SUPERYACHT SINGAPORE ASSOCIATION

SSA 2011 Mid-Year Superyacht Traffic Report

 – Media & Industry Version –

August 26th, 2011
For Immediate Circulation:

Year 2010 ended with a pleasant surprise that Superyacht Singapore Association (SSA) www.superyacht.sg exceeded their initial target of 80 superyacht traffic visits, which saw a 37% increase from 2009.  This is an encouraging accolade received since its inception 5 years ago. 

For the second half of 2010, the superyacht arena in Singapore became more vibrant with the cruising boom; manifested by the local marinas expansion plans in increasing the number of wet berths, dry-stack facilities, suites and rooms.  From an Industry and Association perspective, this is a positive sign that the yachting industry is picking up in Singapore.

The 2011 synopsis:

New Arrivals by month:

In the 1st quarter 2011, 14 superyachts visited Singapore (excluding local yachts), with the same number of superyachts visited Singapore in 2010.

In the beginning of the 2^nd quarter, SSA held for the first time its 3^rd Asia Superyacht Conference in April 7^th to 8th, as a strategic re-positioning move to attune to the needs of the market in Asia. The Conference is designed as a meeting point between the industry in Asia and the rest of the world.  The Conference brings about to our Delegates opportunities to grow their business and bring forth new ideas for the development in all aspects of the superyacht industry in Asia.

In the 2^nd quarter 2011, it saw 19 new Superyachts visiting Singapore.  The number of superyachts visiting Singapore saw a dip by 23%, lagging behind by 10 superyachts compared with 2010.  The numbers seem to be telling a different story behind the backdrop of surging growth of marinas springing up in Asia.  What could be the problem of lower traffic in this first half of the year?  There seems to be a dilemma here: are the superyacht traffic visits numbers a good gauge of the health of the industry?  Should we focus more on the quality of visit instead?

In April, SSA debuts its inaugural Singapore Yacht Show, held immediately after the Asia Superyacht Conference, which saw a peak of 15 superyachts visited Singapore last year, compared to 13 this year.  Statistically, it was still not too bad a result to achieve 13 superyacht visits for the month of April only.

Visitors to the Show had the rare opportunity and pleasure to board some of the most remarkable builds - Montigne, Azimut 116, El Aleph, Raja Laut, Majesty 88, and Jade Yacht 95.

During the Singapore Yacht Show, profile of the superyachts displayed were a 187 foot three-masted schooner, an Italian-made Superyacht, a traditional Phinisi yacht beautifully handcrafted in 100-year old teak and ironwood, Gulf Craft’s premium superyacht range, and a luxury explorer yacht built by Jade Yachts which builds on its OEM experience to produce a finely-finished 95 foot explorer yacht.  These represented some of the most interesting builds in the yachting industry, some of the dominant players that affirmed their presence in Europe, entry of Middle Eastern builders and Chinese builders.

The Singapore Yacht Show attracted attention and success.  Gulf Craft participated in the Singapore Yacht Show with their signature luxury yacht Majesty 88 superyacht which was later sold to a new owner, much to the pleasure of the COO of Gulf Craft Mr. Erwin Bamps.

The decision of Gulf Craft to enter the Asian market couldn’t be timelier with its new membership with SSA and the success of the Singapore Yacht Show also brought about an increase in tourism visitors to Singapore.  

Average foot-run of Superyachts:

The average foot-run of Superyachts have seen a drop from 129 feet in 2010 to 121 feet in 2011.

Singapore-based Superyachts:

In the first half of 2011, Singapore-based superyacht population grew from 19 to 21 units.  An increase of 2 units or 11% increase from 2010.  This is rather encouraging as this means that more and more superyacht owners are calling Singapore home.  The latest addition is Gulf Craft’s luxury superyacht Majesty 88 which debuts its appearance at the Singapore Yacht Show.

For the second half of 2011, about 5 additional superyachts would be calling Singapore home where the superyacht owners will base their Superyachts in Singapore. 

Regional Superyachts:

The first half of 2011 saw 14 regional Superyachts visited Singapore, 40% increase from 2010.  For the Singapore-based fleet of Superyachts, it saw an increase of 26% from 15 to 19 vessels.  The increase in the Superyachts continues to see confidence in Asia.

Regional Superyachts increase by 3 superyachts compared to last year, 2 of which participated in the Boat Asia and Singapore Yacht Shows in April. 

Non-Regional Superyachts:

By comparison to last year, non-regional showed a significant decrease by 50%.  Something not expected in the superyacht traffic volume lag especially at the end of 2010, the yachting industry seems to be very buoyant with the local marinas expanding in Singapore.

So what happened exactly?

Asia is expanding fast with significantly higher infrastructure of marinas in the superyacht scene.  By standards relative to our counterparts from the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, the superyacht traffic in Asia is still fairly thin but it is evident that superyacht traffic will continue to grow briskly. 

Cruising yachts to date experience a drop compared to last year.  This could be attributed to the strong Aussie dollar, where few Superyachts are filtering through Australia. Similarly, Indonesia traffic is also down, while more Superyachts are nonetheless being delivered there. Piracy on the Gulf of Eden is still affecting West-East traffic.

Months ahead: July, August are traditionally low traffic months as Western owners enjoy their yachts in Europe or the US and Caribbean’s for the summer season. September will be a very strong indicator of how good the winter season.

At the 3^rd Asia Superyacht Conference, it was clear that Singapore needs a strong catalyst to working on increasing the superyacht traffic visits numbers…

1. Cruising Grounds Undiscovered:

South-east Asia’s scenic cruising grounds and clear blue waters that are perfect for yachting and all the attendant water-sports remain relatively undiscovered.  Superyacht owners remain reluctant to abandon the traditional cruising hot-spots in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

South-east Asia, with its rich diverse cultures, tropical weather, miles of pristine nature, exceptional coastlines and extensive marine eco-system, makes for an ideal destination for charters.

The current challenge for the superyacht charter market is to attract, inspire, and entice affluent Asians to take the plunge and go on a more extended luxury cruise who ranks after the confines of European visitors and affluent Russian travelers who fly in from around the world, then transfer onto a superyacht to begin their cruising adventure.

South-east Asia’s charter market is estimated to be worth around $10 to $15 million at the present juncture, with Singapore accounting for about a third of the market.  These figures are expected to grow exponentially – up to five-fold, in the next 5 years.

2. Asia can leverage traditional yacht building expertise to take its place in the growing superyacht marketplace:

According to Bart J. Kimman, Managing Director of Northrop and Johnson Asia, there is room for Asia’s yacht builders to grow: “There are many yacht builders in Asia that are known for their benchmark in quality and their reputation for building solid yachts, and they have a loyal customer base.  With Singapore’s experience in commercial ship-building, I think Singapore has the craftsmanship and expertise to become a hub in this region for building superyachts.”

The fundamentals are apparent: Singapore’s highly developed physical and business infrastructure, strategic positioned geographically and economically makes it a very attractive city to expand the marina industry.  In the longer-term perspective, one of the determining factors that would further attract Superyachts to the region would be the advent of a comprehensive superyacht repair and refit service to cater to these visiting vessels.  Estimated expenses spend on a superyacht would average S$250,000 on berthing fees, repairs, fuel, maintenance, and supplies.

In the shorter term, a superyacht academy is proposed to providing enhanced skills to people to service the yacht industry.  Superyacht owners are generally high-fliers jet-setters who would require certain level of standards to services provided.

Amidst the passion to drive these initiatives, it is pertinent that the relevant players work together cohesively in order to expound the yachting industry to the next level.

View PDF version with graphs here. 

Superyacht Singapore Association

Prepared by Jean-Jacques Lavigne, Executive Director, and Sandy Lee, Senior Administrator.

Disclaimer:

The data collated has been obtained on a best endeavour basis. While SSA believes its sources to be reliable, it does not make any representations, express or implied as to the accuracy of such information. SSA and its representatives shall not be held liable for inaccuracies, errors or omission in the information presented. The information presented does not constitute professional advice and in all cases, users must exercise their own judgment and due diligence in application of the information provided. SSA may update, modify or alter the contents of this document without prior notification to its users of such update, modification or alteration.