Watersports Equipment News

Hong Kong’s first-ever cruise and yachting event, International Cruise and Yachting Festival (Hong Kong) 2018, is scheduled to be held from November 22 to 25 at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, Kai Tak Runway Park and Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter. The four-day event, organized by the Hong Kong Cruise and Yacht Industry Association, will bring together global cruise and yacht brands and boats with Maritime Education and Employment, Marine and Leisure Tourism and Maritime Industry Developments as the major focuses.

Austal Ships has reported that a pair of cruise yachts ordered by Bora Bora Cruises of Tahiti are in the final stages of fitout at its modern shipyard south of Perth, Western Australia. “Tu Moana” and “Tia Moana” (meaning ‘strong on the ocean’ and ‘sure and stable on the ocean’) each provide 74 passenger berths in 37 outside cabins. The two cruise yachts will feature a high degree of comfort and luxury with a modern design inspired by Tahitian traditional art and incorporating the European touch of Tillberg Designs. Onboard features include a restaurant and galley catering for all passengers in a single sitting, gymnasium, library, indoor and outdoor lounges, two jacuzzis, an expansive sun deck and a host of watersports equipment, with easy access to the water.

Austal Limited announced that subsidiary Austal Ships has secured a contract for two 226-ft. (69-m) ‘boutique’ cruise ships for operation in French Polynesia. The new order, with a combined contract value of approximately $27.8 million, increases Austal’s total value of vessels under construction or on order to over $202 million. Austal’s managing director, Bob McKinnon said the new contract further highlighted the success of Austal’s diversification strategy, with secured footholds in the luxury, passenger and vehicle ferry, military/defense and tourism markets. The ‘boutique’ cruise ships, which were ordered by Bora Bora Cruises of Tahiti, will be monohull design.