The ‘elf of safety takes a holiday
The 58.4-metre Kokomo has been launched in New Zealand where clearly European standards of ‘elf and Safety cut little ice. Photographs released by MCM her managers showing her mast being stepped amid a spaghetti of cables clearly show the fitting out crew wearing Safety Jackets but no shoes or hard hats.
64 metre Superyacht Triple 7 is marina’s first caller
The future for the island nation of Fiji lies is in tourism and they see superyacht tourism as a major untapped market. In a bid to capture that potential the government has recently completed Port Denarau a new marina built specifically to cater for superyachts and growing marine tourism and the 64-metre superyacht Triple 7 has just docked alongside it.
The new marina has 43 berths ranging in size from 15 metres to 75 metres and cost $2m to build with dredging the river costing a further $400,000.
Ten of the berths are suitable for super yachts but they will also cater for other vessels when not used by the yachts.
Nigel Skeggs CEO of the new development said, "Super yachts are just one sector of marine tourism, and we are not concentrating on one area but on the market as a whole,"
With the introduction of the Fiji super yacht Charter Policy, he said he hoped to see the increase in activity from last season quadruple in the coming years adding, "This is an exciting and new industry for Fiji, with many far-reaching benefits."
It Takes All Sorts to Make a World
While researching an article all about those who work as crew aboard superyachts some really interesting stories have come to light including one deckhand who didn’t tell his Captain he was still employed by the Royal Navy and was effectively AWOL (yes, they did track him down and yes the Captain had some fascinating conversations with the Chief of Military Police at HMS something or other).
Then there was the couple who designed a web site for a boat maintenance company they had set up advertising its head office as the port address of the boat they were working on, and finally a hostess who had a cold and went to the doctor to get herself signed off with Swine Flu because she decided she didn’t want to do any more charters!
There have to be more horror stories. Have you got any to relate?
Watkins Superyachts Ltd originallly established as an in-house risk management consultancy to a leading Lloyd’s marine underwriter, is now under new independent control having been bought out by its management.
The company has moved premises and now resides in the famous Gherkin on St Mary Axe and is soon to be opening offices in Malta and Monaco. The company will continue to specialise in ISM, management and project consultancy but now adds discrete yacht acquisition and disposal to their range of services.
Watkins’ Managing Director, Adrian McCourt commented, "Independence will give us the flexibility to further improve the services we offer our clients. Our new location and corporate background enables us to broaden our appeal to existing and prospective Owners wishing to enter the business with an organisation which prides itself on integrity, stability and clarity."
The firm has progressed from a management company to a wider service company within the large yacht industry and clients have been particularly drawn to the Company’s ability to execute discreet yacht acquisition or disposal through their London or overseas offices. This has been found to be of particular interest to owners who wish to purchase existing yachts, projects under construction, or yachts within a certain specification, which may not be for sale on the open market, or similarly for owners who wish to dispose of assets without attracting publicity.
Commercial Charter Yachts following HMRC Revenue Brief 56/09
Prior to January 2000, there was no guidance on how a yacht charter company could obtain VAT registration and comply with the EU requirements relating to VAT on yachts. Article 148 (previously Article 15) provides for exemption to commercially registered yachts in commercial use on the high seas. This exemption has been ratified by most EU member states, although the United Kingdom has specifically excluded yachts from this exemption. The Isle of Man issued their letter for guidance in January 2000 and this letter has been the main guidance for yachts owned through Manx registered companies and chartering in EU waters. Following the HMRC Brief 56/09 this letter has been withdrawn and its guidance can no longer be used.
Unfortunately, rather than clarifying the position the HMRC Brief 56/09 Chris Allix one of the industry’s most knowledgeable experts in VAT for yachts thinks it has left the industry without specific guidance. He believes this Brief is intended to prevent VAT avoidance by owners wanting to benefit from the EU exemptions available under Article 148 without actually using the yacht in any form of commercial activity to third parties, i.e. owning the yacht through a VAT registered company, registered as a commercial vessel, but only chartering it to themselves (albeit at a commercial rate and paying the charter fee). The French Code of Practice for charter yachts allows an owner to charter the yacht for a reasonable period, but specifically excludes commercial yachts from benefiting from Article 262 of the French Tax Code if the yacht is chartered for the majority of the season by the owner.
Following the Isle of Man 2000 letter ICM the firm started by Allix used to show that over a 20 year period the owning company would expect to show a profit taking into account the initial cost, running expenses (based on an annual cost of 10% p.a.) against the expected annual charter income. As mentioned this method of calculation no longer applies, and a more robust business plan is required. This will be showing the ownership over a shorter period (probably 5 years), the appointment of a central charter agent, a letter from the central showing the expected charters by the client and also other parties, and the expected annual costs, finally we will get a written estimate of the residual value for the yacht after the period. In addition to this business plan (which must show a profit) we must provide a copy of the purchase/building contract and show the source of the purchase price.
Allix believes the Isle of Man will remain the principal jurisdiction for the ownership of Charter Yachts and VAT registration, but only for the clients using their yachts in a truly commercial manner, which can within reason include charter by the client.
Mari-Cha III, the record-breaking Super Maxi sailing yacht is ensconced inside a refit shed at Derecktor, Connecticut as she undergoes a five-month makeover. She arrived at the yard on somewhat short notice according to spokesperson Kathy Kennedy. “The Mari-Cha people wanted to take advantage of the current favourable exchange rate in the U.S. We’re pleased that they recognized us as the best choice for the job”.
The 145 ft. sloop has a wide-ranging work list to be undertaken. Jobs include new fresh and black water tanks, air-conditioning systems and ventilation, new rigging and hydraulics as well as a new generator and electronics. A full repaint of topsides, deck and bottom will be done along with an interior refinishing to a more minimalist style. The work is expected to take five months.
Captain Damien Durchon, who has been with the Mari-Cha program since 2003 and has been a part of numerous world sailing records including the fastest transatlantic ever on Mari-Cha IV, explained the reasons for choosing the yard “ We are quite demanding when it comes to our boats. We expect the work to be perfect.”
Launched in 1997, Mari-cha III was designed by Philippe Briand with a traditional interior by John Munford that can be removed to save weight when racing. In 1998 she broke one of the most enduring and prized records in sailing when she went transatlantic from New York to the Lizard in 8 days, 23 hrs, 59 minutes and 41 seconds, shattering the existing record.
Welcome to the amazing world of superyachts!
For those interested in super yachts and are sensible enough to own and operate an Apple iPhone there is a great new application that now that I have tested it, I am happy to review positively.
It is called Yachts and it is available for very little cash from the iTunes store.
It lists 50 of the largest yachts in the world and details each with a picture and all the relevant information the super yacht spotter seeks, including all the specifications for each yacht as well as an insight into who actually owns it.
Many of the pictures are supplied by superyachtphoto.com a division of the ever reliable team at superyachttimes.com
I was unhappy with this app on its first outing because it kept crashing but having extensively tested version 1.1 I am now happy to recommend it
To get your own version by paying for it, go to iTunes or click this link. To get one free, comment on this blog because I have been given a very small number of promotional codes to give away and those will be issued on a first come first served basis. All you have to do is ask.
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