Nordhavn’s Taiwanese partner factory Ta Shing has earned the 2024 Taiwan Yacht of the Year award by the Taiwan Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), for Nordhavn 7101 Luna. Presented each year for the most creative and innovative yacht built in Taiwan, Ta Shing becomes the 15th different builder to be presented with the award since the design competition’s inception in 1952. The Taiwanese chapter of SNAME originally created the contest in an effort to promote Taiwanese based boat builders and manufacturers. Given the country’s place as the world’s fifth largest producer of yachts, there is no shortage of global brands eligible to compete for Yacht of the Year (and its sister design competition Boat of the Year).
This marks the first time Ta Shing has entered the awards, going up against Taiwan’s bigger shipyards and established brands. “It is truly an honor,” said Mingway Yu, purchasing manager at Ta Shing. “Even though this is our first participation in the competition, the design prowess of Nordhavn’s team, and building capabilities of Ta Shing seemed to have left a lasting impression on the judges.”
The judging panel is comprised of a who’s who in Taiwanese naval architecture and engineering including the professor of systems and naval mechatronic engineering of National Cheng Kung University, the president of the Taiwan Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and the head engineer of Ship and Ocean Industries research and design center.
“We couldn’t be more proud of this award and of Ta Shing,” said Nordhavn president Dan Streech. “The collaboration between our two companies produced a true masterpiece with Luna and we are pleased the judges recognized that.”
A ceremony and awards presentation will be held in Kaohsiung next spring, where Yu, along with Ta Shing vice president BK Kuo, will receive the Yacht of the Year award on behalf of the company.