Monocle Yachts expands to Asia

by Iconovista on 6 Jul 2009 Monocle Yachts, operators of the world’s largest fleet of fractionally owned yachts since 1964, have announced the extension of their cruising destinations to include the Asia Pacific region.

Monocle enables private individuals and companies to enjoy the benefits of luxury yacht ownership at just a fraction of the cost of traditional ownership and without the management and maintenance hassles usually associated with sole ownership.

In addition, Monocle owners not only get to enjoy use of their own yacht but also the use of other Monocle fleet yachts in the rest of the world including the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the USA.

Working with their Asian based partner Iconovista in Singapore, Florida based Monocle have already brought the first two yachts into the programme in Asia with many more to follow in the coming months. Cruising destinations will include Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia with owners benefitting from their yacht being in at least 2 destinations during the year.

How it works is very simple: Monocle acquire brand new luxury yachts from the world’s leading shipyards, or enter a pre-owned immaculate yacht into the programme, on behalf of a group of buyers. The ownership of the yacht is then divided into ten 10% shares held under a dedicated management company. All of the costs of operation including maintenance, crew management and berthing etc are then shared equally among the owners.

Interestingly, Monocle are the only fractional yacht company in the world not to mark up yacht expenses.

Founder and Director of Operations Dr Loren Simkowitz, said: “We are delighted to extend our fleet and cruising grounds to the Asia Pacific region through our Asian partners Iconovista. Monocle started with the vision of enjoyable yachting. We eliminated the aggravations of luxury yacht ownership for our clients by handling all of the daily tasks of managing a luxury asset from selecting the best crew members, to searching for the lowest prices on fuel, through to stocking our clients’ yachts with everything from noodles to champagne.”

Due to its bulk purchasing requirements Monocle saves owners huge amounts of money with, for example, fuel savings typically reaching 40%.

The simple share ownership model means that resale is not only easy but share values typically remain at the same level as the initial purchase price due to the meticulous maintenance of the yachts.

Should an owner not wish to use the full shareholding, Monocle can arrange for the yacht to be chartered for a week with the net proceeds going directly to the owner which will more than cover their whole operating costs for the year.

One of the major benefits of Monocle ownership is the ability to exchange weeks usage with other yacht owners in the fleet. This means that a share of a yacht in Asia gives owners vacation time on yachts in The Mediterranean or The Caribbean at no extra cost, a huge attraction and a unique benefit.

“The Monocle programme enables people in Asia to enjoy luxury yacht vacations at a vastly reduced cost whilst protecting your asset and investment. The programme will appeal to experienced yachtsmen, people new to luxury yachting and those who simply want hassle free vacations in a unique setting” said Iconovista Managing Director Simon Turner.

The Monocle fleet includes over 50 superyachts with an asset value of over a quarter of billion US$. Yachts range in size from 100ft to over 300ft.

For more information on the Monocle fleet please email Iconovista on info@iconovista.com

Yachts in the fleet include:
Traditional Feadship
Length: 185'
Beam: 32'
State Rooms: 4 Guest Plus On-Deck Master
Builder: Feadship
Price Per Share: $4.5M
Cruising Waters: Costa Rica

Casa de Mare
Length: 145’
Beam: 26’
State Rooms: 7
Cruising Waters: Caribbean

Margaux
Length: 116’
Beam: 22’
State Rooms: 3
Location: Florida, Bahamas, New England, and the Caribbean

Ferretti 80
Length: 80’
Beam: 19’
State Rooms: 4
Cruising Waters: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia

Versilcraft 110
Length: 110’
Beam: 23’
State Rooms: 4
Itinerary: Andaman Islands, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Singapore