11 Isle of Man-registered superyachts on display The Isle of Man Ship Registry will be attending the Monaco Yacht Show which takes place between the 22nd and 25th September 2010. As one of the key events in the yacht industry’s calendar, the Monaco Yacht Show represents an excellent showcase for the Manx flag, the flag of choice for over 90 of the world’s most prestigious yachts. In the last twelve months the Isle of Man Ship Registry has added 12 new commercial yachts to its fleet, taking the total number of ‘superyachts’ to 97. As in previous years, they are confident that this figure will increase following attendance at the show. The addition of these yachts and other vessels, has also helped the Register to break the 12 million gross tonnes barrier, an impressive 20 percent increase from the same time last year. 11 Isle of Man-registered yachts will be present at this year’s show. These include Azteca, a 72-metre pleasure ship with an innovative design, with a new area set up as a 100 m? large “beach club”; Onyx, a winner of the Showboats Award 2009; and Valquest, a 134ft Dubois-designed fast cruising sloop which recently launched from the Dutch Shipyard Bloemsma & Van Breemen. Director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry, Dick Welsh commented: “Our presence at the Monaco Yacht Show will allow us to support the companies from the Isle of Man that are attending the show and to hopefully build on the success of the last 12 months. Our transparent fee structure and customer-focused approach has meant that, despite economic uncertainty remaining for many owners and operators, the number of yacht registrations has flourished in the last year.’ The political member with responsibility for the Ship Registry, Alex Downie MLC said: “The Monaco Yacht Show provides a great opportunity to highlight the benefits of doing business with the Ship Registry, as well as promoting the high quality professional services offered in the Isle of Man. I am confident that this year’s show will be a success, and will result in further new business opportunities.” ENDS