NZ- Superyacht central eh?

by Jeni Bone on 2 May 2008 It’s been a relatively quiet start to the year in superyacht building and maintenance circles around Australia. Meanwhile over the Tasman, New Zealand is doing a roaring business, attracting the world’s work based on its reputation for impeccable workmanship, competitive rates and a strong racing pedigree.

Executive Director of New Zealand Marine, Peter Busfield, acknowledges there has been a slight downturn in the domestic market in sales of smaller craft, 'mostly driven by pessimistic media', and that the country is as afflicted as any other with the mortgage crisis, but superyacht construction is streaking ahead.

'It’s very strong. The top five builders have forward orders for the next couple of years and are quoting on new jobs.'

Among the ranks of these busy builders are McMullen & Wing, Fitzroy Yachts, New Zealand Yachting Development Ltd, Alloy Yachts and Vaudrey Miller.

The local economy is impacted by the high and rising cost of petrol, hovering near NZD$1.90 per Litre, and interest rates that are at 9%. But New Zealand, as Busfield explains is insulated by its healthy agriculture industry. 'With commodity prices so high, we have a buffer.'

Sailing and motor superyacht manufacturing is flourishing and while Busfield is not willing to disclose the main export markets, nor detail of the factors behind New Zealand’s success, he will say that it’s due to a combination of 'high profile appearances at international boat shows, word of mouth and a long history of racing'.

'Our boats are well received by the market. When you build a good boat, everybody hears about it. Many of the world’s top superyacht captains are Kiwis. They’re very well connected.'

Lower wage rates in New Zealand too are helpful. 'The product is still cost-competitive,' says Busfield. 'The exchange rate, which once meant they were excellent value, is still at a level where they are good value.'

Another aspect of the industry, which Australia has picked up on and it attempting to remedy, is more than a decade’s investment in apprentice training schemes.

'We have more apprentices than anywhere in the world and we’re dedicated to keeping them here.'

Up in Cairns, positioned by government and industry as the epicentre of superyacht activity in Australia, Roger Cowan, managing director at Coastal Shipwrights says it’s been the slowest start to a year that most people can remember. Cowan says it’s a symptom of an across the board slowdown.

'The high Aussie dollar and the downturn in the US market have meant there’s not the superyacht activity we anticipated – certainly not the huge influx some people were predicting.'

The Cairns Slipway, operated by the Viking Group, is just finishing up a full repaint on the US superyacht, Sinbad.

Jim Johnson, manager, says that while superyachts have been fewer in number, the facility has a boat booked every week for the next year.

'It’s been quite a good year so far. We’re up on figures from last year,' he says, adding that the organization has diversified in the past two years to ensure business is constant.

'80% of my work is white boats. The commercial work has gone north to the Philippines and Singapore, where it’s cheaper – small ships, tugs, fishing boats. As far a superyachts go, it’s quiet here because of the strong Aussie dollar. When it was 70c and 80c to the dollar, it was busy. They are still coming and touring, then getting a bit of anti-fouling done. When the dollar goes back down, they’ll stay longer.'

There is widely held belief that superyachts automatically equate to thousands of dollars in repairs and refit work.

'People think that when a superyacht is in your shed, you’re getting a $3m job every time,' says Johnson. 'But it’s not the reality. Some jobs are small. A lot of boats are too new to require a lot of work.'

What the industry doesn’t need, says Johnson, is the attitude, fed by media, that it’s all over for the industry.

'We don’t need people and the media saying that ‘oh well, that’s it’. You have to take the good with the bad. There is a downturn with building, but repairs are steady. There may be an influx in the next few years, particularly now that the visa regulations have changed and superyachts can charter, it will make it more attractive to come here. The more they use their boats in our waters, the more damage occurs and they will need work here.'

Trudy Todkill, business manager at Marine Applications, part of the Viking Group, based Hemmant in Brisbane, says the business is working steadily and from 7 April, expanded to incorporate Blackline Shipping at the Gold Coast City Marina.

They specialize in full refits and build aluminium boats, including four City Cats commuter and tourist ferries at 25m for Brisbane River. ' We cater for a mixture of boats, from superyachts down to dinghies,' she says. 'We’ve just done a complete refit on the Kri Arung Samudera, an Indonesian international naval training vessel which is 130ft.'

Down at the Gold Coast, Blackline Shipping is also hard at work. According to Steve Wallace, general manager, the year has started with a strong and lucrative wave of business from conversions to refits.

'We’ve just converted a Westcoaster 65 fishing vessel to a luxury, live aboard charter boat for Reel Teaser Charters from Broome, which took us around five months. There’s a lot of that style of boat lying around, well suited to conversion to charter boat or private boat.'

As Wallace explains, they’re Australian built boats for our conditions, they just need a professional conversion, including AC, extended cabins and galleys. 'They are a fantastic platform to convert.'

Blackline in Brisbane has also completed four months work on Southern Cloud a 42m superyacht from Sydney, and two months on the Keri-Lee, a 46m vessel from Brisbane. 'They were both good jobs, both detailed jobs that invovled engineering, shipwright and electrical work, with some fabrication of bits and pieces.'

The mix of Australian commercial and larger boats means Blackline and the competitors are 'immune to what is going on in the US', according to Wallace. 'We have a strong domestic market. It may have been a slow start to the year for some manufacturers, but not for the commercial and private boats that we look after.'

In the pipeline for Blackline Gold Coast is a gem of a job in terms of interest value. 'We are currently putting a proposal forward to the South Australian government for the major refurbishment of the tall ship, One and All, which would take from June to September.'

Back in Brisbane, Viking is awaiting delivery of a new 600 tonne travel lift at its Hemmant premises, arriving end of May from the US, aiming to be erected by August.

That will take the company’s complement to three travel lifts: 300, 600 and 65 tonne lifts, plus a 250 boat marina in development at the 40 hectare Brisbane Marine Industry Park.

'We’re preparing for growth and expansion, not the end of an industry,' says Jim Johnson.

More at www.vikingindustries.com.au/marine.html