BELLINGHAM Marine GM of Australasia John Spragg recently travelled to China to present at the country’s first dedicated marina conference. Spragg, a well-respected veteran of the marina industry, is responsible for overseeing Bellingham Marine’s operations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and the South pacific.

Over 100 delegates including some of China’s leading marina developers and operators attended Spragg’s presentation on marina design and wave attenuation.

“His presentation was extremely informative and addressed a number of key issues we should be cognizant of when building a new marina facility. He also gave explanations of engineering issues we all could now understand,” said one of the conference attendees following Spragg’s presentation.

The conference was held at the newly completed Nansha Marina, located in the Pearl River estuary in China on October 10th and 11th. The Yacht CN 2012 boat show opened following the conclusion of the conference.

Bellingham Marine president Everett Babbitt said: “We are pleased to have had the opportunity to present at China’s inaugural marina conference. It’s great to see the country’s enthusiasm for the emerging industry.”

The marina industry in China is still in its infancy but is showing promise for growth. According to Yang Xinfa, chairman of the China Boat Industry and Trade Association, there are over 2,000 leisure boats currently registered within the country. In his presentation at the conference Yang stated that he believes there’s a potential for much faster growth as there are many marina projects in the planning stage.

As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.