringtonfire Welcomes Chinese Delegation

Exova Warringtonfire hosted a delegation of senior representatives from the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA) on Friday, September 7, 2018, to discuss providing testing and certification services to Chinese suppliers of interior materials and products for Chinese-built passenger ships. Exova Warringtonfire is part of Element Materials Technology (Element), a world-class global testing partner.The meeting was proposed by the Department for International Trade…

Mercury Marine V-8 Lineup Awarded

Mercury Marine was awarded the 2018 Most Innovative Product for its all-new V-8 FourStroke outboard family at the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show. The show marked the first time these new engines have been displayed in public as they were launched globally on May 18. On display at the Mercury booth was the full range of V-8 4.6L outboards including the 250hp and 300hp FourStroke as well as the all-new Pro XS lineup. “We are honored to win the Innovative Product award for our all-new V-8 4.6L outboard platform…

Jotun Australia: Open for Yacht Biz

Jotun Australia is debuting yachting products to the Australian Yacht and Superyacht industry. With the introduction of this complete range of purpose built yachting products now in place, Jotun Australia’s Marine team offers a complete, single source solution for the rapidly growing Australian yacht market as well as for visiting yachts from Europe who are now often heading to South East Asia and Asia Pacific. The coatings maker estimates that more than 30% of the largest 200 superyachts coated with Jotun’s products. “The market is demanding and high expectations from customers…

A Captain's Passion for Indonesia’s Raja Ampat

Indonesia and its vast expanse of 17,000 islands is a must-see world cruising destination that offers a spectacular and memorable cruise. It is one thing to have a pre-planned cruising itinerary but to ensure a highly memorable trip that meets the fine details required when voyaging through a fantastic area such as Raja Ampat, it is important to be aligned with a highly professional team and your contact be someone who knows the waters better than anyone else.In Indonesia, that’s Captain Jimmy.

Aquila Power Catamarans Wins Two International Awards

Aquila Power Catamarans has announced that they have received two prestigious international awards, the “Best Multihull Motor Yacht (up to 50-feet)” at the 2018 Asian Boating Awards for the Aquila 44 as well as the Multihull of the Year award in the Power Multihulls category by Multihulls World for the Aquila 36.Created by Asia-Pacific Boating and China Boating magazines in 2005, the annual Asia Boating Awards are the most renowned yachting awards in Asia. Presented during a lavish ceremony, the awards serve as a benchmark for the industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

Samui’s Growing Appeal for Superyachts

The Crowning Jewel of Thailand, Koh Samui, is luring superyachts to the other side of Thailand. A sparkling jewel in the crown of Thailand's stunning island destinations, Koh Samui is a paradise found. The third largest island in Thailand after Phuket and Koh Chang, Samui boasts of gorgeous pearl-white sandy beaches, lush tropical rainforests and magnificent waterfalls and high-end luxury resorts and spas. All this with beautiful nearby anchorages and an archipelago that is a national treasure.

Royal Huisman Turns Its Largest Hull Ever

Another milestone at Royal Huisman: the hull of the three-masted schooner under construction since June 2017, has been turned at the shipyard’s facilities in Vollenhove, Holland. With an impressive overall length of 81m / 266ft and a sturdy plumb bow – making her not only powerful but recognizable all over the world – Project 400 is the largest yacht built by Royal Huisman to date, and will be ranked in the top 10 of the world’s largest sailing yachts. Upon her delivery in 2020 this contemporary schooner will be the world’s largest aluminium sailing yacht.

Fiji Looking at 750 Visiting Yachts in 2018

“The 2017 yachting season with 65 superyachts visiting the country was a record year for the company. Considered a hub for the country's visiting super yachts the marina welcomed 554 yachts and 65 superyachts last year, this shows strong growth from 2016 following Cyclone Winston”, stated Denarau Marina general manager Cynthia Rasch in an article in the Fiji Sun. “Port Denarau Marina in Fiji is expecting more than 700 vessels visiting its shores this year and the 2017 yachting season had a total of 11 weeks of charter sold to visiting superyachts in Fiji”, Ms Rasch concluded.

Mercury Introduces V-6 FourStroke Outboards

Mercury Marine has introduced its new V-6 FourStroke outboard family and the expansion of its SeaPro commercial line at the 2018 Miami International Boat Show. The new engine family, which builds on Mercury’s 75-150hp FourStroke outboards, features 175hp, 200hp and 225hp FourStroke outboards and a V-6 200hp SeaPro commercial outboard. The new Mercury FourStroke and SeaPro outboards are built on Mercury’s new 3.4-liter V-6 platform, which is designed to be powerful, light, compact and fuel-efficient. The new V-6 engines are precision engineered from skeg to cowl.

Asia Pacific Leads in Global Yacht Charter Market

Transparency Market Research (TMR) forecasts the global market for yacht charter to register a 7.2% CAGR during the period between 2017 and 2025 to attain a value of $14.987 bn by 2025 from $8.123 bn in 2016. Volume-wise, it predicts the market to grow to 7,684 units from 6,054 units in 2016 by clocking a healthy 7.2% CAGR. Reporting on the TMR report, titled, “Yachts Charter Market”, Scott Walker, co-founder of Asia Pacific Superyachts and director of Asia Pacific Superyachts Singapore…

Vard Wins Expedition Cruise Contract

Vard Holdings Limited said it won a contract for the design and construction of an expedition cruise vessel for Coral Expeditions of Australia. Newly developed by Vard Design in Norway in cooperation with the customer, the vessel is specially designed for small ship expedition cruises to remote and exotic destinations in the regions of Asia-Pacific. The vessel of VARD 6 01 design, measuring 93.5 x 17.2 meters, with room for 120 guests. True to the Coral Expeditions business concept…

Torqeedo Opens Bangkok Office

Torqeedo said it has opened a new office in Bangkok, Thailand, to accommodate its rapid growth in Asia and the Pacific (APAC) region. The company reports an expanding focus on marine preservation, sustainable tourism, ecofishing and the electrification of commercial vessels have created a strong interest in its products by both public and private entities within the region. APAC also shows increasing investment in sustainable public transportation initiatives, a sector which continues to drive Torqeedo’s expansion into commercial markets.

Speedcast, Inks Comms Deal with Diamond Offshore

Speedcast International Limited has secured a long-term contract with Diamond Offshore, who will leverage Speedcast’s managed communications services across 10 offshore rigs and one shore-based facility. “Diamond Offshore continues to adapt to the competitive nature of the industry,” said Tim Osburn, CIO, Diamond Offshore. “Through this agreement with Speedcast, Diamond Offshore increases its operational agility, benefiting from Speedcast’s world-class global customer support network. Under the terms of the new agreement, Speedcast’s…

Mercury Marine Ties-up with Supratechnic

Mercury Marine that it has entered in to an exclusive distribution agreement with Supratechnic Pte Ltd, one of the largest marine distributors in Asia, based out of Singapore. This partnership will allow Mercury to expand and build a regional distribution channel in Southeast Asia that will include all of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. "This new relationship will allow Mercury to further penetrate the commercial market in Asia, giving us the opportunity to grow both in product range and territorial expansion," said John Pfeifer, Mercury Marine president.

Mercury Marine in Expanded Partnership with Chaparral

Mercury Marine, the world's leading manufacturer of recreational marine propulsion engines, has announced an expanded partnership with Chaparral to include the Robalo brand. The partnership will focus on Mercury's world-class outboard product offerings and give Robalo customers the opportunity to experience the power of Mercury Marine and continue the engine manufacturer's growth in key saltwater markets. "The Robalo line-up of center console boats is outstanding, and we're delighted to expand our relationship with Chaparral to include Robalo," said John Pfeifer, Mercury Marine president.

KVH Debuts Maritime Satellite TV Antenna System

KVH Industries, Inc. introduced the TracVision TV8 maritime satellite TV antenna system to be unveiled at the Sea Asia conference in Singapore, April 21-23. TracVision TV8 is designed to provide the tracking, reception and extended coverage area needed for yachts and merchant vessels calling on ports around the world. It is compatible with nearly all Ku-band services around the globe, and it also supports such services as DIRECTV, DISH Network and DISH HD, and Bell TV in North America, and TrueVisions, Astro, and Sky TV in the Asia-Pacific region.

China Launches First Maritime Silk Road Cruise Liner

China has launched its first cruise liner to sail via its ambitious transcontinental initiative Maritime Silk Road (MSR) on its maiden voyage during which it will visit three South-East Asian nations. The liner has scheduled stops in Vietnam, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia before eventually reaches Kuantan Port in Malaysia. The cruise liner set off from the Beihai port in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The 135-m-long 20-m-wide modern cruise ship can accommodate about 400 people and is equipped with wireless Internet access.