Sevenstar reports Asia-Pacific a busy region

The first three months of 2021 have seen a considerable amount of traffic from Sevenstar vessels arriving with yachts in Asia Pacific or shipping yachts elsewhere. Cargo ships with names like mv Dijksgracht, mv Stadiongracht, mv Flevogracht, mv Deltagracht, mv Happy Dynamic, mv Happy Dragon, and mv Happy Delta are no strangers to our neck of the woods and yet they only form a small part of the 100+ fleet of Sevenstar’s mother company Spliethoff.

Busy times

It’s an interesting phenomenon that these are busy times during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being on board of a yacht gives a huge safety advantage against the virus as long as you stay well away. And therefore, having your yacht at an arm’s length makes sense with current limited (international) traveling options. But not only yacht owners shipping their yachts home, also the global increase in sales of new-built and pre-owned boats explains the increased traffic.

Record Number of Sevenstar Sailings

The second quarter will continue to see a record number of Sevenstar vessels visiting the various ports of the Asia-Pacific region, loading and discharging ‘white boats’ and making the first half year of 2021 a busy one for all involved. A great opportunity for yacht owners to get their yachts where they want it. Just April alone already will have six Sevenstar vessels roaming our waters and in May and June another at least seven sailings are planned. They’re coming from or going to Europe and the USA/Caribbean and also do intra-Asia-Pacific trips such as Asia to Australia & New Zealand, Australia & New Zealand to Tahiti (and from there on to the USA) as well as trips from SE Asia to Hong Kong and Busan, Korea.

Upcoming Sailings

The following sailings are planned for the coming month and still have space at the time of writing this article:

• April - Europe to Phuket, Singapore, Hong Kong, Busan & Qindao
• April – Hong Kong, Singapore & Phuket to Fethiye, Genoa and Northern Europe
• April/May – mv Damgracht – Southampton, Genoa, Fethiye to Phuket, Singapore & Hong Kong
• April/May - Phuket & Penang to Australia & New Zealand
• April/May - New Zealand & Australia to USA and Europe
• April/May - Mediterranean to SE Asia to Australia & New Zealand
• May – MV Happy Delta - Europe to Phuket, Singapore & Hong Kong

Developments in the international shipping market

Yachts are not the only cargo searching for deck space, looking at the maritime market at large a number of developments are leading to concerns regarding shipping prices in the near future. Due to international economic developments, the number of ships taken out of rotation by shipping companies during Covid-19, the current shortages of sea containers in the right regions, fuel price developments, increased demand for deck space for instance for the massive production of wind blades in China and the current blockage and delays in the Suez Canal, it is currently getting harder (read more expensive) to find suitable deck space to transport yachts. This may lead to increased freight rates as a result. If you are contemplating to ship your yacht, now is a good time to decide and get a quotation as soon as possible.