International Boat Industry - December 2015

In association with ICOMIA GLOBAL OVERVIEW

These stories were brought to you by the International

Council of Marine Industry Associations, ICOMIA.

For further information, visit http://www.icomia.org

New RCD requirements effective soon
From January 18, 2016, recreational craft marketed in the EU
must comply with essential technical safety and environmental
requirements and meet a number of administrative obligations
defined by the new Recreational Craft Directive (2013/53/EU).
These safety and environmental requirements address the
design and construction of the craft, and set limit values for
their exhaust and noise emissions.The new RCD also requires
boat and engine manufacturers to keep a technical file on
all relevant data, and to officially declare the compliance of
their product using a Declaration of Conformity (DoC), to affix
the CE marking to it, and to inform users about safe use and
maintenance through a builder’s plate and owner’s manual.
Importers and distributors have an obligation to ensure these
processes are completed before placing on the EU market.
The written declaration must include data on the product
and on the manufacturer, be signed by an individual working
for the manufacturer or his/her authorised representative,

and include the list of harmonised standards that are used to

provide the presumption of conformity.

Discover Boating delivers increased web traffic

The Discover Boating North American marketing campaign

exceeded benchmarks in 2015 by sending more than 2.9 million

visits to participating boat manufacturer websites, an increase

of 66% over 2014. Marketing initiatives in 2015 included short

films known as ‘Stories of Discovery’, which feature real boaters

talking about priceless moments while on the water and were

featured across 10,000 websites and viewed 30 million times.

One of the stories featured country music star and avid boater

Jake Owen, which helped attract a younger audience. The

Stories of Discovery provide lifestyle content that was shared

throughout the campaign. In addition, a marketing mix of

advertising, public relations and social media engaged potential

boat owners and drove interest and a positive perception of

boating. Through these marketing efforts, website traffic to

DiscoverBoating.com and DiscoverBoating.ca increased 51% to

5.3 million visits in 2015.

CCYIA hosts first China Public Marina Forum

The first China Public Marina Forum was held in Zhuhai,

China on September 30, 2015. Initiated by Weihang Zheng,

VP and secretary general of the China Cruise and Yacht

Industry Association (CCYIA), the forum aimed to standardise

and popularise the Chinese yacht-consumption market.

Representatives from China, Italy, Spain and other countries

attended the forum, which focused on several topics:

• Demand for public marinas in the Chinese yacht economy


• The planning, construction and operation of public marinas


• Site selection for public marinas


• Types of public marinas and investment modes


• Public marina development policy
  The second China Public Marina Forum will be held in Zhuhai
  once again in May 2016.