New Thai regulations make Phuket viable alternative to the Med

by Asia Pacific Superyachts on 17 Sep 2015
“This will be the first time that APS Phuket will be an exhibitor at the Monaco Yacht Show and it will be great to be able to tell owners, managers and captains about the significant changes which are currently taking place in Phuket”, reports Gordon Fernandes, one of the founders of Asia Pacific Superyachts and heading up APS Phuket and APS Myanmar. Fernandes will be on hand to explain how the Thai government’s new rules (going into effect 16 September 2015) will be of high benefit to visiting Superyachts.

“The new Thai Charter rules mean that for the first time yachts over 30meters will be able to charter legally here and this means Phuket will have more visiting yachts and the region as a whole will benefit from this. Yachts will have a viable alternative to the Caribbean winter cruising season”, Fernandes explains.

Joining Gordon at APS Stand #QH31 will be JoJo of APS Phuket, Duthie Lidgard of APS New Zealand, Scott Walker of APS Singapore, Captain Charlie Dwyer of APS Koh Samui and APS Langkawi, Mohamed Hameed of APS Maldives, Etienne Boutin of APS Tahiti and Richard Lofthouse of Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia and APS Philippines.

Richard Lofthouse notes how APS is known throughout the region for handling the biggest superyachts, “100m+ yachts tend to stick with the company with the name you can trust and only one to move from the Maldives, through Asia and onto NZ and the Pacific with APS offices as their support. However, APS also supports smaller yachts with the same levels of care and professionalism. When you have dealt with ships in the 80 to 120m range, you have the systems and networks in place to deal with anything,' says Lofthouse. 'We have found that we are able to support smaller boats better as time goes by in a cost effective way that works for everyone.”

As an example Lofthouse reports that in 2015 as well as handling three yachts over 100m, APS Indonesia also was engaged by a record number of yachts in the 25 to 35m range. 'We have found that these yachts have specific needs and a budget available to achieve this. We have the networks to support them when needed and let them alone when we're not'.
This kind of approach has yielded great results as witnessed in the feedback from clients.

Captain Egbert of s/y Houbara wrote, 'Just dropping a note to thank you enormously for all your kind help. You all have made cruising Indonesia a lot easier. I will be sure to get in touch with you again upon my return, hopefully very soon'. And, recently Captain Enrico on s/y Plum enthused to APS Indonesia, 'We are leaving from Sorong after one of the best experience in our life. You were right, Raja Ampat is one of the best places on the planet! I wanted to thank you very much for your impeccable service also for the great staff here in Sorong.'

It goes to show, good support is good support for big and small alike and this is the service APS is proud to provide throughout the region. The quality service combined with the positive changes for Superyachts, including the impact of rule changes in Thailand, promises memorable journeys for visiting Superyachts.

www.asia-pacific-superyachts.com