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A former Dun Laoghaire Harbour based Sailing School instructor will lead a new Oyster Yachts management team following the purchase of the luxury boat builder after it went under in February, according to British media reports.

YBW.com reports here, that Richard Hadida has purchased Oyster Yachts and all of its subsidiaries and has brought the owner of one–time Dun Laoghaire Harbour–based sailing school, Sailing West, Paul Adamson on board.

Adamson and his wife Audrey sailed around the world from 2012 to 2014 working professionally for ex Formula One Team Boss, Dubliner Eddie Jordan and prior to that ran the Sailing West Sailing School based at Dun Laoghaire's ferry terminal.

More recently, Adamson has been working as a 'motivational speaker', details as per his website here.

As Afloat.ie reported at the time, the British luxury yacht builder stopped production in February with the loss of some 380 employees at its UK sites at Southampton and Wroxham in Norfolk after the Dutch private equity firm, HTP Investments, announced it would no longer continue to financially support the company.

Hadida is now forming a management team, led by Oyster skipper Adamson, who captained Eddie Jordan's Oyster 885, LUSH in the Oyster World Rally in 2014

Adamson was also a regular competitor on the Dublin Bay SB20 Sportsboat circuit. 

Hadida, who regularly sails on LUSH, told Yachting Monthly he has used his own personal fortune to buy Oyster and all of its subsidiaries, including Oyster Palma and Oyster Newport in the USA.

"Every part of the business, including brokerage and chartering, I plan to bring back to life,' he noted. 'I am not looking to flip it, there is no exit planning, I am in it for the long run, it will be a lifetime business."

His first priority will be on the 26 customers whose Oysters were in build when the company closed its doors.

"We are hoping to start employing people as of tomorrow. At the moment, we have boats in every stage of build from the mould to almost complete and we need to get people on these boats and building them fast. I want to get those yard doors open and start building boats again," stressed Hadida.

Adamson, who will act as 'Chief Transformation Officer',  added that the 26 customers with Oysters in build will get exactly what they ordered.

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#sunseeker – Is this the biggest boat owned by an Irishman? Sunseeker's largest ever yacht for Irish Formula One mogul Eddie Jordan has been revealed this weekend at Poole Quay in Dorset, the Bournemouth Echo reports.

The 155–foot yacht, reported to be worth £32 million, was painstakingly moved out of the shed by Sunseeker staff on Saturday and took more than an hour to move the short distance into the yard.

Eddie Jordan has been enjoying a lot of time on the ocean waves of late. Afloat previously reported (this time last year) on the start of Jordan's Round the World Rally. He was joined on that voyage by Dun Laoghaire sailing school instructor Paul Adamson on the Oyster 885, Lush, for the first ever Oyster World Rally.

Meanwhile in Poole, Stewart McIntyre, Managing Director at Sunseeker, whose Irish agents are MGM Boats in Dun Laoghaire, said yesterday: "This is an extremely exciting time for Sunseeker as we inch ever closer to the completion of the 155 Yacht.

"This is the biggest project we have ever undertaken and since the announcement of its build it has been the talk of the industry.

"We are incredibly proud of what we have created and look forward to showcasing it to the world."

The impressive accommodation can cater for 12 guests and 10 crew, and has an on board nightclub, a panoramic viewing area, a dining area, bar and its own garage for jet skis.

The largest luxury boat ever built by the company had to be moved using a radio controlled multiple wheeled unit from its build shed onto the quay at Poole for the final fitting out.

An extra radar mount was needed to complete the boat but it was far too tall for the current shed so the boat will have to spend at least one or two more weeks on the harbourside before it can be finally launched into the water.

More from the Bournemouth Echo here

 

Published in News Update

Ferry & Car Ferry News The ferry industry on the Irish Sea, is just like any other sector of the shipping industry, in that it is made up of a myriad of ship operators, owners, managers, charterers all contributing to providing a network of routes carried out by a variety of ships designed for different albeit similar purposes.

All this ferry activity involves conventional ferry tonnage, 'ro-pax', where the vessel's primary design is to carry more freight capacity rather than passengers. This is in some cases though, is in complete variance to the fast ferry craft where they carry many more passengers and charging a premium.

In reporting the ferry scene, we examine the constantly changing trends of this sector, as rival ferry operators are competing in an intensive environment, battling out for market share following the fallout of the economic crisis. All this has consequences some immediately felt, while at times, the effects can be drawn out over time, leading to the expense of others, through reduced competition or takeover or even face complete removal from the marketplace, as witnessed in recent years.

Arising from these challenging times, there are of course winners and losers, as exemplified in the trend to run high-speed ferry craft only during the peak-season summer months and on shorter distance routes. In addition, where fastcraft had once dominated the ferry scene, during the heady days from the mid-90's onwards, they have been replaced by recent newcomers in the form of the 'fast ferry' and with increased levels of luxury, yet seeming to form as a cost-effective alternative.

Irish Sea Ferry Routes

Irrespective of the type of vessel deployed on Irish Sea routes (between 2-9 hours), it is the ferry companies that keep the wheels of industry moving as freight vehicles literally (roll-on and roll-off) ships coupled with motoring tourists and the humble 'foot' passenger transported 363 days a year.

As such the exclusive freight-only operators provide important trading routes between Ireland and the UK, where the freight haulage customer is 'king' to generating year-round revenue to the ferry operator. However, custom built tonnage entering service in recent years has exceeded the level of capacity of the Irish Sea in certain quarters of the freight market.

A prime example of the necessity for trade in which we consumers often expect daily, though arguably question how it reached our shores, is the delivery of just in time perishable products to fill our supermarket shelves.

A visual manifestation of this is the arrival every morning and evening into our main ports, where a combination of ferries, ro-pax vessels and fast-craft all descend at the same time. In essence this a marine version to our road-based rush hour traffic going in and out along the commuter belts.

Across the Celtic Sea, the ferry scene coverage is also about those overnight direct ferry routes from Ireland connecting the north-western French ports in Brittany and Normandy.

Due to the seasonality of these routes to Europe, the ferry scene may be in the majority running between February to November, however by no means does this lessen operator competition.

Noting there have been plans over the years to run a direct Irish –Iberian ferry service, which would open up existing and develop new freight markets. Should a direct service open, it would bring new opportunities also for holidaymakers, where Spain is the most visited country in the EU visited by Irish holidaymakers ... heading for the sun!