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NERO | From EUR€ 497,000/wk

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NICOLE EVELYN | From US$ 89,500/wk

KINGSHIP DRAKE 125

RUIYING 125/02

ASTERIA 126

SEABORNE 384

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A new dawn: Inside China's rising superyacht market

China emerged as the great new hope for superyachting after the 2008 crash. One spectacular false dawn later, could it finally be taking off?

If 1421 was the zenith of China’s long yachting history, when legendary eunuch admiral Zheng He purportedly led his “treasure fleet” of hundreds of junks around the world (in the process, according to one historical account, discovering America 70 years before Columbus), 2013 could be considered the nadir. For that was when President Xi Jinping – only months into office – began a crackdown on “tigers and flies”, a euphemism for those government officials and businessmen (the genres blur in China) whose greed and corruption had begun to stir public anger.

Part of his anti-corruption crusade was an eye-watering 44 per cent import tax on luxury goods and a clampdown on lavish hospitalities and personal spending. Ostentatious symbols of wealth – fast cars, lavish banquets, his-and-hers diamond-studded Rolexes, Learjet jaunts, $20,000 gift-wrapped bottles of Rémy Martin and 50-year-old Moutai rice wine, and, of course, superyachts – became highly conspicuous and drew the wrath of the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

“We must uphold the fighting of tigers and flies at the same time, resolutely investigating law-breaking cases of leading officials and also earnestly resolving the unhealthy tendencies and corruption problems which happen all around people,” Xi said at the time. Dozens have been investigated, arrested and jailed, including top ministers – so many the Qincheng maximum security prison in Beijing for disgraced senior Communist Party officials ran out of cells last year, according to credible reports. Orders for status-symbol trappings dropped off a cliff; Western luxury retailers and manufacturers saw exports nosedive.

The yacht market was especially devastated. It’s far harder to hide a superyacht than a diamond ring or a Porsche, after all. Prior to the crackdown, China’s boating sector had been inching its way towards some kind of momentum after its once illustrious sailing heritage, having been all but erased along with much of the country’s four millennia of history during Chairman Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, was resurrected for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Then the financial crisis struck the West, and China, with its seemingly armour-plated economy and near-double-digit growth, emerged as the great Eastern hope for leading yacht brands. Into the Chinese market sailed an international fleet of brokers and builders. The 14,500-kilometre coastline, stretching from the Bohai Gulf in the chilly north to the Gulf of Tonkin in the tropical south, was eyed as a prime playground for China’s new billionaire class, which grew to 338 individuals in 2017, according to data company Wealth-X. Estimates put the number of millionaires in the country at more than 1.5 million. China was about to go boating again.

Exhibitions were hastily organised, rendezvous booked and property developers broke ground on scores of prestige marinas, charging top-dollar membership and mooring fees, many starting at ¥1 million (£110,000) a year. Local boatyards followed, laying keels of copied foreign and home-grown designs, some in joint ventures with overseas shipyards, many without.

The image-conscious Chinese super-rich responded in kind and started buying foreign-branded trophy boats at up to three times the market price, and moored them in the expensive marinas. Cost was not an issue. What mattered was so-called “face” or mianzi: the projection, and protection, of one’s reputation and social standing. In the West we call it ego.

A 2012 report by the China Cruise & Yacht Industry Association found that there were 3,000 yachts of all sizes in China, and estimated that this figure would rise to 100,000 by 2020, in a market worth €10 billion. The international boating industry was washed along by this giddy, irrational wave of hyperbole. Across the board, orders for smaller superyachts went from zero – zoom! – skywards.

Local yards benefited. After years of being ignored by the domestic market, in 2010 Chinese yard Heysea received eight orders for its 82 model before it had even finished the mould. A year after the financial crash in the West, meanwhile, China recorded sales of ¥4.15 billion (£450 million), according to local media reports. “After 2008, the yacht market took off because the West’s financial crisis had negligible impact in China,” says Sunseeker Asia’s Gordon Hui from his office in Hong Kong. Jona Kan, from Australian yard SilverYachts , adds that demand suddenly grew for superyacht dayboats on which Chinese businesspeople could entertain clients.

But Icarus had flown too close to the sun. Within a couple of years, the world’s financial woes started to penetrate China’s economic model. Jobs were slashed and inflation was on the rise. Yet for the wealthy Communist Party cadres and their tycoon chums, it was business as usual. The restive masses looked expectantly – and threateningly – to Beijing to bring such conspicuous consumption to heel. President Xi responded with a dragnet that claimed scores of high-profile scalps, sending the message loud and clear: in-your-face luxury would no longer be tolerated.

Brokers’ phones stopped ringing, builders’ order books took a hit and showrooms became wastelands. All of those contacted by Boat International for this article echoed almost verbatim the sentiment expressed by Sunseeker’s Hui: “After more than three years of the anti-graft policy, the Chinese boating market has come to a halt, with a 95 per cent drop-off in sales. It has been all but dead since 2015.”

Sunseeker , bought in 2013 by China’s fourth-richest man, Wang Jianlin, has closed two of its three dealerships in mainland China. At one point, China accounted for 15 per cent of Sunseeker’s global sales. “Now it’s less than five per cent,” says Hui. Several Chinese yacht builders have gone bankrupt as hefty value added tax and duties on imported parts such as engines rendered operations unviable. Marinas have battened down the hatches, slashing their prices by half to avoid the fate of Xiangshan Yacht Club in Fujian province; billed as Asia’s largest marina when it opened, it went bust in 2014.

Yet to solely blame the anti-corruption drive and the global financial crash for China’s slumbering boating market is misguided. Prior to Xi’s clean-up, there had been attempts to build a culture of private boating after the former leader Deng Xiaoping launched economic reforms in 1981. But those attempts failed, says Hong Kong-based yacht broker Mike Simpson, of Simpson Marine, one of the region’s biggest boat dealers. Simpson agreed the import tax on foreign boats has had a near fatal impact, but he says there were already major hurdles to developing the fledgling market. “We have to remember China is relatively new to boating,” says Simpson, who set up his company in Hong Kong in 1983. “It’s been developing in fits and starts. An obvious curb on its development has been the import ban on second-hand boats, which was there before the luxury goods tax.”

He adds: “The last two to three years have been pretty desperate. I don’t think anyone has made money. Everyone’s been spending money just to stay in business in China over the past few years.”

The lack of a boating culture is also commonly cited as one reason that’s holding back the Chinese market. In the West, yachting is all about relaxing fun in the sun, a weekend jaunt from one marina to a secluded cove or island, or for sailing boat owners, the thrill of stealing an opponent’s wind during a regatta. In China, owning a yacht has been all about the optics, or “face”, and viewed by the public as the exclusive preserve of the ultra-rich. But even among this demographic, interest is limited. According to Wealth-X, just two per cent of all Chinese UHNW individuals own or even have an interest in yachting, compared to 6.7 per cent globally.

“The perception among the Chinese is that boating is for the very wealthy,” says Rocky Wang, chief representative of Burgess in China. “Many Chinese have yet to grasp what boating is all about. Boating culture remains in its very early stages. Yachting is very new to them. Those Chinese who think about buying yachts continue to do so with mainly a business objective in mind. Buyers are business owners, investors and entrepreneurs, who use the yachts as dayboats to entertain, rarely overnighting on board.”

Of the 200 yachts in the southern boom city of Shenzhen, where Deng Xiaoping launched China’s opening up and reforms half a century ago, about 70 per cent never leave the yacht club. Instead, they serve as venues to host wealthy clients and government officials; one pontoon legend has it that some boats were bought without engines because their owners never entertained the idea of going to sea.

In China, building a $30 million marina with a plush clubhouse and spa is the easy part. Not so easy is attracting the essential supplemental services: repair yards and chandlers, navigation aids, charts, a coastguard service willing to assist the stranded sailor, sail training schools and so on. A lack of trained Chinese crew is also a major problem. In China there are an estimated 60,000 sailors, mostly of school age, attending small sailing centres and learning in dinghies. Crews experienced enough to handle a 60-metre-plus seagoing vessel are a rarity. “Chinese yacht owners must, therefore, import foreign crews with the expertise to maintain and sail boats, and this comes with visa application headaches,” says Simpson.

Then there is the maddening red tape. China guards its coastal waters like a hawk; try to sail a nautical mile off Qingdao beach or a cable or two up the coast from Sanya and you’ll have patrol boats stuffed to the gunnels with uniformed boarding parties bearing down on you demanding papers; a day’s sail is treated like an invasion or a desperate escape with state secrets.

“It’s true,” concedes William Ward, CEO of the biannual round-the-world Clipper Race, which during its last edition stopped twice in China, in Sanya in the south and Qingdao in the north. “The government protects the inshore waters as it would an inland military installation. It’s overbearing, there’s too much red tape, and you just don’t need that. You need to be able just to hop on your boat, slip your lines and head out for some safe fun and relaxation, just as we can in the UK, or in the Med and everywhere else,” he says.

Then there’s China’s geography. Part of the appeal of cruising is exploring idyllic archipelagos or mooring off a chic seaside town. Only in the south, around the island of Hainan, can you find good cruising with accommodating marinas. Even then, as Ward recently experienced, just heading out for a day’s jaunt demands official clearance to slip your lines, which may or may not be granted.

Little wonder those Chinese who own a superyacht, or are still in the market for one, seek to moor their pride and joy outside China, in places like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, while the ultra-wealthy look to the US and the Med.

Not for the first time, there might be signs of a new dawn appearing for China’s boating market. In April, the Pride Mega Yachts shipyard in Yantai, China, rolled out the spec-built 88.5 metre superyacht Illusion Plus , which later appeared at the Monaco Yacht Show. She’s now listed for sale , asking $145 million. If she sells well, it will be a sign of faith in Chinese yacht building.

Chinese conglomerates are once more seeking to own international superyacht brands. China Zhongwang, the world’s second-largest producer of industrial aluminium extrusion products, recently acquired a controlling interest in Australia’s SilverYachts, which builds high-speed, fuel-efficient superyachts from high-grade aluminium. The yard’s commercial director, Jona Kan, says the boatbuilder will soon announce the acquisition of a shipyard in the Pearl River Delta.

Sunbird, a Chinese conglomerate with five shipyards including a large commercial facility, added IAG Yachts to its varied portfolio in 2015, and turned out to solid reviews the 42.7 metre  King Baby , the largest fibreglass motor yacht ever produced in China.

Heysea Yachts, founded in 2007 and one of China’s largest yacht builders, was a new entry in the Boat International Global Order Book’s Top 20 builders in 2018 and holds its place in this year’s report. Chairman Allen Leng says the company is seeing more interest from domestic buyers because it is adapting to local tastes, by placing the galley down below and including more living and entertainment space, with fewer cabins. “There is an increased number of Chinese clients who better understand the culture of boating and the lifestyle it offers; that boat ownership is more than having a floating platform for business and to boost one’s image,” says Leng. “More Chinese customers are accepting that China-made yachts offer quality and the same after-sales service as foreign brands. We’re also noticing a demand for smaller yachts, which shows the link between sailing and sport and leisure, and that boating is not just a rich person’s pursuit.”

Horizon Yachts says its product range, including new projects such as the FD series, are proving popular with Chinese clients, who are becoming more sophisticated in their tastes. “For example, a buyer in Shanghai or in Sanya will moor their yacht in a yacht club and let the club manage it. In the past five years, we have delivered a 120ft [36.5 metre] superyacht and 145ft [44.2 metre] superyacht, both to clients in Shanghai,” says Horizon Yachts’ chief marketing officer, Lily Li.

Simpson Marine’s Mike Simpson estimates that around 50 per cent of yachts being bought in China are now locally built. “The standard is improving,” he says. “Sometimes you have to do a double-take when you see yachts coming: you think it’s a well-known foreign brand. Then you look again and it’s actually a locally made boat.”

Sunseeker’s Hui also expresses modest optimism. “I think the market overall is getting better, albeit slowly,” he concedes. “I can say 70 per cent of our 2015 to 2018 customers are mainland Chinese with overseas-listed companies. But their boats are all outside China.”

Grassroots sailing and crew training recently received a much-needed boost. In April, the UK’s then deputy ambassador to China, Martyn Roper, and the president of the Chinese Yachting Association, Qu Chun, signed deals to open three training centres to bring Chinese seamanship up to British standards. The centres will offer the UK’s Royal Yachting Association courses. In the UK, seven per cent of the population goes boating. If the same percentage could be replicated in China, that would mean 80 million people taking confidently to the water.

Simpson says a new initiative called the Greater Bay Area development scheme is seeking to unify nine mainland coastal cities to allow yachts licensed in Hong Kong and Macau to cruise in the good southern cruising areas around Hainan without paying a hefty tax. And there is quiet and determined diplomacy afoot calling for Beijing to relax and standardise coastal regulations. Ward, the Clipper Race CEO, says he has been speaking to officials at city and provincial levels who understand the benefits of rationalising China’s sailing industry and its associated tourist trade. “I have spoken with many officials and they get this point. They understand the [stifling red tape] situation, and they’re passing these concerns up to Beijing, that leisure sailing is a different culture and is good for local and regional business,” he says.

There are signs of a cultural shift, too. At the 2018  Shanghai Boat Show , many of the exhibitors were proposing something different – more accessible yachting, with small fishing boats and cruisers standing cheek by jowl with the bigger craft, says Delphine Lignières, co-founder of the Hainan Rendez-Vous. “Contrary to myth, many Chinese enjoy watersports, including sailing and fishing. What I have seen now is more and more people boating on inland freshwater lakes in smaller-sized boats.

“That’s where I see the market developing this time, with smaller recreational boats being bought for use on lakes, rivers and estuaries. This will help establish a boating culture, and over time, the boats will again get bigger and bigger. And not in such a conspicuous way.”

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Luxury yachts made in china.

McConaghy’s shipyard in China produces some of the best yachts in the world

Largest 'Made-In-China' Superyacht Finds A Buyer

A mega yacht measuring 88.8 meters—the largest ever built in China—announced its sale in a press release on Monday. The yacht, built by Pride Mega Yachts, is part of the company’s bid to spur interest among China’s ultra-rich. The yachtmaker spared no expense customizing the yacht to Chinese tastes, from luxurious wood and natural stone finishes to specifying the yacht length to 88.8 meters (the number eight, or  ba is auspicious in Chinese  culture because it sounds like the word for “prosper,” or  fa ).

Neither the buyer nor the price of the yacht was mentioned, but the press release “thanked” yacht charter and brokerage Blue Water Yachting and yacht broker Jan Jaap Minnema of Fraser Yachts “for their help throughout the course of this transaction.” It was not mentioned what role both entities played in the sale of the Illusion.

The Illusion is a six-deck vessel, replete with multiple lounges, an ocean deck, a helicopter landing pad, and VIP and guest suites. The ship was sold even before it is completed. And it is expected to be delivered by October 2015.

Pride Mega Yachts, previously known as “Pryde” and “Raffles Yacht," is owned by China International Marine Containers Group Ltd. The mega-yacht Illusion and its eventual 115-meter successor Estatement are part of the group’s plan for a shot at posterity among international luxury yacht builders.

Yachts are still a  novel luxury among China’s ultra-rich , and yachtmakers are increasingly turning their eye to this young market. According to a spokesperson from Pride Mega Yachts, “[The] success of such a significant sale is proof that the superyacht industry is buoyant and that sales of large yachts are flourishing once again. I believe the sale is another sign that the market as a whole is doing very well. The interest from potential buyers is on the rise, particularly for large mega yachts, evident by the increased number of inquiries.”

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Fareast 28R: a new sub-30ft sportsboat with an impressive price tag

• Belinda Bird
• June 17, 2015

This Chinese-built sportsboat is a simple, affordable and practical one-design, aimed at the inshore racing market. Matthew Sheahan steps aboard

Looking the part with her dreadnought bow, the Fareast 28R shows few outward signs of her very appealing price tag. Photo: Lasse Eklöf

Just over a year ago a little-known Chinese yard, the Shanghai Fareast Boats Co, made a big impression at the Düsseldorf boat show with a rocket red, all-carbon, downwind master-blaster.

Having moved from its familiar and modest stand of previous years, where it was pressed up against a wall in a corner of the show, the company placed its sportsboat-style Fareast 31R centre stage on a new stand in the middle of the hall.

But while she drew plenty of attention, she didn’t draw orders. One year later, after three had been built, just one was sold. The big red hope hadn’t materialised.

But Shanghai Fareast Boats isn’t a company that gives up easily. Indeed, although you might not have heard of them, many parents who have shelled out for a new Optimist have.

The company was founded in 2002 and shortly afterwards was licensed by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to build the Optimist. Today it is the biggest builder of the class in the world and, along with the 420 that it also builds, it pumped out 1,500 dinghies in total last year.

Yet despite the company’s ability to build big numbers to small tolerances and its experience of a couple of small keelboat models in its range, the 31R was clearly too ambitious a step. Undeterred and guided by the design team that had drawn the 31R, Simonis/Voogd, along with international sales and marketing consultant Mats Runström, the company made another attempt at producing an exciting, open cockpit one-design racer. But this time it took a different approach.

Whereas the 31R was full of carbon with a €108,000 price tag to match, the only carbon in the 28R is in the keel fin and rudder blade. Elsewhere she’s a straightforward vacuum-infused, glass foam sandwich with a price tag around one-third that of her flashy red sistership.

Yet dropping the price hasn’t meant a commensurate drop in quality – far from it. In fact, she’s really pretty well-built throughout, something that was easy to see in the empty interior. I had a good rummage around the shell-like accommodation, where a tidy bag and some non slip were the only furnishings, and I was impressed. She’s clean, tidy and with no sharp edges – there are plenty of boats on the market at twice the price and half the quality of finish.

Aimed at the inshore market

Intended as a simple, affordable and practical one-design, she is aimed at the inshore racing market and nothing else. Her open cockpit, fractional rig, retractable bowsprit and contemporary dreadnought bow means that she’s every bit the modern sportsboat in a size range that is starting to take off. Yet she’s a much simpler boat all round than some of her competition in the sub-30ft field.

For starters, her deck layout is a modest affair; the jib cars are on pin-stop tracks rather than having lines to haul the cars back and forth. Most of her control lines run over the deck rather than under it and rope tails are stowed away in cockpit rope bags as you’d expect rather than disappearing below deck through individual tidy holes.

The offset companionway is very much in vogue for windward-leeward racing

Her sail plan is more modest too than, say, the grunty Farr 280, and the asymmetric kite is launched from the offset companionway out of a simple kite bag rather than through a chute affair on the foredeck. She’s basic in her spec and conventional in her layout and as such is very easy to get to grips with.

The first thing you notice, though, as you take the helm is how large the rudder is by modern standards. If you’re more used to a rudder blade with the proportions of a bread knife and a finger-light sensitive feel, the rock solid feel of this chunky carbon blade is almost retro. Yet in the context of a boat designed to provide open-cockpit, dinghy-style, one-design fun across a wide range of abilities, that’s no bad thing.

No one likes their rudder to let go with no warning and this one certainly won’t; your arms will come out of their sockets first.

Impressed with her performance

For our trials in the centre of Stockholm, deep in the middle of winter (don’t ask), there was only 8-10 knots of breeze with the odd gust hitting 12 knots scurrying across billiard table flat water. Hardly a punishing test, but I was impressed with this boat’s performance. Even in this light breeze she picked up speed easily and quickly, regularly slipping along downwind at 8-9 knots with occasional bursts over 11 knots.

Like any boat with a large asymmetric kite she needs to be sailed pretty flat to unload the foils in order to let her off the lead. This is a doddle with the huge, powerful rudder. Indeed, fighting it simply puts the handbrake on and wears your arms out so there’s plenty of incentive not to. Upwind she slipped along at around 6.5 knots.

A large masthead kite makes for a powerful downwind sailplan. Photo: Lasse Eklöf

But uphill or down, she seemed to know her way and fell into the groove with ease. Controls were close to hand and everything worked. Furthermore, she’s well-balanced, easy to handle and has plenty of space to accommodate however many of your crew it takes to achieve the proposed crew weight limit of 450kg.

Among the few criticisms that I did have, comfort upwind for the helmsman was disappointing. A combination of narrow side decks and foot braces that were too close made life more uncomfortable than should be the case. Her builders are aware of this and looking into the possibility of moving the foot braces, which would help matters.

But apart from that and in the absence of a good pounding around a breezy racecourse, I can say there really is little else not to like about this boat, which will be a worry for builders such as J Boats and other more expensive machines.

Other advantages include a lifting keel, a slim max beam at 2.70m and a displacement of 1,360kg, which means that she can be towed easily behind a decent-sized car.

But the real clincher given all of the above is that she has a very attractive price tag that starts at US$38,000 ex works China. The company plans to build 150 this year. So far around 40 have been built, with 70 earmarked for countries outside China. So this time the company looks as if it might have struck the right formula.

Looking closer

So while the 28R will provide stiff competition in Europe and the USA for models costing twice that price and more, the overall effect could be a benefit to all racers by helping to build a new class of sub-30ft fast, open-cockpit racers for a broad range of pockets – which can only be a good thing.

A simple, spacious cockpit can cater for five crew easily, but the narrow side decks and position of the foot braces make the cockpit less comfortable for the helmsman

Pit area – this is simple to operate with the minimum of controls: pole in and out, kite and jib halyards, a kicker and a cunningham so no excuse to fumble

The mainsheet system comes standard with a coarse and fine-tune system with conventional traveller control line adjustments close to hand

Her dreadnought bow gives her a modern look. But the clever detail is the simple, centreline-mounted bowsprit

Below decks the alloy retractable bowsprit runs inside an alloy tube. Note the simple, but well-finished structure

No fancy below decks chainplates here, just simple stainless steel brackets for a set of conventional rigging screws

A large powerful rudder in carbon fibre gives heaps of grip long after your arms have come out of their sockets. Note the outboard bracket – there is no inboard engine

Specifications

LOA 8.55m/28ft 0in

Beam 2.75m/9ft 0in

Draught 1.70m/5ft 7in

Displacement 1,360kg/2,997lb

Upwind 44m 2 /474ft 2

Downwind 115m 2 /1,238ft 2

Price US$38,000 (£25,620) ex works, ex tax

Designed by Simonis/Voogd

Built by Shanghai Fareast Boats Co

www.fareastyachts.com

This is an extract from a feature in Yachting World May 2015

• Chinese, Simplified

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Revealed: China’s new ‘drone-craft carrier’ threatening the West

China may have quietly built the world’s first “dedicated” drone carrier to add to its expanding naval fleet, according to new satellite images from a Chinese shipyard.

The images of the ship, whose design is approximately one third the length and half the width of a US Navy or Chinese Navy (Plan) super carrier, were first reported by Naval News and analysed by J. Michael Dahm, a senior resident fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

Their analysis pointed to a form of aircraft carrier with a marked runway and a flight deck wide enough to operate aircraft or drones with a wingspan of around 20 metres (65 feet) such as Chinese equivalents of the Predator drone.

The new ship has not been publicised by Beijing but, if verified, experts say it could underscore China’s aims to advance the use of drones in naval warfare and would put the Chinese military at the forefront of the global race to develop such drone carriers.

A number of countries have announced designs for drone carriers, including Peru, the Netherlands and Iran, said Jennifer Parker, an Australian National University defence expert and former naval officer, but no one has yet done it.

“If this is confirmed to be a vessel dedicated only to drones, this is significant as it is the first thought to have been built,” she said.

“To determine its potential effectiveness, you would need to have an understanding of what UAV capabilities it will be operating, and how it will be fitted into the wider joint force.”

‘Impressive appetite to innovate’

The initial analysis of the vessel notes that its hull is a widely spaced catamaran with a very low flight deck. It does not appear designed to support high tempo or prolonged flight operations.

Mr Dahm concludes that while it has been built at the Jiangsu Dayang Marine, a shipyard that has previously been contracted by the PLAN, it is unclear whether the ship is a speculative commercial project or part of an official naval programme.

If verified as a UAV carrier for the PLAN it would show an “impressive appetite to innovate, at scale, assuming all the development risks that come along with such experiments,” said Dr Euan Graham, a senior analyst at the Australian Stategic Policy Institute.

Other navies would learn by China’s example and “that’s an important shift in its own right,” he said.

It would also signal the navy had been instructed to press ahead with power projection over potentially long distances, Dr Graham added.

“Drones may be changing the face of modern warfare, but you still have to get them to the battlefield. And in the Pacific, that means projection over vast distances. And that brings vulnerabilities in common with conventional aircraft carriers,” he said.

“The fact that this appears to be a “bare bones” platform, without visible hangars or arresting gear, suggests it might be seen as more risk-worthy than the PLA’s existing carriers for crewed aircraft.”

Although it remains unknown what UAVs China could operate from the vessel, they could potentially be launched one-way to strike ships or land targets, he said.

Given the rapid pace at which China is expanding its naval capabilities to match its growing global maritime ambitions, analysts say it is to be expected that it would strive to develop new innovations like drone carriers.

China has already built the world’s largest naval fleet , with more than 370 warships, and this month conducted the first sea trial of its third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian.

“I would expect that drones are being integrated into conventional vessels’ operations,” said Drew Thompson, a former US defence official and now senior visiting research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore

“It is unsurprising that the PLA Navy is developing dedicated drone carriers that could conduct unmanned vehicle missions at larger scale,” he said.

“Dedicated platforms carrying large numbers of drones could use unique approaches, such as saturation strikes against well-defended targets, or other missions such as surveillance over wider areas than could be covered with a smaller number of vehicles.”

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Reliable Chinese boat builders

Discussion in ' Services & Employment ' started by watchkeeper , Oct 18, 2012 .

watchkeeper Previous Member

If anyone is considering expat employment, purchasing a production built boat or building any type of craft with a Chinese company there are a few basics rules you need to be aware of and those companies to steer well clear of. If a buyer or job seeker wants background details of a production company or boat builder, products, capability, QA, trade history and warranty support I can research the relevant company. I recently investigated a company on behalf of a client and regardless of their website claims my research found faulty workmanship, poor quality Chinese made equipment installed, electrical and engineering issues plus non compliance with contracts, breach of contract and vessels delivered under performing requirments. There are a good number of Chinese companies that do deliver the goods as per contract, there are as many that do not.  

HakimKlunker Andreas der Juengere

Don't worry: My dog does not bite. Oops - he never did that before. Whenever I tried Chinese goods for boat building, I have been disappointed. And that was not only low cost stuff.  

Frosty Previous Member

Chinese reteraunts are often found sell dog meat in UK . This practice of making mas profit from cheapest supplies is well known . It will be a long time before China rids itself of this opinion. Its not just China but the Chinese mentality. Look at a Chines grave yard, each tomb is beautifully tiled on the front with decorative effects. Just step behind and you have plaster and paper holding it all up. Ive looked at these things many time amazed at the sloppy work. Its the cheapest possible way to have built that tomb yet made it look good. This is chinese mentality. As some one else said recently on this forum <rude remark directed towards chinese in general removed> Im with Hakim on this one but Im sure other less experienced may have different point of view and once bought something from China they were pleased with.  

watchkeeper; said: I recently investigated a company on behalf of a client and regardless of their website claims my research found faulty workmanship, poor quality Chinese made equipment installed, electrical and engineering issues plus non compliance with contracts, breach of contract and vessels delivered under performing requirments. Click to expand...

Mainstrean Chinese don't eat dog meat, they do eat donkey and there is an area of the outer Mongolia where the people do dine on dog specially breed for the plate as do the mountain people of the Philippines and Indonesia. Several Chinese resturants have substitued cat for chicken  

It was mostly Alsatian found hanging in the freezers.and yes it was not meant for traditional chines dishes but for the English curries to the drunks after chucking out time.  

Frosty said: ↑ It was mostly Alsatian found hanging in the freezers.and yes it was not meant for traditional chines dishes but for the English curries to the drunks after chucking out time. Click to expand...

Would you recognize your dog without its head, skin or paws , They kinda look like lamb at that stage --its only from DNA testing. Being partial to a curry after chuck out myself I never noticed anything. I just really really hope those were really water chestnuts There is a dog in the next road that will be pushing up daisie if it runs me over into the oncoming traffic again. Thats twice now. One magic sausage coming up, tell you what make it a dozen and wipe the street out.  

Frosty said: ↑ Would you recognize your dog without its head, skin or paws , They kinda look like lamb at that stage --its only from DNA testing. Being partial to a curry after chuck out myself I never noticed anything. I just really really hope those were really water chestnuts There is a dog in the next road that will be pushing up daisie if it runs me over into the oncoming traffic again. Thats twice now. One magic sausage coming up, tell you what make it a dozen and wipe the street out. Click to expand...

jak3b Junior Member

reliable chinese---------- fill in the blank, belongs with jumbo shrimp,reality TV,etc etc  

WestVanHan Not a Senior Member

I'm surprised tunnels hasn't chimed in here,he had a go at me for preferring to buy locally built boats as opposed to Chinese built ones. Ironically,the New Zealander who's working in China because...people didn't buy locally.  

The whole industry is a conundrum, ANZ have very good designers and deliver world beating quality but few locals can afford to buy because local wages & labour rates are to high. There are several aluminium and GRP builders in China that produce very good quality builds with expat supervision but Chinese companies generally can't design or can't style or even build sea worthy boats. I've seen some real death traps, guaranteed widow makers designed & built in China Chinese buyers with money only buy imported boats because of the prestige (face) and value. The buyers with limited funds will buy the cheaper locally built boats because owning a boat its the thing to do but then hardly ever take them out. A few expats have tried setting up yacht brokerage agencies in China to sell yachts to Chinese - waste of time and money. The only real buyer in China is Govt Corporations - port authourity pilot boats, patrol boats, SAR and work boats. My company supplies aluminium hulls we fabricate in China, to either deliver turn key finished or deliver the hull only for the owner to finish with his builder of choice.  

myark Senior Member

I am in China this moment manufacturing a new design amphibious water craft from aluminium and titanium. I find CNC and EDM machining far superior than New Zealand and of course many times less cost with excellent service and the respect that is outstanding.  

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myark said: ↑ I am in China this moment manufacturing a new design amphibious water craft from aluminium and titanium. I find CNC and EDM machining far superior than New Zealand and of course many times less cost with excellent service and the respect that is outstanding. Click to expand...

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China Builds World’s First Dedicated Drone Carrier

China has built the world's first dedicated drone carrier. the ship has not been reported however and many of the circumstances surrounding it remain a mystery..

H I Sutton 15 May 2024

Hidden away in a shipyard on the Yangtze, far upriver from the major yards at Shanghai, is a new aircraft carrier. It’s China’s fourth, a ship whose mere existence has not been reported before. Only China can build an aircraft carrier in relative secrecy.

This ship, launched in December 2022 but not reported until now, is surrounded by mystery. Naval News, together with J. Michael Dahm, Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute , have been analyzing it.

Mysterious Drone Carrier

The world knows about China’s first three carriers; the largest and most capable, the Type-003 Fujian, is currently undergoing sea trials . This new carrier is very different. Its claim to fame will not be that it is larger. Instead, we are confident that this ship is the world’s first dedicated fixed-wing drone carrier.

The design is smaller than the regular aircraft carriers, with a flight deck approximately one third the length and half the width of a U.S. Navy or Chinese Navy (PLAN) super carrier. For comparison, it is slightly shorter but wider than a World War Two escort carriers. It would be possible to operate fixed wing aircraft from it, but its straight deck arrangement would be anachronistic, not allowing aircraft to take off and land at the same time. Additionally there doesn’t appear to be space for a typical aircraft hangar, so the number of aircraft would be greatly limited. It does make sense as a drone carrier however.

Drones are an increasing part of naval warfare. Leading navies are already trialing them from regular aircraft carriers. And some navies, notably Iran and Turkey, are working on plans for ‘drone carriers’. But this space is still in its infancy.

Analysis of the ship

It is immediately apparent that it is, in general arrangement, an aircraft carrier of some sort. It has a marked runaway running along the port (left side) with an island superstructure on the starboard (right) side. 

Beyond this, it is unusual in every respect. The hull is a widely spaced catamaran. While catamarans are often featured in aircraft carrier concepts because they allow a large deck area, no one has actually built one before. Additionally, analysis of satellite imagery shows that the flight deck is very low. It appears unlikely there is a hangar deck below the flight deck. If there is, its ceiling is very low. Therefore, it does not appear designed to support high tempo or prolonged flight operations. 

The flight deck is wide enough to comfortably operate aircraft or drones with a wingspan of around 20 meters (65 feet) such as Chinese equivalents of the Predator drone. 

However, the mere existence of a flight deck suggests that aircraft intend to land on it. A catapult or launch rail of some form would be sufficient for launch if recovery wasn’t necessary.

Potential roles for this ship

J. Michael Dahm notes that the shipyard where it is being built, Jiangsu Dayang Marine, has previously built simulated enemy ships for the PLAN. China has an extensive program of simulating Western and Western-leaning navies’ ships in its weapon testing program. Its anti-ship ballistic missiles are tested on full-size outlines of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers .

Several high-tech target barges and two large dr one motherships have already been built at this shipyard. All these perform as opposing forces in training, a role known as ‘Electronic Blue Force’. So it is possible that this ship too is designed to support that mission.

Whether it is intended for Blue Force simulation or purely research and development remains to be seen. Similarly, we question whether it is an official PLAN program or a speculative commercial project. The new drone carrier remains something of a mystery. Watch this space.

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China navy secretly built what could be world's first drone aircraft carrier: report

• China has secretly built what could be the world's first drone carrier, an analyst said.
• The report pointed to the vessel's size to guess at its primary mission. 
• Having a drone carrier would allow China to use different types of drones to attack, an analyst told BI.

China's navy has secretly built what could be the world's first dedicated drone carrier ship, according to Naval News, a squat ship that looks like a mini-aircraft carrier.

The outlet used satellite imagery dated May 6, along with input from J. Michael Dahm, a senior resident fellow for aerospace and China studies at the Mitchell Institute.

"We are confident that this ship is the world's first dedicated fixed-wing drone carrier," it said. Other experts, however, cautioned that only time would tell its purpose.

***BREAKING*** #China has built the world’s first dedicated drone carrier. It’s about the size of escort carriers of World War Two. #OSINT https://t.co/nmUpdqO3YX — H I Sutton (@CovertShores) May 15, 2024

The report cited the vessel's flight deck length, which it said is about one-third the length and half the width of a Chinese or US Navy aircraft carrier. It's also roughly half the length of China's amphibious assault ships that launch manned helicopters, suggesting that the new ship's flight deck is designed for fewer helicopters or smaller aircraft like drones.

Warships' flight decks have been bases for drones like the US's MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter and the lightweight Scan Eagle drone. What appears new is that the Chinese ship's entire function may be to launch and land drones, although its purpose will only be confirmed by future observations of its testing and operations.

The report estimated that the flight deck was wide enough to allow aircraft or drones with a wingspan of roughly 65 feet, like the Chinese equivalents of the Reaper drone, to operate from it.

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Citing satellite imagery, the report also said that the flight deck appears to be "very" low, suggesting there's no hangar below for aircraft storage and maintenance like those of assault ships and carriers. As seen, the ship appears to be well under the length of a Chinese frigate.

Alessio Patalano, a professor of war and strategy in East Asia at the Department of War Studies at King's College London, backed up the assessment.

He told BI that the platform's flattop and compact deck, together with the reportedly catamaran-like hull, suggest that it will be used for drones; the US has also experimented with launching drones from catamaran-style ferries, but the ship's flight deck is much smaller.

Patalano also said it would make sense for the Chinese navy to keep its trials largely hidden from international scrutiny.

But Lyle Goldstein, Director of Asia Engagement at the DC-based think tank Defense Priorities, said he would hesitate to call it a drone carrier based on just one satellite image.

Strategically, however, he said it would make a lot of sense.

Drones have a relatively small range, limiting their deployment away from the coastline, Goldstein told BI, so having a carrier would give the Chinese navy a "robust" network and allow drones of different types to attack.

"I spend a lot of time looking at Taiwan scenarios, and I think China would be looking to really deploy huge amounts of these exploding drones as its main weapon," he said.

The possible drone mothership was spotted only weeks after China's third carrier started sea trials .

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China Deploys Dozens of Ships to Block Philippine Protest Flotilla

Filipino civilians set sail in fishing boats to oppose China’s control of a shoal claimed by the Philippines. A formidable Chinese fleet awaited them.

By Chris Buckley and Camille Elemia

China has sent dozens of coast guard and maritime militia vessels toward a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, a large show of force aimed at blocking a civilian protest flotilla from the Philippines, as tensions between the countries have flared.

The Filipino group organizing the flotilla of about 100 small fishing boats, led by five slightly bigger ones, said it wanted to assert the Philippines’ claims to Scarborough Shoal , an atoll controlled by Beijing that is closer to Manila.

But even before the motley Philippine fleet set out on Wednesday morning, China deployed a formidable contingent of much bigger government-run ships to the area, an intimidating escalation of its frequent assertions of control over vast expanses of sea far from its mainland.

“What we’re seeing this time, I would say, is definitely of another order,” said Ray Powell, the director of SeaLight , a group that monitors the South China Sea. “I think that the China Coast Guard is concerned that they’re going to try to sort of get too close, and so they’re sending an overwhelming force.”

Standoffs and close brushes between Filipino coast guard or civilian vessels and China’s larger coast guard and militia ships — which have used powerful water cannons to drive Philippine vessels away — have become more frequent in the past two years. This time, the size of the Chinese presence and the large number of civilian Filipino boats could make any encounter near the shoal more risky, Mr. Powell said.

“If China decides that they want to send the message that says, ‘We’ve had enough of this,’ then the scary thing you would not want to see is one of these small Filipino fishing boats hit by a water cannon, because that would not end well,” he said.

Rafaela David, one of the leaders of Atin Ito , the Filipino organization coordinating the protest at sea, said the group would not be deterred from trying to reach the atoll, which the Philippines calls Panatag Shoal. The fishing boats were expected to take about 20 hours to get there.

“We should normalize and regularize civilian access,” Ms. David said at a news briefing on Tuesday in Botolan, a town on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon. She said the number of protest boats would show that Filipinos are “not intimidated by someone as big as China.”

The group’s chances of breaking China’s hold on Scarborough Shoal , about 138 miles west of Luzon, seem slim.

By Tuesday, China had positioned five coast guard ships and six maritime militia vessels near the shoal and had another 25 or so maritime militia vessels sitting roughly 60 miles further out, said Mr. Powell, whose group is part of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University. That estimate, he added, did not include Chinese vessels that either do not carry automatic identification signal devices, which allow them to be tracked, or have turned off their devices in order to “go dark.”

Officials with the Philippine Navy and coast guard said they were deploying ships to escort the civilian Philippine flotilla.

On Wednesday, the Chinese government warned the Filipino protesters against nearing the shoal, which Beijing calls Huangyan Island.

“If the Philippine side abuses China’s good will and violates China’s territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction, China will defends its rights and take countermeasures in accordance with the law,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a news conference in Beijing. “The responsibility and consequences will entirely rest with the Philippine side.”

Relations between Manila and Beijing have worsened in the past two years over their maritime disputes.

Since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was elected president of the Philippines in 2022, he has revived ties with the United States and pushed back against China’s claims to shoals and outcrops near the Philippines. Beijing, in turn, has stepped up coast guard and maritime militia operations to guard its claims.

On Monday, China’s coast guard said that it had started sea rescue training near Scarborough Shoal “to ensure the safety of people onboard vessels that are coming and going.”

Manila has also accused Beijing of taking steps to turn another disputed atoll, Sabina Shoal, which sits about 83 miles northwest of the Philippine island of Palawan, into an artificial island, and it sent a coast guard and a navy ship to the area. On Monday, Beijing rejected the accusation.

The Scarborough Shoal has been under Chinese control since 2012, when Beijing wrested it from Manila in a weekslong standoff. Filipino fishermen had long worked in the resource-rich shoal, but since then their access has been restricted and sporadic.

In 2016, an international tribunal established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea rejected China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea and ruled that the shoal is a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China and Vietnam. China has ignored that ruling and continued to entrench its control across much of the sea, including Scarborough Shoal.

Atin Ito, the group organizing the Philippine flotilla, is a coalition of religious activists, civic groups and organizations representing fishermen. The name means “This Is Ours,” and the group has sought to galvanize the public behind peacefully asserting the Philippines’ claims in what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

Atin Ito held a similar protest last year , sending boats to the Second Thomas Shoal — a disputed atoll, also known as Ayungin Shoal, that is held by Filipino navy personnel on a grounded ship. But those boats turned back after constant shadowing by Chinese vessels, which have used water cannons against Philippine ships that have tried to deliver supplies to the grounded ship.

This time, the Atin Ito mission appears larger and may be bolder. The group said it planned to drop off food and fuel for any Filipino fishing boats in the area. Along the way, the flotilla also began dropping buoys bearing the message “WPS, Atin Ito” — that is, the West Philippine Sea is ours.

Chris Buckley , the chief China correspondent for The Times, reports on China and Taiwan from Taipei, focused on politics, social change and security and military issues. More about Chris Buckley

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Chinese coast guard shadows Filipino activists sailing toward disputed shoal

The disputed shoal is in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s coast guard and suspected militia ships have used powerful water cannons to ward off what they regard as intruders. Activists and volunteers belonging to a nongovernment coalition called Atin Ito planned to float small territorial buoys and distribute food packs and fuel to Filipino fishermen near the shoal.

In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, fishing boats carrying activists and volunteers belonging to a nongovernment coalition called Atin Ito, Tagalog for This is Ours, pass by waters off Palauig Point, Zambales province, northwestern Philippines as they head towards Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday May 15, 2024. A flotilla of about 100 mostly small fishing boats led by Filipino activists sailed Wednesday to a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s coast guard and suspected militia ships have used powerful water cannons to ward off what they regard as intruders. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)

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In this photo provided by Atin-Ito/Akbayan Party, activists and volunteers on fishing boats begin their journey at Masinloc, Zambales province, northwestern Philippines on Wednesday May 15, 2024. A flotilla of about 100 mostly small fishing boats led by Filipino activists sailed Wednesday to a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s coast guard and suspected militia ships have used powerful water cannons to ward off what they regard as intruders. (Atin-Ito/Akbayan Party via AP)

In this photo provided by Atin-Ito/Akbayan Party, belonging to a nongovernment coalition called Atin Ito, Tagalog for This is Ours, place symbolic bouys in the waters off Palauig Point, Zambales province, northwestern Philippines before heading towards Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday May 15, 2024. A flotilla of about 100 mostly small fishing boats led by Filipino activists sailed Wednesday to a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s coast guard and suspected militia ships have used powerful water cannons to ward off what they regard as intruders. (Atin-Ito/Akbayan Party via AP)

FILE - This undated photo provided by Philippine Coast Guard on Sept. 26, 2023, a diver cutting rope tied to a floating barrier in the Scarborough Shoal, South China Sea. A flotilla of about 100 mostly small fishing boats led by Filipino activists sailed Wednesday, May 15, 2024 to a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s coast guard and suspected militia ships have used powerful water cannons to ward off what they regard as intruders.(Philippine Coast Guard via AP, File)

In this photo provided by Atin-Ito/Akbayan Party, activists and volunteers begin their journey at Masinloc, Zambales province, northwestern Philippines on Wednesday May 15, 2024. A flotilla of about 100 mostly small fishing boats led by Filipino activists sailed Wednesday to a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s coast guard and suspected militia ships have used powerful water cannons to ward off what they regard as intruders. (Atin-Ito/Akbayan Party via AP)

In this photo provided by Atin-Ito/Akbayan Party, activists and volunteers on fishing boats prepare for their journey at Masinloc, Zambales province, northwestern Philippines on Wednesday May 15, 2024. A flotilla of about 100 mostly small fishing boats led by Filipino activists sailed Wednesday to a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s coast guard and suspected militia ships have used powerful water cannons to ward off what they regard as intruders. (Atin-Ito/Akbayan Party via AP)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese coast guard ships shadowed a group of Filipino activists and fishermen sailing on wooden boats toward a disputed shoal in the South China Sea which Beijing has fiercely guarded from what it regards as intruders.

The Philippine coast guard deployed three patrol ships and a light plane to keep watch from a distance on the group of about 100 people who set off from western Zambales province to assert Manila’s sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal and surrounding waters. Dozens of journalists joined the three-day voyage.

The navy also dispatched a ship to help keep an eye on the participants.

The four wooden boats carrying the Filipinos were still far from the shoal when at least two Chinese coast guard ships began shadowing them at nightfall, said Emman Hizon, one of the organizers, adding that the participants remained in high spirits and would not turn back.

Some chanted “Atin Ito” — the name of the group, which means “This is ours” in Tagalog — repeatedly after they spotted the Chinese coast guard ships.

“Atin Ito contingent will continue with its course,” Hizon said.

“Our boats are exercising evasive maneuvers while the Philippine coast guard continues to maintain its close distance to the convoy to thwart any further attempt from Chinese coast guard vessels,” Hizon said

The convoy was expected to reach the area of the shoal Thursday morning, the organizers said, adding they would seek to avoid confrontations but were ready for any contingencies. The group plans to lay down symbolic territorial buoys and provide food packs and fuel to Filipino fishermen in the high seas near the shoal.

“Our mission is peaceful, based on international law and aimed at asserting our sovereign rights,” said Rafaela David, a lead organizer. “We will sail with determination, not provocation, to civilianize the region and safeguard our territorial integrity.”

In December, the group mounted an expedition to another disputed shoal but cut the trip short after being tailed by a Chinese ship.

China effectively seized Scarborough Shoal, a triangle-shaped atoll with a vast fishing lagoon ringed by mostly submerged coral outcrops, by surrounding it with its coast guard ships after a tense 2012 standoff with Philippine government ships.

Angered by China’s action, the Philippine government brought the territorial disputes to international arbitration in 2013 and largely won, with a tribunal in The Hague ruling three years later that China’s expansive claims based on historical grounds in the busy seaway were invalid under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The ruling declared Scarborough Shoal a traditional fishing area for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese fishermen. In the past, fishermen have anchored in the shoal to avoid large waves in the high seas in stormy weather.

China refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected the outcome and continues to defy it.

Two weeks ago, Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships used water cannons on Philippine coast guard and fisheries ships patrolling Scarborough Shoal, damaging both vessels.

The Philippines condemned the Chinese coast guard’s action on the shoal, which lies in the Southeast Asian nation’s internationally recognized exclusive economic zone. The Chinese coast guard said it took a “necessary measure” after the Philippine ships “violated China’s sovereignty.”

Asked about the Atin Ito convoy on Wednesday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “If the Philippine side abuses China’s goodwill and infringes on China’s territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction, China will safeguard its rights and take countermeasures in accordance with the law, and the responsibilities and consequences incurred will be borne entirely by the Philippine side.”

In addition to the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also been involved in the territorial disputes .

Chinese coast guard ships have also ventured into waters close to Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia in the past, sparking tensions and protests, but the Southeast Asian nations with considerable economic ties with China have not been as aggressively critical of Beijing’s increasingly assertive actions.

The Philippines has released videos of its territorial faceoffs with China and invited journalists to witness the hostilities in the high seas in a strategy to gain international support , sparking a war of words with Beijing.

The increasing frequency of the skirmishes between the Philippines and China has led to minor collisions, injured Filipino navy personnel and damaged supply boats in recent months. It has sparked fears the territorial disputes could degenerate into an armed conflict between China and the United States , a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines.

Follow AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific