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Megayacht arrivals set to surpass 2004 figures
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Dec 13, 2005 14:38 UTC
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ISLE DE SOL - Megayacht arrivals on the Dutch side for this year are set to surpass the arrival figures for 2004. Increased compliance with payment of bridge and other harbour fees by visiting vessels is also noted by Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation (SLAC), Managing Director Russell Voges said in an interview with The Daily Herald.
A total of 804 megayachts visited the island from January to November 2005, versus 929 during the whole year in 2004. The highest recorded monthly number of vessels entering Simpson Bay Lagoon is 227 in January 2005. Similarly, January 2004 had the highest figures for that year which was 208.
The total dollar amount paid in the bridge fees is not ready available as this needs to be audited before release. SLAC has a safety net agreement with the marinas and boatyards that guarantees that the harbour fees owed by vessels that leave without settling their payments are paid by the marinas and boatyards.
“The impression is that compliance for the larger vessels of 28 metres or larger is more or less 100 per cent. This can only be benchmarked once the Lagoon Authority has fully automated the vessel logs that record the arrival of all vessels in Simpson Bay and the Lagoon, as the present figures only reflect the payment of fees registered in the financial administration,” Voges told The Daily Herald.
Megayachts, classified as vessels of 28 metres or longer, have been required by the Bridge Fee Ordinance to pay the bridge fee since the implementation of the fees in October 2003, and compliance has steadily grown. For the last three months of 2003, when the collection of the fees first started, 155 vessels paid the relevant fee and this figure has climbed in the past two years.
When figures for January to May 2004 are compared with the same period this year, there was an increase from January to April, but in March and May there was a decrease. “We are continuing our research to find an explanation for this pattern. For the overall period, the increase was from 658 vessels to 720 vessels, being a total of 62 vessels or 9.4 percent,” Voges said.
Looking at the high season pattern and comparing the period November 2003 to April 2004 with the same period of 2004-2005, there was an increase from 771 vessels to 922 vessels, a total of 151 more visiting vessels or 19.6 per cent growth.
“If we compare the season, November 2004 to April 2005 with 922 visiting vessels with the total of 929 visiting vessels 28 metres of length or longer for the entire year 2004, we notice that in the last season’s six month period nearly as many vessels arrived as during the whole year of 2004,” he added.
Arrival figures can be traced to the island being seen in the marine industry as a good vacation destination. The hassle-free provisioning, leaning and repair services, as well as the directly available products and parts, are duty-free and there are no Customs duties and delays as in other islands, Voges stated.
The 28-metre length was chosen for the Bridge Fee Ordinance based on the view that the larger megayachts would be the ones to pay for the widening of John Sainsborough Lejeuz Bridge (commonly called the Simpson Bay Bridge). SLAC is still in the grace period of the loan repayment for the bridge widening. This period comes to an end in 2008.
In the international, marine sector, any vessel of 22.7 metres in length or more is considered a megayacht, while in the Bridge Ordinance they are classified at 28 metres length. Therefore, the figures indicate “fairly well with a slight underestimation” the number of megayachts that have visited the Simpson Bay Lagoon.
While SLAC has seen success in compliance, the authority still has to be empowered to carry out more of its responsibilities, such as issuing fines and other lagoon management related tasks. A letter seeking empowerment was sent to the Executive Council with responsibility for SLAC more than half a year ago, but this is yet to be done.
For example, SLAC does not have ownership of the bottom of the lagoon, as this is still in the hands of government. Voges said SLAC was seeking to acquire the lease rights for the lagoon bottom and water rights, as these are integral to executing projects such as installing fixed moorings for vessels.
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