Page 37: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2004)

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Helm Chairs starting at $395 1-800-284-5771

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China Enters Market

Despite having no market for the product in its homeland, at least one prominent Chinese entrepreneur is try- ing his hand at the burgeoning megay- acht market. According to a recent edi- tion of the New York Times, Roger

Liang is a Hong Kong hotel and real estate developer who is the owner and managing director of Kingship Marine, a company that built and runs a yacht factory. Angling for export sales — not a foreign concept for Chinese manufac- turers — Kingship Marine is hoping to leverage its lower costs into increased sales. Some estimates indicate that a $10 million yacht bought elsewhere could be sold for as little as $7 million from the

Chinese yard.

While the market for megayachts around the world continue to boom, market watchers will monitor closely the progress of Kingship, particularly given general misgivings regarding the quality to be expected from a start-up operation in China.

According to the New York Times, its first yacht has already been sold to a

European buyer, and a second deal is imminent.

Pod Power

The Compact Azipod propulsion solu- tion from ABB has been found to be of benefit on several new high profile new- buildings, including Ambrosia III at

Benetti in Italy. In addition, the innova- tive propulsion system is currently being installed on three megayachts under construction in Europe, and according to the company, there are a number of projects — for installation in vessels ranging from 180 to 500 ft. — in negotiation.

The Compact Azipod propulsion unit is a modular design with a relatively low number of components, which helps it maintain a low maintenance require- ment. As with other pod solutions, this system provides unprecedented advan- tages in terms of space availability and arrangement, and is particularly suited to the megayacht market as it is a com- paratively low noise and low vibration solution.

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Faster, simpler, smoother access to the market place

NRRLIIMK www.marlink.com

Communications you can rely on

Efficient communication is the key to improving many maritime routines.

As an example, a vessel's need to keep in contact with the office on land, to check port information, weather reports or reporting or selling the fishing catch can be simplified by using Inmarsat's Fleet F33 or F55 from Marlink, simply because it can run the same IP-based software as the office, port authorities, fish auctions and other on-shore contacts. Fleet F33 or Fleet F55 ensures you easy access to the market place.

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