Once every few months, the Superyacht Singapore Association (SSA)Â and the Indonesia Superyacht Association (ISA) gather with the Indonesia Government to discuss the development of yachting in Indonesia, the opening of cruising grounds, simplification and implementation of regulations and community development integration with the yachting / superyachting development plan.
In the last few years, Indonesia has grown into a new superyacht destination with not less than 47 Superyachts cruising through in 2010. However it is reckoned that more could be done to unify regulations interpretation throughout the archipelago, develop infrastructure and promote cruising grounds and cultural understanding. To that effect, a task force was set up about 18 months ago between the Indonesia Government, represented by Dr. Hamdan Asdep and Dr. Dalle Daniel Sulekale, ISA and SSA to promote information exchanges and push forward the most pressing issues on the agenda.
The photo caption here (from left to right): Dr Dalle Daniel Sulekale, JJ, Dr. Hamdan Asdep, Olivier, and Mr. Jaenudin, SIP, of the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Republic of Indonesia.
Meeting room at the Jakarta Government Building:
"Marine Tourism -- A Network Strategy For the Asia-Pacific Region"
Given that ISA's representative and man championing the cause, Cpt. Cilian Budarlaigh from Indonesia Yacht Support (IYS) was busy looking after a couple of Superyachts occupying his facilities in Benoa Harbor in Bali, it was decided that SSA would first meet with ISA in Bali to prepare further the meeting with the Indonesian Government.
That was the opportunity for SSA, represented by Olivier Benoist (The Equator Club, and head of SSA Cruising and Destinations Committee and fluent Indonesian speaker) and Jean-Jacques Lavigne (ONE15 Luxury Yachting and SSA Executive Director), to catch up with the latest developments (or lack of it) in Bali (besides the new villas and party clubs, impressive ones for that matter!).Â
Meeting on board Geisha (left to right): Eric & Marie Poisson, JJ, Neil Hempsey, Olivier, Cilian, Murray
SSA also caught up with the Poisson’s, owners of the Geisha, a most impressive 300T converted fishing vessel that they extended and beautified. From the outside Geisha is an odd creature, from the inside, she is a comfort creature. Over the last 5 years, the Poisson’s have been cruising her in the 4 corners of Asia, gathering a wealth of experience dealings with all sorts of weather conditions and Official of all sorts.Â
The 5th corner, the largest one, Indonesia, was lacking and they embarked in a major trip through Indonesia before calling Singapore home for a while. Hence, since the yacht was in Bali, the opportunity was too good not to take and the Government meeting preparation was indeed held onboard, much to the delight of ISA and SSA representatives but also of Murray Hird (Superyacht Base Darwin) who also flew in for the occasion.
The Poisson’s sense of hospitality was second to none, the Sauvignon Blanc lost ground in the following debates and Bali suddenly became, be it for 4 hours, a haven for Superyachts. We were anchored off Serengan Bay, kite surfers were zooming by, while the distant view of a proud standing large offshore work vessel grounded helplessly on his coral reef reminded us of the sad effects of drunken stupor and approximate charts.
As a matter of fact, Geisha also ran around in his own way in Indonesia, getting into all sorts of troubles; courtesy of zealous officials and an indelicate (shall we say incompetent) pseudo superyacht agent. SSA was called to the rescue, SSA called Indonesia Yacht Support to the rescue; Cilian did the job and saved the day. Meanwhile, several other superyachts were still going about cruising across Indonesia, well-looked after by agents who know their stuff. Those little tragedies of life... It is precisely to avoid them in the future that we were holding that preparation meeting in Bali! Without going into the details of what was discussed on board, enough was covered to make us altogether ready for our Jakarta meeting…
In the midst of all these meetings, SSA also visited IYS superyacht facilities at the BBQ in Bali. And before flying off to Jakarta, we were off to another series of meetings to assess the proposed new-marina plans in Bali (nothing solid at this stage), and have a follow-up discussion with a local owner about the refit options for his newly acquired superyacht. That proved to be a productive meeting as the refit project ended up being entrusted to members of SSA beating in the process the regional competition and we discovered the "Potato Head" the newest hyped luxurious- funky kinda beach club in Bali. We liked. Not the best place for a business meeting, but, hey! Not the worst place either! We tested the patience of our driver patiently waiting for us... The nights can be short in Bali! Time to freshen up a bit in our relaxing villa (Karuela, by Villa Bella) and we were ready (almost) for a quick coffee with Xavier Fabre, the newly appointed General Manager of the brand new Simpson Marine Indonesia. The fact that Simpson Marine is officially opening offices in Indonesia is a strong testament of the newly fond faith that the country has in its own future...
After another quick update discussion with the Indonesian superyacht owner, we finally made our way Jakarta where we were supposed to meet Xavier again and his boss Paul Whelan, the Singapore-based managing director of Simpson Marine Southeast Asia, who was to join us as SSA and ISA members for the Government meeting the next day.
We made it Jakarta but they didn't. Blame it on the end of the Hari Raya period; they couldn't get any seat on any flight to Jakarta. Good thing that on our side we booked our tickets (the last two) long ahead enough...
So, here we were, Olivier and I alone to meet our Indonesia counterparts.
That was not the plan, but a botched plan is better than no plan at all!
What came out of it?
To quote Dr. Dalle Daniel Sulekele, the Indonesia Government vision is to turn Indonesia into “The yachting paradise of the Pacific through quality tourism, not mass tourism". This will be achieved through a few key initiatives being developed with its key partners like ISA and SSA. Though at this stage many of the details cannot go public, a few elements are already worth mentioning:
1) The number of territorial entry and exit points for visiting yachts is being revisited, increasing noticeably the numbers of such locations.
2) The idea of free cruising (without Indonesia customs clearance) from Singapore to the Riau Archipelago for Singapore-based yachts and for those that have cleared in Singapore is making steady progress. A Government to Government roundtable meeting is to be coordinated by SSA before year-end.
No pressure here...
3) A Southeast Asia marine tourism conference is proposed to be organized in 2012 or 2013. Still no pressure...
All in all, a most fruitful discussion, in the most friendly and cooperative atmosphere.
To conclude we made our way to Batavia Marina, the only superyacht-graded marina in Jakarta that can host 3 to 4 yachts up to 120 feet. We were welcomed by Melanie Prayono, the General Manager, while we were expecting to meet with Kris, her brother. That was an excellent idea of Kris not being there as Melanie is much better looking. No offense, Kris....
That rounded up a positive few days and paved the way for a few very busy months ahead. Yet again...
End.
