12 JUNE–JULY 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com
HEADLINES International Marine News
NZ drops daily anchorage fee
NEW ZEALAND Auckland
Council has dropped a
proposed daily anchoring
fee that would have seen
superyachts and other
foreign-flagged vessels of over
40m billed each time they
anchored within Auckland’s
navigable waters.
“Working with AucklandCouncil, experts from within
our own organisation, NZ
Marine, as well as from the
Royal New Zealand Yacht
Squadron and Emirates Team
New Zealand, were able to help
Council appreciate just how
much of a deterrent a daily
anchoring fee would have been
to foreign vessels planning to
visit our shores, particularly for
the Prada and America’s Cup
in 2020/21,” says Peter Busfield,
executive director of industry
association NZ Marine.
Auckland Council has
worked with the marine
industry to drastically overhaul
the plan, settling on a new,
visitor-friendly small 12-month
navigation and safety fee for
vessels over 40m in length.The services covered by the fee
include the Harbourmaster
maintaining navigation aids
and maritime safety functions,
including assisting masters
of visiting yachts over 40m in
length to find sheltered and
suitable anchorages amongst
the more than 50 islands that
fill Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.
Under the new
requirements, vessels over
40m anchoring amongst these
islands will be required to pay a
one-off annual navigation and
safety fee of NZ$20 plus GST
per metre of vessel.
Vessels using the shipping
lane, transiting to and from
a marina berth in Auckland,
will not be required to pay the
navigation and safety fee.Suzuki posts
strong 2018
marine
performance
JAPAN Global financial results
for the 2018 fiscal year released
by Suzuki Motor Corp reveal
strong performance by its
marine division. For the fiscal
year running from April 2018
to March 2019, Suzuki Motor
Corp reported overall net
sales of ¥3,871.5bn, led by solid
automobile sales in Japan
and strong sales of both
automotive and motorcycle
products in India.
But it was the company’s
marine division which posted
the strongest year-over-year
growth, reporting an ¥8.9bn
jump in net sales to ¥83.9bn
for the year. The YOY increase
of 11.8% positioned the marine
division as Suzuki’s top
performer, and the company’s
only business unit to achieve
double-digit growth for the
2018 fiscal year.
Marine was also the only
Suzuki division to attain
double-digit growth in
operating income for the
year, posting a 16.9% gain of
¥2.5bn to ¥17.0bn for the year.
The positive performance of
the marine business unit was
attributed to continuing strong
demand for Suzuki’s DF350A
outboard in North America.
“The DF350A is an
impressive brand champion for
Suzuki,” says Gus Blakely, VP
and division head, marine, for
Suzuki Motor of America Inc.
“The new dual prop innovation
that it brought to the outboard
segment has increased our
presence with OEMs, been a
sales driver for our dealers, and
it has reinforced the technology
and innovation for all Suzuki
outboards, increasing our sales
dramatically.”SA industry award winners revealed
SOUTH AFRICA Robertson &
Caine co-founder John
Robertson and a host of other
South African boatbuilding
industry stalwarts have been
honoured with achievement
awards by the South African
Boatbuilders Export Council
(SABBEX). Robertson was one
of 10 local veterans to win a
‘trailblazer’ or ‘legend’ award
at a SABBEX gala dinner in
early June. The other winning
boatbuilders were Fuad Jacobsfrom Jacobs Bros, Mark Delany
from Two Oceans Marine,
Duncan Lethbridge from
St Francis Marine, and Jeff
Stephens from Gemini Marine.
Suppliers and designers
were also among the winners- namely, Alex Simonis from
Simonis Voogd Design, Tich
Mitchell from Sparcraft, Karl
Martin from Draco Sailing
Hardware, and Anton du Toit
from Du Toit Yacht Design.
SABBEX chairman Bruce
Tedder was recognised
for his contribution
towards building an
globally-recognised
industry body.
Guests were treated
to insights from
keynote speaker and
sailor Skip Novak,
in addition to input
from local government and
business sector stakeholders.
In his address, James Vos,
City of Cape Town head of
Economic Opportunities
and Asset Management, said
the city was committed to
supporting skills development
in the boatbuilding sector.
“Preliminary findings of the
recent research conducted
by the City that looked into
the economic contribution
of the ocean sports economy
in Cape Town showed that
this is a significant sector
demonstrating huge growth
potential and job creation
capabilities. The full findings
will be presented later this
month,” Vos said.
IBI’s correspondent Phil
Draper attended the awards as
part of a week-long tour of boat
and equipment manufacturers
in South Africa. His report on
the industry will be published
in the August issue of IBI. Auckland, New Zealand South Africans
shine at SABBEX gala
dinner in Cape Town