China’s Shangong Heavy Industries has bought the Ferretti Group, taking over 75% of the Italian shipmaker’s capital.

Sleekly tailored with gleaming chrome accessories and luxurious saloons, the Ferretti Group designs some of the most exclusive yachts in the nautical world.

Ferretti has 8 yacht brands (Ferretti Yachts, Pershing, Itama, Bertram, Riva, Mochi Craft, CRN and Ferretti Custom Line) and owns a total of 8 shipyards.

Italian superyacht builder Pershing has launched a new hull in its flagship 115’ range with all the bells and whistles plus a gut-busting engine upgrade.

Fitted with twin diesel MTUs delivering a total of 7,400 hp together with the applied thrust of the two Kamewa Rolls-Royce water-jet propellers, the standard model has an impressive maximum velocity of about 38 knots.

The new 115’ features an additional Vericor TF50 gas turbine, typically used in the aeronautical sector, with a central water-jet propeller producing an additional 5,100 hp, for a total top speed of 52 knots.

The immense popularity of the Pershing brand on the Chinese market has been reconfirmed for 2009, too.

An awards ceremony was held recently in the elegant setting of the Hotel Pudong Shangri-La in Shanghai, during which Pershing, a Ferretti S.p.A. brand and famous Italian shipyard specialising in the production of luxury yachts, was presented with the important “Best Luxury Performance Yacht 2009” award, following data issued by the “Best of the Best” survey.

The “Best of the Best” is the most authoritative survey which the Editorial Office of “The Hurun Report”, an important Chinese magazine devoted to the financial world and luxury, has drawn up every year for the past five in order to make an in-depth investigation of the lifestyles and spending habits of the most prominent figures in the Chinese economy.

For its first complete collection of aquatic chronographs, there could be no better route to mastery for Parmigiani Fleurier than allying its technical expertise with one of today’s biggest boatbuilders: Pershing.

Parmigiani Fleurier had for several years wanted to develop a new collection of watches with highly sporty lines and volumes.

The watchmaking project took a major turn with the formation of the partnership between Pershing and Parmigiani Fleurier.