Simmor Marine is a great promoter of yachting and elite tourism in Croatia, with special attention to Rijeka as a whole year destination for megayachts
The owner of the Simmor Marine, specializing in super yacht agency is a former Captain, today a successful entrepreneur, Andrija Šimić, equally interesting for his striking appearance and dynamic lifestyle. He founded the agency exactly twenty years ago and has since grown into a true ambassador of Croatian yachting in the world, and one of the most deserving people for the yachting-related evolution of the port of Rijeka, as well as for the positive perception of this elite business in Croatia. We talked to Mr. Šimić about his beginnings.
‘The best things have always happened to me out of the blue, and due to something silly. I was handling a very difficult charter, the guests behaved horribly, even sinking two of our jet skis. That’s where I ran into my future partners, my agent back then was Catalano Shipping (part of the Cosulich Group) and they helped us save that situation. Tomaso, Laurent and I became friends, and in 2014 they became partners. Our story goes back twenty years, to 1994, when I was looking for a job, back when it was difficult to get employed on a ship as apprentice.
I went to Trieste, to the historic Fratelli Cosulich building, but my first interview did not go well. 20 years later, I go to Trieste with my current partner and friend August Cosulich, enter that same building and see the man who interviewed me back then. We went to greet him, and the man found the digital record of my interview, and a note at the bottom that said I looked strange and did not inspire confidence. I looked the same as I do today, as if I’d slept on a bench somewhere, but today we are partners in the biggest international maritime agency. I’m incredibly proud to be a part of that company and I’d rather talk about them and their history than about myself.’
YOUR BUSINESS IS INEXTRICABLY LINKED TO ITALIAN SEA CAPTAINS?
One of the greatest Italian sea captains is Luigi Del Tevere, and if it wasn’t for him, there would be no Simmor. From the beginning, we worked good, but we lacked clients; you should have at least a hundred, and in three years we managed to find twenty. Del Tevere was the captain of the yacht owned by Flavio Briatore, who became my first big client. Other big yachts followed; he introduced me to Gino Battaglia and all his Italian colleagues. In the meantime, I became the first sponsor of the ITALIAN YACHT MASTER group, and I am glad to see what they have done in these 11 years.
Something like this should be done in Croatia as well, because our Ministry of the Sea is one of the smartest ones, and if well acted together, we could solve a number of challenges, like licenses for Yacht Masters on 1000 and 3000 tons…
YOU WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT CAPTAIN IVO DUJMIĆ?
He showed us how to do things, and that is a legacy to inspire new generations. He was always an amazing gentleman, he started working on yachts back when I still didn’t know what I would do in life. He was incredibly understanding and helpful, even though he was such a big yachting star. He always gave great advice, always was well-intentioned, and his example should guide new generations as well. We all should cooperate despite being in competition, as dialogue is the only way to progress.
CAN YOU COMMENT ON THE CURRENT SITUATION IN RIJEKA?
In Rijeka, we are literally living a dream, because only ten years ago, the port of Rijeka wasn’t yacht-friendly. When you look at it now, with two yachts above 130 meters – Prince Abdul Aziz and Al Mirquab – you’d think you’re dreaming. Generally speaking, we have been fully booked for the last seven years, and even had to come up with some solutions due to overbooking, so the situation is great. We knew this would happen, because behind every big marina with yachting story there must be a big city, a vibrant city where things are happening, where crews can step off-board and go enjoy themselves.
When I initially suggested Rijeka, people laughed at me, saying, who’d want to come to Rijeka. But it is not yacht owners who come to Rijeka – it’s the crews, and the crews make many decisions, a lot hinges on them, they choose where they will spend the winter. Experiences are important to them, because yachting itself is all about the feeling, all about experiences… People think we need something spectacular, golden moorings or something, but all yachts need safe mooring and content, fun when they get off the boat. Rijeka Port Authority is the best host anyone could wish for, they are very business friendly.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF RIJEKA AS A YACHTING DESTINATION?
The Lürssen family and ACI are planning a huge project together that will change Rijeka forever. The current mega-yachting trend will continue, and we will also get a top-notch modern marina that will add what we lack the most, berths for smaller yachts. The charter industry will also develop there, because Rijeka is a great first pit-stop spot. We have an incredible location in Mali Lošinj, who have pivoted toward elite tourism.
When I look at Lošinj Hotels and Villas, I sometimes think they are even more luxurious than yachts, and that’s no mean feat. I’ve seen some incredible things there, top restaurants, top experiences and excursions, which all makes Rijeka an excellent starting and ending point for cruises. Including Rab, Krk and Cres as a kind of crescendo to every charter melody, Lošinj as the climax, and then the fabulous Rovinj, Brijuni and Opatija for the end.
HOW DO YOU ENVISION SIMMOR MARINE IN THE FUTURE?
Although we work throughout Croatia, with the incredible support of my colleague Lovorko Lučić in Dubrovnik, we have decided to develop northern Adriatic as well, because we immediately recognized the potential – huge, but unexplored. If, say one hundred yachts sail into the Adriatic, all of them will visit the area between Split and Dubrovnik, twenty of them will visit Zadar, and less than ten percent will venture farther north. We are still ‘dead slow ahead’ in nautical terms, and we could easily be ‘full ahead’ if things are planned well.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
All brokers must absolutely be informed about the northern Adriatic opportunities, and pass it on to their clients: great cruising, great experiences. Visitors will be delighted. But it is very difficult to persuade guests who were only planning to sail to Split, to go further north, for example to Venice.
In the beginning we had a hard time persuading yachts to come to Rijeka, I even falsified the weather reports to make Rijeka looked like the city with second most sunny days in Croatia, after Hvar. When it would rain, I would say that it hadn’t rained in three months. But when people got to know us, the environment and the potential, nobody asked about rain any more.
YOU RETURNED TO CROATIA FROM ABROAD. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT NOW?
Everyone will return if they are satisfied with the conditions we can provide them, which is best seen in Lürssen’s investment, which has kept two hundred families of highly qualified professionals in Croatia. If we had another hundred projects like that one, we would not need any government initiatives. I am sure that people would agree to less of something just to stay here, at home. I’ve lived all over the world, but I always miss Rijeka and Croatia.
SHOULD WE ASK FOR MORE MONEY FROM FOREIGN YACHTS VISITING CROATIA?
No need, we have to work on attracting as many of them as possible, and orient our businesses to, as destination, offer things to do, so they spend as much time as possible off the yacht, and that they spend as much money as possible. Taxation has shown bad results, because we can thank the Italian government for the current situation in Croatian yachting: Italy introduced a luxury tax in Sardinia in 2008, and that caused immediate yacht migration from Italy to Croatia. I’ve said many times that a monument to Mario Monti should be erected somewhere on the coast, because his actions spurred a super-yachting boom in our country.
We have to provide yachts and crews with even more luxury, attract the world’s largest luxury players like Louis Vuitton, Prada or Patek Philippe, we have to provide guests with even more extravaganza, that’s how we’ll get the most out of yachting. My vision for Croatia is migrating toward elite tourism for the benefit of the whole society. I would like our waiters to have high salaries, for our restaurant to have half tables empty – but earn thousands of Euros daily. Let’s stop being a country where lots of flapping and posturing creates very few results.
Photos Davor Žunić/Fotofaktor
