Sevenstar Yacht Transport remains committed to Asia Pacific

“It may seem strange to be promoting remote cruising destinations in these uncertain times”, says Jan Maarten Boissevain, Sales Director of Sevenstar Yacht Transport, APSA member of the first hour, “However, we strongly believe there is a need to keep informing clients about the world’s fantastic cruising grounds now and in the future.” Jan Maarten applauds APSA’s recent Grand Tour Webinar Series with up to date and relevant information on the whole Asia Pacific region and says that APSA’s new marketing initiatives have played a role in the company’s decision to renew their membership.

Shift in yacht shipping patterns

“That is so true”, adds Peter Staalsmid, Sevenstar’s Sales Manager for Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Pacific. “There are many opportunities to ship your yacht to or from Asia Pacific with us in the coming period. We are noticing a shift in yacht shipping patterns, directly and indirectly caused by COVID-19. The concept of yachting is increasingly adopted as a safe and fun family pastime and yacht sales are booming with many first-time buyers entering the market.”

“In Asia, especially Hong Kong and China, yacht sales have gone through the roof, as disclosed by brokerage companies. Our friends in Australia also report a very lively local market both for sales and maintenance & refit. Worldwide boat factories cannot keep up with demand causing clients to search for pre-owned yachts for sale in a much larger geographical area. At the same time, we see that many owners are wanting their yachts closer to home to be able to go out and explore local waters, now that they cannot travel easily to or with their yacht in remote destinations.”

Responding to demand

“When you look at our upcoming sailings to and from the region, you will notice that we have many ‘out of season’ sailings this year. For instance, we are still shipping many yachts from the Med to Asia, Australia and New Zealand, whereas normally the peak is between September and November”, says Peter. “COVID-19 has caused us to become much more agile”, comments Jan Maarten. “On the one hand we need to forecast future yacht migration trends in a changing world, while at the same time we are constantly responding to day-to-day increasingly ad hoc shipping decisions from yacht owners, following COVID-19 numbers globally as well as individual countries’ decisions to open or close (marine) borders. It is our job to match the fluid demand for yacht shipping with the availability of suitable and reliable cargo vessels, while the commercial shipping industry is also undergoing major changes. We are in a good position with access to the fleet of 100+ vessels from our financially stable parent company, the Spliethoff Group.”

Global coverage and local presence

“Clients tell us that our local presence matters much to them”, says Peter. “We always have had people on the ground, but now that has proven even more important. Our colleagues in our local offices are qualified both to handle any global shipping request and inform clients about what is and what is not possible under local COVID-19 regulations. They can also assist with finding local solutions, for instance for delivering yachts to ports of loading or discharge.