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Open for business – Mediterranean cruising grounds welcome yachts
Tunisia’s three-month country-wide lockdown has paid dividends.
Summer transition
MEDITERRANEAN CRUISING GROUNDS ARE AMONG THE FIRST TO EMERGE FROM LOCKDOWN READY TO TACKLE THE SUMMER SEASON HEAD ON.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF YACHT SERVICES TUNISIA.
The world’s bustling superyacht cruising grounds have remained eerily quiet since Covid-19 first hit in March. But while cases continue to rise in Africa, Asia and North and South America amid fears of a global second spike, a growing number of Mediterranean countries are declared open for business. Montenegro, Malta and Tunisia are among the top six European countries to record the lowest number of active cases. Figures taken from the John Hopkins Trust data set on 8 June 2020 show that Tunisia had just five active cases per million population, compared with Spain that had 1,329. And Montenegro has been promoting itself as ‘Europe’s first coronavirusfree country’ since 27 May, when the Balkan country announced it no longer had any active cases of the virus. Kim Williams of superyacht agency Yacht Services Tunisia believes Tunisia’s success is down to the swift action taken early on by the government. “The Tunisian government were very proactive in trying to stop the spread of Covid-19,” she says. “The entire country was put on lockdown on 21 March with only around 50 reported cases. We had a nighttime curfew, Mosques closed, cafes, airspace and international borders closed. We were not allowed to travel from one town to another, even the trains were stopped.” Mediterranean waters open Popular with charter guests keen to explore the picturesque Dalmatian coast, Croatia was one of the first European destinations to reopen. However, on 18 July following a surge of keen holiday makers, the country announced it was experiencing a second wave of the coronavirus with 116 new cases recorded. Yachts have been allowed to sail and charter in Croatian waters since 18 May. Similarly, on 1 June, Montenegro removed quarantine requirements for all yachts arriving from outside its waters and opened its borders to all countries who have fewer than 25 people infected per 100,000 inhabitants. Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic reportedly highlighted Croatia, Germany, and Greece as its ‘target countries’ for the summer season tourist industry but says top drawer destinations, such as the premier superyacht
marina Porto Montenegro, will “miss the absence of high value markets, such as the UK, Italy and Russia”. While superyachts have proven to be some of the safest and most comfortable locations to spend lockdown allowing both owners and charter guests to access the yacht via private jet, seaplane or helicopter, the need to relocate displaced vessels, both private and charter, and even repatriate owners and crew remains key. However, not all yachts have the capability to sail far-away destinations or discover new cruising playgrounds, and this is where yacht transport services come into their own.
Yacht transport services Dutch company DYT Yacht Transport’s semisubmersible carriers are designed solely for yacht transportation. Its unique float-on, float-off system is considered to be one of the safest and most efficient out there, transporting both yachts and crew in comfort and safety to wherever they need to go. Currently under construction in Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore on the Shandong Peninsula in China, Yacht Servant will be the largest semi-submersible vessel in the world once launched in 2021. According to DYT General Manager Laura Tempest, the vessel will elevate yacht transportation to a whole new level. “We sail to our own schedule defined by our clients’ needs, and offer safe, secure passage to all our vessels via the most efficient mode of yacht transport out there”, says Tempest. “The wear and tear that crossing a vast ocean can have on a boat under normal circumstances is uninviting, but during these uncertain times DYT Yacht Transport provides captains and owners with an extra layer of security and peace of mind.”
Kickstart charter Malta was one of the few countries to make a travel ban exemption during lockdown for yachts arriving into port from outside its borders with only crew on board. The yachts were allowed to undertake repairs, refueling and servicing from 5 June in a bid to help kickstart Malta’s yachting industry in time for the summer months. This governmental support was strengthened on 1 July when the island known for its limestone shoreline reopened its airports and marinas. Air Malta has now restored its international flight schedule to and from 22 European destinations. These include the popular yachting hubs of Sardinia, Sicily, Norway, Spain, France, Greece and Italy (excluding Lombardia and Veneto). Foreign visitors arriving from the named countries are not required to quarantine. Further afield in Australasia, Fiji announced its
Yachts are free to cruise Tunisia’s waters.
new VIP Blue Lanes protocol on 22 July, which allows international owners and charterers to access their superyachts via private jet and to cruise in Fijian waters during the quarantine period (without disembarking). With newly relaxed charter laws creating a surge of interest in its colourful waters rich in marine life, Australia is inviting yachts that are currently within its borders to freely charter, too. And in the Maldives, the Seychelles, the Bahamas and across the United States, waters are open to tourism, albeit with some quarantine restrictions in place. Much like its neighboring island of Malta, Tunisia’s three-month country-wide lockdown has also paid dividends. Its effective quarantine period saw Tunisian citizens who were abroad at the start of lockdown safely repatriated, with a required 14-day isolation period spent in hotels at the expense of the Tunisian government. With
the pandemic contained, Tunisia reopened its border on 27 June. “Tunisia has been through a lot over the past nine years, but each time it rises up against the odds”, says Williams. “With our international borders now open, we should all be very thankful for the swift action that the Tunisian government has taken.”
