Busiest season ever for superyacht marina sees strong returns for Auckland waterfront facility

Another successful summer at Auckland’s superyacht marina and the arrival of the biggest yacht to ever visit New Zealand shores has contributed to a record number of visits for the season.

Silo Park Superyacht Marina is located at the foot of the 37-metre high concrete silos in the recently revitalised former industrial site in Wynyard Quarter, and was designed in 2010 to cater for the growing number of superyachts visiting the area.

Since then its capacity has nearly tripled, from 350 linear metres in 2010 to 870 linear metres in 2014, thanks to an ongoing construction programme by Waterfront Auckland, the Council organisation that manages the facility.

$5.3 million of capital investment has been delivered over that time, starting out from a four-berth facility in 2010 expanding to 10 berths over the last season. The growth in available space has seen 83 vessels visit Auckland since 2011 - 30 of which have visited on numerous occasions.

The latest summer season, spanning from October 2014 to April 2015, saw 28 visits to the marina translating into solid returns for the Auckland Council-owned facility, with $1.2 million turnover to match the same figure in the same period in 2013/2014.

In addition, there have been significant indirect returns to the local economy with estimates of over $12 million in refit and maintenance work carried over the last five seasons within Silo Marina alone, plus the tourism spend associated with these vessels exploring the Hauraki Gulf and the rest of New Zealand’s waters.

Luke Wigglesworth, manager of Silo Marina  said the increasing popularity of the facility has a lot to do with its unique proximity to the CBD and a world class marine business cluster, but service is also key; “Due to our relative small size to other like marinas internationally, we’re able to also provide a more boutique service and better cater for the specific demands of our clientele.”

One of the biggest vessels to visit Silo Marina in recent months is the 134-metre ‘Serene’, which became the largest private vessel to visit New Zealand waters, eclipsing the 119-metre Phillipe Starck designed superyacht, ‘A’, which docked in Silo Marina the previous summer.

John Dalzell, chief executive of Waterfront Auckland commented, “It’s been great to see an influx of these luxury vessels appearing on the Auckland waterfront in recent years as every time we get one in the dock we’re talking about more jobs and apprenticeships for the region in the rapidly growing refit sector.

“Silo Marina has been pivotal to this, and illustrates how public investment in infrastructure is essential as a catalyst for economic growth”

For more information, visit Silo Marina.