Asia Superyacht Conference To Tackle Piracy Issues

While the situation in the Gulf of Aden is beginning to impact superyachts wishing to traverse the Suez Canal, what the conference will try and highlight is the impact piracy has on other regions and the level of the problem in other parts of the world.

“While piracy is clearly having an impact on superyacht traffic coming west to east, piracy in Asia itself is very badly misunderstood” commented Simon Turner, Conference Chairman. “To this end, we have assembled a team of experts so that the superyacht industry can fully understand the problem and take appropriate action.”

The recently formed International Fusion Centre will offer a detailed statistical view on piracy around the world and offer an outline of what international organisations are doing to analyse and address the problem. Following this will be a talk from Richard Skinner of Orchid Office UAE, offering a series of practical recommendations as to what security steps superyachts and their captains need to take.

Back in August 2010, we spoke to a number of industry experts on what kind of security steps captains and owners need to take in order to stay safe – to read this article, click here. At that point in time no superyacht had ever been taken by a pirate crew; however with the increasing incidents and problems faced by superyacht captains when entering dangerous regions, it is important to address the potential threat posed.

Other talks will include a panel discussion with some of the most experience superyacht Captains to ever cruise through Asia, including Captain Charlie Dwyer of S/Y Yanekee Too and Paul Johnson of S/Y Asia. This practical and interactive debate allows genuine examples of problems encountered on the high seas, what piracy is and is not and some views on what the authorities around the world should be doing to tackle the problem.

However, albeit superyachts may be a growing target for pirates because of their size and value, the issue is actually a remote threat if the right procedures are taken through any dangerous region.

The 3rd annual Asia Superyacht Conference will also provide an insight into how the superyacht industry can attract more customers into the market; seeing as the growth of the high-net-worth individual and the altogether emerging market in Asia could be a focal point for the industry after the first ever Asian Superyacht Show.

Superyacht Singapore Association (SSA) Executive Director Jean-Jacques Lavigne will provide an unmissable update on just how many superyachts there are in Asia, what types, who buys them and where they are located. This essential data is not published and is for the eyes and ears of conference delegates only in order to promote transparency, providing an insight into how to approach the Asian market.

The Asian Superyacht Conference will be running in conjunction with the inaugural superyacht event of the region, the Singapore Yacht Show 2011. For more information on the events, click here.