Topping charter charts

PHUKET: Northrop & Johnson Asia won the distinguished ‘Best Asia-based Charter Company’ award at the 2015 Asia Boating Awards in Hong Kong earlier this month.

Created by Asia-Pacific Boating and China Boating magazines in 2005, the annual Asia Boating Awards recognize the best in the Asian maritime industry and beyond. The awards serve as a benchmark for the industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are absolutely delighted with this recognition of the public and our peers in the industry,” said Sytske Kimman, Northrop & Johnson Charter broker. “Since we started our charter division about a year ago, we have set out to deliver the best service to charter clients, making their unique dream holiday come true. Winning this award is an important milestone toward further growth.”

Lies Sol, Northrop & Johnson Asia Charter manager based in Phuket, pointed out that there has been an increase in interest in luxury superyacht charter holidays in Asia.

“Many people have ‘done’ the Caribbean and Mediterranean for many years and now want something a little different: more adventure and ‘unusual’ destinations,” Ms Sol says.

Asia is well placed to cater to such individuals. There are plenty of wild and wonderful places to discover in exotic destinations such as Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Andaman Islands and Malaysia.

Although there are not yet as many superyachts available for charter in Asia as in the Mediterranean, numbers are on the rise.

The recent public hearing in Phuket regarding temporary yacht charter licences in Thailand, indicates chartering in Thailand for foreign-flagged yachts of 30 meters or more might become legal soon. This will attract more superyachts to Thailand, leading to enormous financial benefits for the local marine industry and local economy. Besides contributing significantly to tax revenue, large yachts spend a lot of money with local companies for services from transport to yacht repairs and maintenance, provisioning for guests and crew, marina fees, refueling and so on.

Thailand’s neighbor, Myanmar, already reaps the benefits of its temporary charter licence regulations, as more yachts, private and for charter, visit the area. The gorgeous islands of the Mergui Archipelago, in the remote southern part of Myanmar, are largely inaccessible unless you take to the seas and explore the area by boat.

One such yacht, S/Y Meta IV, recently topped the eclectic ‘Best Unusual Holidays’ Top 14, drawn up by a major player in off-the-beaten-track holidays, Responsible Travel. Responsible Travel’s idea is quite simple: treat local people and places well, and they’ll often offer you experiences and insights into their ways of life you wouldn’t otherwise get. You enjoy a more authentic experience and they benefit from jobs, income and ways to preserve their culture, environment and heritage.

S/Y Meta IV offers a truly unique Burmese experience during an unforgettable cruise through the Mergui Archipelago, visiting some of the remote, often uninhabited 800-plus islands. Guests travel in comfort and style and can enjoy beach barbeques, jungle walks, turquoise seas, untouched reefs and getting to know the lifestyle and culture of Moken sea nomads.

Second on the diverse ‘Best Unusual Holidays’ Top 14, is a journey through the spectacular Tatra Mountains in Slovakia, and third is a solar eclipse holiday in the United States in August 2017.

Travellers to Indonesia, however, do not have to wait that long to be able to view a solar eclipse. At Raja Ampat, located right on the ‘red line’ near the Equator, on March 9, 2016, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible at its best. The region is unspoiled, undeveloped and far away from noise, pollution and city lights. A solar eclipse cruise lets you discover and feel the universe that surrounds us, one of the most thrilling events on Earth.

For more information about your celestial trip of a lifetime and other spectacular charter holidays, contact charter@NorthropandJohnson-Asia.com