Superyacht Tiger Shark completed in China

May 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Tiger SharkThe Chinese-made aluminum alloy yacht Tiger Shark leaves on her maiden voyage from Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center on Saturday. It is Asia’s longest aluminum yacht.

The 734-ton yacht is 50 meters long, 10 meters wide and 16 meters high. It can sail continuously for 6,000 nautical miles, and is capable of sailing around the world.

Tiger Shark models exquisite luxury, including a bar, a tea room, VIP room, audio-visual entertainment bar and so on.The ship cost nearly 200 million yuan.

Industry experts estimated the Chinese yacht-making industry will grow 20 percent this year.

 

 

 

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Greece orders 142 vessels from China

May 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

GreeceGreek shipowners have recently signed contracts to buy 142 new ships from Chinese shipbuilding companies. The orders, which were signed in April, accounted for more than 60 percent of the recent global orders of Greek shipowners, said the Greek Shipping Minister Kostis Moussouroulis.

The shipping industry, including shipbuilding, is one of the most important sectors for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

In the next decade, China will remain an important global exporter and become an increasingly important importer, according to the minister.

Wang Qi, general manager of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co.,Ltd, said Greece has become an important client of China’s shipbuilding enterprises.

As one of China’s major shipbuilding companies, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co.,Ltd has built a total of 67 ships for Greek shipowners in recent years, accounting for about 30 percent of the company’s output, Wang said.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is on an official visit to China since Wednesday to Sunday. Leaders of the two countries have vowed to boost cooperation.

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Size Matters in the Battle of the Mega Yachts

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Azzam mega yachts

Mansions, fancy cars, and private jets have always been must have status symbols for the super rich. Now you can add mega yachts to that list. And for their elite owners, bigger is always better.

Bigger–as in 590 feet or nearly the size of two football fields. That’s the length of the world’s largest private yacht, the Azzam. Built by the German shipbuilding company, Lurssen, the Azzam will be one of the fastest boats on the planet when it officially launches this fall. Its owner isn’t known, but it will reportedly be delivered to a member of the United Arab Emirate’s royal family when it’s completed. Insiders have estimated that the ship cost at least half a billion dollars to build, and that’s just for the structure.

By the time the very last doorknob is in place, Azzam’s price tag could climb to $1 billion dollars.

Merjin de Waard, editor of SuperYachtTimes.com, says the reasons why the super-rich need a ship that large are for “privacy, more guest accommodation” and of course, “status.”

According to de Waard, the demand for larger yachts (we’re talking 100 feet and above) has declined over the past five years. But, the market for super-yachts – 500 feet or more – has actually continued to grow. Four out of the five world’s largest yachts have been delivered in the past five years.

So why the sudden surge for such a top dollar luxury? de Waard says that Middle Eastern and Russian owners are trading up. “I think it is also a “normal” progression like your next house is probably going to be bigger than your previous house.”

Along with the established markets in the U.S., Russia, and the Middle East, the super-rich in South America and Asia are slowly buying into the trend.

“We have been in a financial crisis for the past five years now and there are still people with a lot of money who want to enjoy yachting and don’t want to wait any longer with buying a new yacht.”

And, despite a shaky world economy, there’s no sign that the battle of the super-yachts will slow down any time soon. de Waard says there are at least 15 yachts almost 330 feet long under construction. Price tag starts at $200,000,000.

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Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ Commissioned Super Yacht “Venus” Unveiled

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The lucky city of Aasmeer off The Netherlands is where this 250-foot yacht has been debuted. Jobs involved French designer Philippe Starck, who is well known here in Miami for our famous boutique hotels including his most recent work for the SLS on South Beach. Together they created this custom ship built by Feadship. Of course navigating Venus are non-other than the famous iMacs. Jobs’ family was on board and gave the crew involved with construction iPod Shuffles engraved with the name of the vessel along with a note thanking them for their hard work and craftsmanship. We thank Dutch blog One More Thing who first published the photo.

 

 

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Charter Market is Recovering says Hein Velema

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As posted by Super Yacht Charter: http://charternews.thehoworths.com/2012/10/charter-market-is-recovering-says-hein.html?spref=tw
Hein Velema CEO of Fraser Yachts reported that the charter market continues to recover, particularly in the Americas

“This year the charter market did a little better than last year. We saw an increase of 5% in the total value of charters. An interesting part of this increase is the growing number of charter clients from South America. Brazil is now a significant market for charter clients.

“We are also already seeing significantly more bookings for next year which indicates that the charter market is becoming more healthy and could also mean that the charter market will continue to grow.”

Posted by Super Yacht Blogger

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Blue Haven Marina in the Turks & Caicos Islands Set to open in 2013

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As quoted in Super Yacht Chartering: http://charternews.thehoworths.com/2012/10/charter-market-is-recovering-says-hein.html?spref=two


Set to open in the summer of 2013 for yachts up to 55 metres is Blue Haven Marina in the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Ideally located in Providenciales in the marina has just joined the IGY network. Located 575 miles southeast of Miami, it provides a useful gateway into the Caribbean.

Initially the marina will operate with a maximum draught of 1.7 metres. There are plans for maintenance dredging to bring this back to the original 3.6 metres before the 2013 winter season.

The marina, an integral part of the Blue Haven Marina and Resort, is surrounded by nearly 20 acres of waterfront land on the northeast coast of the island.

Marina guests will have full access to the resort, including a hotel boasting a gym, private beach and an infinity edge swimming pool with lounge decks for entertainment.

Also on property are several restaurants, bars as well as an array of waters port activities and day charters for both sailing and sports fishing.

Nearly complete, the marina has nearly 1,830 linear metres of dockage and is constructed of 4.5 metre wide concrete floating docks. Conveniences such as on-site customs and immigration services and a marina operations centre will feature a lounge for captains and crews, as well as showers, a chart room and a crew work room.

There will be a concierge for marina customers who will be able to organise activities, excursions, rental vehicles and restaurant reservations. Specialist provision suppliers with the capability to bring almost anything to the island will be readily available to super yacht crews and their guests.

Boasting the third-largest coral barrier reef system in the world, the islands are renowned for the finest of tropical beaches. Turks & Caicos Islands’ fine-sand alabaster Grace Bay Beach is consistently voted one of the world’s Top 10 beaches by Condé Nast Traveler.

Some of the best bottom fishing is in the TCI waters, including access to many species of grouper and snapper, among others.

Blue Haven Marina is located on the North eastern tip of Providenciales, only minutes away from Provo Golf Club, shopping, and more restaurants and bars. Surrounding deserted islands are easily accessible from the marina.

By joining the IGY Marinas network, Blue Haven Marina guests may be privy to a host of benefits, including the IGY Anchor Club, the marina loyalty program where captains and owners accumulate and redeem points for dockage. Other network-wide dockage programs include the Caribbean Anchor Pass, where vessels can roam the IGY network for one upfront discounted price as well as the Home Port Programme, a semi-permanent option for yachts looking for longer term dockage.

Posted by Frances and Michael Howorth at Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Filed Under: News