Adamas Asset Management, led by Paul Heffner and Barry Lau, is a leading financial asset manager with a global network. They believe, as I do, that there is tremendous potential in the yacht charter market in Asia, with this region boasting some of the best waters in the world and there being a gap in superyacht ownership between Asia and Europe.
Adamas’s commitment and belief in our strategy is strong, and we have three superyachts in production, all specially designed for charter.
With Adamas’s global network of clients, financial muscle, combined with The Italian Sea Group’s long experience and track record in yachting, our joint venture company Adamas-TISG Asia will provide a top-of-the-line product and service offering for only the most discerning charter customers in Asia.
We will be the first company in Asia that provides brand-new superyachts for charter. We will invest more than €80 million (US$90 million) in three brand-new superyachts. One new yacht will arrive each year and each new yacht will be bigger than the previous one. This is an extremely strong commitment to our charter strategy in Asia.
The first yacht is Adamas 6, a Tecnomar Evo 120 Ice White edition, which is 36.6m long and will arrive in spring 2021. The second, Adamas 8, will be a 55m Admiral megayacht with helipad and will arrive in 2022.
With our fleet of new superyachts for charter, we will be able to provide a unique product selection for the most discerning and demanding customers in Asia.
We are also targeting European, American and Russian superyacht owners who are used to cruising the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. They would like to explore Asia’s beautiful waters, but have no time to bring their superyachts to Asia and may not have good knowledge of Asian cruising grounds.
We will provide new superyachts for them with the full service they are used to. The much older yachts you often find in the Asian charter market may not meet their standards.
Our first Tecnomar Evo 120 Ice White Edition in Asia, La Vie, has already been cruising all around Asia from Hong Kong to Sanya, Vietnam, Singapore, Qingdao, Shanghai and Phuket. This proves the cruising ability of our yachts. She has also helped us gather a lot of customer interest because of her outstanding design.
Our yachts will be based in Asia and will always be available to any superyacht charter customer in Asia, combined with our bespoke levels of service. This is what we fulfil. With this strategy, we know we will change the entire yacht charter market in Asia. As an indication, we already have six weeks of bookings on Adamas 6.
Yes. It has been 20 years since I entered the market, but I still love entertaining my friends and customers very much. Asian customers tend to entertain larger groups on their yachts and we have incorporated many designs to better serve them.
For example, our dining room has a large round table that can seat 12. This is ideal for larger dinner parties and can also serve as a boardroom for business meetings. We have also made an additional bar at the aft deck to increase the entertainment space.
Our extremely large jacuzzi on the flybridge is also extremely popular. To be able to enjoy the sun and sea, with two to three other friends or companions, is one of the highlights of being on our yacht.
On our large yachts, we will also have a complete spa and gym with full fitness facilities. The beach club design is also outstanding, although I would like to keep that under wraps until later. There is a lot to look forward to!
I have always believed absolutely in building up the best crew and technical service infrastructure for our yachts. This is the most fundamental factor for a great customer experience.
All our crew is internationally qualified, highly experienced and well-trained. The safety of our customers is our top-most priority.
We also try our very best to assist our clients with other requests that make their trip 100 per cent enjoyable, like arranging private jet travel, chauffeur service and all necessary arrangements in different locations. For us, it’s all about the customer.
Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia all possess exquisite waters to cruise in. We have a regional hub strategy for our charter services, in which customers may choose to do their business meetings in cities like Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore, and then hop on to our yacht for a few days of cruising or further relationship building. We intend to have our yachts present in all of these hubs in the near future.
We are a customer-focused company, so it all depends on us understanding the customer’s needs. There are many kinds.
We do have a lot of interest from existing yacht owners attracted to the outstanding design and features of the yacht, and they would love to take our superyachts ‘for a spin’ before making a decision.
Of course, we also have extremely affluent customers who believe in being ‘asset light’, as well as traditional charter customers looking for an unforgettable holiday on the water. For us, it’s all about satisfying the customer.