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Tag: boats

  • Corona Buoys Superyacht Boom

    Corona Buoys Superyacht Boom

    A bridge too far? In Rotterdam a bridge is set to be demolished so that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ ship superyacht has free passage.

    What the mountain chalet is to the merely well-to-do, the superyacht is to billionaires. Sales of extra-large luxury yachts have risen by 77 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year, the German Manager Magazin writes.

    Costing hundreds of millions of dollars and whose maintenance consumes millions more each year, 887 of these floating palaces were sold last year.

    Prices for superyachts rose last year by about 5 to 8 percent in line with high demand.

    Oligarchs like Roman Abramovich, sheikhs from the Middle East, and tech founders, including Jeff Bezos, are lovers of such status symbols and compete in terms of size and extravagance.

    The Eclipse, Abramovich’s yacht, has two helipads because you never know how many guests are on approach. Swimming pools and jet skis are standard equipment of a sensible boat anyway, and well, money is no object.

    In Holland, the Rotterdam city council plans to remove a historic bridge so that Bezos’ new yacht can glide unhindered into the sea. Bezos and the shipyard, Oceano, plan to share the cost of removing and then rebuilding the De Hef bridge.

    Compared with the price of the yacht, 430 million euros, the cost of the conversion is likely to fall under the category of “petty cash”. That the free ride for billionaires does not suit everyone, on the other hand, is hardly surprising.

    The Rotterdam Historical Society promptly made its displeasure known about the demolition of the bridge.

    In times of Corona, perhaps this is the best way for billionaires to self-isolate.

  • Benetti Yachts Commits to Reduce Carbon Footprint across Family-Owned Business

    Benetti Yachts Commits to Reduce Carbon Footprint across Family-Owned Business

    From shipyard investment to innovative yachts, Benetti has been an industry leader in sustainably-minded innovation since 2002 with the introduction of the first hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system, “65-metre Ambrosia yacht”. One of the world’s leading superyacht builders, Benetti is part of a forward-thinking, family-owned business that understands that yachts are a family activity to enjoy one of nature’s greatest treasures: the open sea. With this mindset, Benetti commits to navigate how to limit or reduce carbon footprint across construction, design and protection so that yacht owners have options.

    “At Benetti, we deliver our enduring passion for the sea and for sailing by combining Italian craftsmanship and innovation into every yacht we design and build. Following the pandemic, we’ve accelerated our commitment to reduce carbon footprint. It’s time, money and resources that we feel are worth it,” says  Peter Mahony, General Manager at Benetti Yachts Asia. He continues, “Fortunately, the Benetti company mission is supported by a growing trend across Asia for innovative and forward-thinking options. With a Benetti yacht, we have the sweet spot where green awareness technology meets the utmost quality and comfort, which is possible through constant innovation and research.”

    Sustainable Shipyard Improvements

    Benetti Yachts has been implementing improvements at the Livorno and Viareggio Italian shipyards to enhance energy efficiency and reduce both pollution and waste at the source. Benetti looks at every possible way to improve the production cycle including reducing water waste, reducing fuel consumption with new high-power stations for moored Giga yachts of over 100 metres, replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED lamps to reduce 70% of energy consumption, installing a photovoltaic plant and a sophisticated solar thermal system to reduce 50% of methane greenhouse gases and insulating the Livorno shipyard sheds with cladding to enhance energy efficiency at thermal and acoustic levels.

    Improving Yacht Energy Efficiency

    Benetti’s design efforts are primarily focused on the hybrid engines to reduce fuel consumption and  harmful CO2 emissions. Most of the yachts have the option to be equipped with innovative propulsion systems and carefully-chosen materials while advancing propulsion systems and improving onboard energy efficiency.

    Both the 107-metre giga yacht Benetti FB272 Luminosity gigayacht and Asia market-favourite, the Benetti B.Yond 37M, are equipped with hybrid propulsion systems to reduce environmental impact and fuel consumption. Luminosity, the biggest hybrid in the world features an intelligent propulsion system developed by top industry experts co-ordinated by Benetti’s Technical Department. While B.Yond 37M is a popular yacht in the Asian market due to its reduced environmental impact with the hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system developed by the Siemens Marine Global Competence Centre in Italy. The many optimized hybrid engines integrations available from Benetti  don’t sacrifice comfort or style.

    From shipyard investment to innovative yachts, Benetti has been an industry leader in sustainably-minded innovation since 2002 with the introduction of the first hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system, “65-metre Ambrosia yacht”. One of the world’s leading superyacht builders, Benetti is part of a forward-thinking, family-owned business that understands that yachts are a family activity to enjoy one of nature’s greatest treasures: the open sea. With this mindset, Benetti commits to navigate how to limit or reduce carbon footprint across construction, design and protection so that yacht owners have options.

    “At Benetti, we deliver our enduring passion for the sea and for sailing by combining Italian craftsmanship and innovation into every yacht we design and build. Following the pandemic, we’ve accelerated our commitment to reduce carbon footprint. It’s time, money and resources that we feel are worth it,” says  Peter Mahony, General Manager at Benetti Yachts Asia. He continues, “Fortunately, the Benetti company mission is supported by a growing trend across Asia for innovative and forward-thinking options. With a Benetti yacht, we have the sweet spot where green awareness technology meets the utmost quality and comfort, which is possible through constant innovation and research.”

    Sustainable Shipyard Improvements

    Benetti Yachts has been implementing improvements at the Livorno and Viareggio Italian shipyards to enhance energy efficiency and reduce both pollution and waste at the source. Benetti looks at every possible way to improve the production cycle including reducing water waste, reducing fuel consumption with new high-power stations for moored Giga yachts of over 100 metres, replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED lamps to reduce 70% of energy consumption, installing a photovoltaic plant and a sophisticated solar thermal system to reduce 50% of methane greenhouse gases and insulating the Livorno shipyard sheds with cladding to enhance energy efficiency at thermal and acoustic levels.

    Improving Yacht Energy Efficiency

    Benetti’s design efforts are primarily focused on the hybrid engines to reduce fuel consumption and  harmful CO2 emissions. Most of the yachts have the option to be equipped with innovative propulsion systems and carefully-chosen materials while advancing propulsion systems and improving onboard energy efficiency.  

    Both the 107-metre giga yacht Benetti FB272 Luminosity gigayacht and Asia market-favourite, the Benetti B.Yond 37M, are equipped with hybrid propulsion systems to reduce environmental impact and fuel consumption. Luminosity, the biggest hybrid in the world features an intelligent propulsion system developed by top industry experts co-ordinated by Benetti’s Technical Department. While B.Yond 37M is a popular yacht in the Asian market due to its reduced environmental impact with the hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system developed by the Siemens Marine Global Competence Centre in Italy. The many optimized hybrid engines integrations available from Benetti  don’t sacrifice comfort or style.

  • Azimut Yachts Hong Kong Concludes a Remarkable 2019

    Azimut Yachts Hong Kong Concludes a Remarkable 2019

    Azimut Yachts celebrated the group’s 50th anniversary year packed full of exciting events, sales, new launches, deliveries and awards throughout 2019. Azimut Yachts Hong Kong, with its offices and dealer partners in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Singapore saw a wave of confidence across the region with an impressive number of yacht sales and handovers plus a series of well-planned and well-attended event. The busy year also saw the opening of two new sales offices; in Aberdeen, Hong Kong and Shenzhen Bay Yacht Club, Guangdong China.

    Bringing Azimut Yachts to Asia’s Doorstep

    A series of more than 10 events across Asia further promoted and elevated Azimut Yachts in the region. Through each of the events, Azimut Yachts celebrated with existing yacht owners as well as, provided an opportunity to showcase new yachts to potential new Azimut owners.  Events included the Macao Boat show, the Shenzhen Bay Yachting Festival – where Azimut Yachts Guangdong hosted the La Dolce Vita Italian Night – filmed by “Dolce Vita” Chinese TV and exclusive private bank and supercar events in Singapore and Hong Kong. In the coastal Taiwanese city, Tainan,, the first new S6 delivered to the region was handed over at the new Argo Yacht Club. The regional event of the year was the Azimut Yachts Party at the Singapore Yacht Show, where over 200 guests enjoyed live music and dance performances waterside against the backdrop of the New Azimut 55 and 25m Grande.

    Introducing New Yachts to Asia

    In October Azimut Yachts Guangdong proudly welcomed the first new Atlantis 45 to a captivated audience in Shenzhen, China. The Atlantis 45 is the successor to the Atlantis 43, a very popular yacht that exceeded all expectations by delivering over 140 yachts worldwide in four years. Featuring Volvo IPS propulsion, this new model takes on design cues from her larger sister, the Atlantis 51. The vertical bow stretches forward to boost the dynamics of a boat bringing out the sharpness of this yacht’s contours and its sporty soul.

    A series of successful 2019 Deliveries

    The Group completed an impressive number of deliveries across Asia. In 2019 several new models, including the S6, Atlantis 45, Azimut 55, Azimut Grande 25M and Azimut Grande 32, were delivered to new and repeat clients in Taiwan, Shenzhen, Singapore and Hong Kong. In addition, throughout the year, there was a steady stream of deliveries of the ever-popular Flybridge and Magellano models across all regions, and during the summer season alone no fewer than four  Azimut Grande models were delivered to Hong Kong and Singapore clients.

    In 2020 the Group  will introduce the latest new Azimut models to Asia, such as the stunning new S Range sisters the S10 and S8,  and the Azimut 78 Flybridge, all recently launched at the Cannes Yachts Festival in September.  New Azimut models are always hugely anticipated and these are no exception, with and S8 and 78 Flybridge already set for Hong Kong and Singapore deliveries before the summer.

    Regional Awards

    In addition to several industry awards won by the Group in 2019, Marine Italia Ltd, Azimut Yachts Hong Kong was awarded “Best after-sales support Worldwide (Excluding USA)” during the Azimut Yachts GLOBAL dealers meeting 2019 for their exceptionally high-quality customer service work and investments in customer support for the region.

    Azimut|Benetti closed out the 50th anniversary year, confirming its place for the 20th time as the world’s leading builder of high-end mega yachts, based on the international Global Order Book 2020 ranking of top yacht builders recently published by the highly- reputed magazine Boat International.

  • HKCYIA signs MOU with Voyager to promote superyacht services in Hong Kong

    HKCYIA signs MOU with Voyager to promote superyacht services in Hong Kong

    The Hong Kong Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (HKCYIA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Voyager Risk Solutions Ltd to support its risk and insurance management services for superyachts, with full scale professional solutions that are expected to promote its upcoming initiatives in the development of the yacht and tourism industries in the Greater Bay Area.

    The move was made in view of the rapid development of the global yacht industry and the surging demand for superyacht management services in Hong Kong.

    The MOU signing ceremony, witnessed by the management of both organisations, was officiated by HKCYIA Executive Director, Kara Yeung, and Voyager’s Chief Executive Officer, Tommy Ho. The agreement will further strengthen the two organisation’s developments in the yacht industry, with increased co-operations and exchanges in tourism promotions in the Greater Bay Area.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Yeung said under the agreement Voyager will provide professional risk management and insurance consultation services to the HKCYIA in the opening and operation of its upcoming Superyacht Management Services Centre. Both parties will have regular meetings to seek further co-operations and communications that can enable services improvements and sustainable developments.

    Yeung said Hong Kong has a major role to play in its capacity as a “super connector” in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the strategy to build the 21st century maritime Silk Road, providing the necessary support in the development of the maritime industries. Its first in Asia Superyacht Management Services Centre will be a milestone development for the industry.

    The centre, a partnership project with the China Merchants Industry Holdings Co. Ltd, will provide world-class supporting services for superyachts of over 45-metres, including refit, repair and maintenance services.

    Yeung added that the centre will work with international yacht brands and top management companies to provide a wide range of professional services, including repair and maintenance, audit and survey, bunkering services, crew administration, logistics support, etc. Exclusive onshore tours with tailor-made itinerary in the Area will also be provided.

  • Benetti Launches Three Yachts in the Class Category

    Benetti Launches Three Yachts in the Class Category

    While at the Livorno shipyard the first phase of the Benetti Giga Season came to an end with the launch of a remarkable three giga yachts in just 100 days, most recently the 108-meter Benetti fleet flagship FB275, in Viareggio three Class category yachts have been launched in less than ten days: a Delfino 95, a Classic Supreme 132 and a Mediterraneo 116.

    On March 28, in Livorno, the Shipyard celebrated the christening of 108-meter giga yacht FB275, following closely on the heels of the March 21 launch in Viareggio of BD105 M/Y “Baya”, the fifth unit of the elegant and classically styled 29-meter Delfino 95. The generously spaced and welcoming interiors of the yacht are decorated with innovative combinations of marble, polished brass inserts and ash, eucalyptus and tay wood, creating an interesting alternation of textures and colour tones.

    The exteriors designed by Giorgio M. Cassetta provide a cue for interesting plays of light in the interiors through extensive glazed surfaces. The owner’s cabin on BD105 M/Y “Baya” has a bed adorned with sophisticated leather-upholstered headrests and a spacious bathroom fitted with tub, shower and mini bar. The two 1,000 hp Man V8 engines provide a range of about 2,400 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 10 knots. And when time is of the essence, the yacht has a top speed of 14.5 knots.

    April 3 then saw the launch of BS012, the twelfth unit of the 40-meter Classic Supreme 132 with exteriors by Stefano Righini. The interiors are by Benetti’s Interior Style Department, which chose the decorations and furnishings based on the owner’s instructions and requests. To give the boat more character, they feature leathers with an iridescent metallic appearance and richly veined varieties of marble: Port Laurent,Sahara Noir and Rino White.

    The juxtaposition of light-coloured smoked eucalyptus against the dark tones of matte-finish tay wood is clearly dominated by lighter colourways to give the settings a brighter atmosphere and the yacht an eclectic, modern feel. The social side of BS012’s character can be seen in the decision to put a teppan griddle in the centre of the table on the Fly Deck. In a first-of-its-kind solution for thimodel yacht, guests eat their food directly from the griddle on which it is cooked. Extensive outdoor spaces, particularly on the Sun and Upper Decks, are perfectly reconciled with the yacht’s streamlined contours, while the big full-height windows on both the Main and Upper Decks translate into brightly-lit interiors. Forward of the Pilot House, a Jacuzzi offers a spectacular vantage point from which to enjoy the sea view.

    Then on April 6, M/Y “Big Five” was launched, 35.5 meters long and the fifth unit of theMediterraneo 116 model. In this case too, the exteriors are by Giorgio M. Cassetta. The decor concept combines light-coloured matte-finish woods with other varieties in shades of grey and dark ash, creating a sophisticated and contemporary look. The use ofOlimpico Striato and Zebrino Apuano marble contributes to creating a sophisticated atmosphere. A huge forward section of the Main Deck is dedicated to the owner, with a private studio secluded from the areas set aside for socialising. The full-beam suite is flooded with natural light through panoramic windows, while the bathroom area, also full-beam, is split into his and hers areas, with a big shower cubicle set off by a marble-clad bench seat.