Richard Liu's Sea Expandary Acquires OceanWalker: What It Means for Sanya's Yacht Ambitions and Yazhou Bay Science City
Sea Expandary — Richard Liu's yacht venture — closed its 80% acquisition of catamaran builder OceanWalker on August 17, 2026, weeks after agreeing to buy 80% of Camper & Nicholsons for €40M. What the deals mean for the Sanya yacht industry, Yazhou Bay Science City, and foreign marine suppliers entering via the Hainan FTP.
August 23, 2026 · Hainan Setup Editorial Team · 10 min read
TL;DR — On August 17, 2026, Sea Expandary — JD.com founder Richard Liu’s personal yacht venture — completed its acquisition of an 80% stake in OceanWalker, a Zhangzhou-based builder of power catamarans and flybridge yachts. Weeks earlier, a subsidiary agreed to buy 80% of Camper & Nicholsons, the British yacht services house founded in 1782, for €40 million, with closing expected by September 30. A factory, an export channel and the oldest services brand in yachting, assembled in under seven months. For foreign marine firms watching the Sanya yacht industry and Yazhou Bay Science City: what the deals change, and where the openings are.
The Deal That Closed on August 17
Interface News reported on August 17, 2026 that Sea Expandary had completed its 80% acquisition of OceanWalker. The target’s manufacturing entity, Fujian OceanWalker Yacht Co., Ltd., runs a factory in Zhangzhou, Fujian, and was founded in late 2022 — strikingly young for its order book.
What Sea Expandary bought:
- Products. The S60 series of power catamarans and the X53 and X62 monohull flybridge yachts — mid-to-large leisure craft aimed at export markets.
- Channels. Dealers across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, plus authorized partners in the US and Singapore — two of the hardest markets for a young Chinese builder to crack.
- An order book. Per Interface News, orders for five 72-meter large catamarans at an average of roughly €60 million per hull — around €300 million of contracted work.
The product logic fits the parent’s thesis: pure-electric, intelligent yachts — self-developed AI navigation, automatic docking, obstacle avoidance, voice control of the whole vessel — with a long-term goal of an electric yacht in the RMB 100,000 class. Catamarans are the natural premium platform for that technology, and the direction is now backed by real hulls and real orders.
The Other Half of the Strategy: Camper & Nicholsons
The OceanWalker closing cannot be read alone. Per marinebusiness.news (August 20, 2026), Sea Expandary subsidiary Wave Expandary agreed on May 28 with Hong Kong-listed Lai Sun Development to acquire 80% of Camper & Nicholsons for €40 million — an implied valuation of roughly €50 million — with closing expected by September 30, 2026.
Camper & Nicholsons is not a boatbuilder. Founded in 1782, it is the world’s oldest luxury yacht services house — superyacht brokerage, yacht management, design management, insurance and crew placement — selling trust, standards and relationships at the very top of the market.
Side by side, the strategy resolves into focus:
- OceanWalker supplies hulls, a factory and a four-region export dealer network.
- Camper & Nicholsons supplies the services layer and a brand that opens doors no new marque could.
- In-house technology — electric drivetrains and AI systems — supplies the differentiation story for both.
The Richard Liu yacht venture is assembling, deliberately and at speed, the full stack that European incumbents built over generations.
Seven Months at Full Speed
Sea Expandary did not exist before February 2026. Its timeline since:
- February 2026 — Founded with RMB 5 billion of Liu’s personal capital, legally separate from JD.com; China HQ in Shenzhen, smart manufacturing base in Zhuhai.
- March 2026 — A RMB 15 billion Dalian project for giant, high-end custom electric yachts.
- April 15, 2026 — At the Sanya Consumer Expo, Liu appeared in digital-human form to announce the Sanya landing: a world-class sailboat manufacturing base plus a landmark yacht service center, supporting Sanya’s ambition to become an Asia-Pacific yacht capital (per the Sanya municipal government).
- May 28, 2026 — Agreement to acquire 80% of Camper & Nicholsons.
- July 2026 — Qingdao branch registered for leasing and sales.
- August 17, 2026 — OceanWalker closed.
The market context explains the urgency: the United States has roughly 13 million recreational boats, China fewer than 10,000 registered yachts; Chinese yacht exports were only about USD 600 million in 2024, even as global new-energy yacht penetration reached roughly 20% in 2025. China industrialized electric cars in fifteen years — the bet is that yachts are next, with the Hainan FTP as the industry’s most favorable policy base in China.
What This Means for Sanya and Yazhou Bay Science City
Our earlier piece on the Sanya Yazhou Bay Science City yacht project covered the August 13 rezoning proposal: roughly 217.7 mu in the zone, explicitly intended to land the Sea Expandary yacht club industrial project — headquarters, yacht club, maintenance and manufacturing capacity, berths, R&D offices and commercial services.
The two acquisitions change what that project can be:
1. Sanya’s role is now clearer. Heavy hull production sits in Zhangzhou, Zhuhai and Dalian; Sanya’s pair — sailboat base plus yacht service center — makes the city the group’s brand, service and operations gateway in China’s only tropical leisure-marine market.
2. The services layer now has a world-class operator. A service center run to Camper & Nicholsons standards is a different proposition from a start-up facility — including for suppliers deciding whether the Sanya yacht industry will buy at international grade.
3. Yazhou Bay Science City gains an anchor with real demand. The zone built its name on deep-sea science and seed-industry R&D; this complex signals a pivot toward headquarters and manufacturing economy. Anchors pull ecosystems: suppliers, designers, surveyors, trainers and insurers follow real hull volume, not brochures.
One honesty note carried over from our earlier article: the land remains at rezoning-consultation stage, with no construction timeline announced — but the group’s capacity to fill such a complex is no longer in doubt.
Where Foreign Marine Businesses Fit
The actionable question for foreign companies: which gap do you fill? The openings we see:
- Components and systems — electric propulsion, battery and power management, navigation electronics, marine HVAC, safety gear; a group industrializing electric yachts at this pace will buy qualified foreign systems for years.
- Naval architecture and sailboat design — the announced Sanya sailboat base needs design depth China chronically under-supplies; European studios and independent naval architects are natural partners.
- Marine technology — sensors, autonomy-adjacent software, materials and testing, adjacent to Yazhou Bay’s deep-sea research cluster.
- Yacht services — refit and maintenance, marina operations, crew training, insurance, survey and certification: the categories Camper & Nicholsons’ entry will professionalize and expand.
- The export bridge — OceanWalker’s four-region dealer network runs both ways; foreign equipment and design can ride the channel that sells Chinese-built hulls abroad.
The through-line: do not compete with a RMB 5-billion-backed flagship — sell into it, and into the ecosystem it is assembling.
The Entry Route: a Hainan FTP Entity and a Yazhou Bay Address
The mechanics are conventional:
- Register a Hainan company — a WFOE or joint venture with a marine scope; the full policy stack (zero-tariff vessel imports, 15% CIT for encouraged industries, relaxed used-yacht rules) is mapped in our earlier analysis.
- Take physical space in Yazhou Bay Science City — from shared workstations for a two-person beachhead to full offices, in state-run parks with transparent pricing. Our office and workstation guide breaks down the options, and we help clients secure space through our workspace service.
- Confirm encouraged-industry status to unlock the 15% CIT rate, and complete sector registrations (maritime, charter/leasing filings) as your scope requires.
Timing matters: land, berths and licenses are being allocated now; suppliers visible in Yazhou Bay when purchasing decisions start will beat those who fly in afterward.
Map Your Yacht-Industry Entry in 30 Minutes
Whether you build components, design sailboats, run refit crews or sell marine software, the questions are the same: which scope fits the encouraged catalog, which licenses you trigger, and whether a workstation or office in Yazhou Bay Science City makes sense as your base. A consultation maps exactly that and ends with a fixed written quote. Our packages are published at our pricing page before we ever get on a call — formation from USD 2,500, first-year setup with bookkeeping from USD 4,800, and fuller landing support from USD 9,800.
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FAQ
Did Sea Expandary complete the OceanWalker acquisition?
Yes. Interface News reported on August 17, 2026 that Sea Expandary completed the 80% acquisition of OceanWalker, the Fujian-based builder of S60 power catamarans and X53/X62 flybridge yachts.
What yachts does OceanWalker build?
OceanWalker (manufacturing entity: Fujian OceanWalker Yacht Co., Ltd., Zhangzhou) builds the S60 power catamaran series and the X53/X62 monohull flybridge yachts. Founded in late 2022, it sells via dealers across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, with authorized partners in the US and Singapore, and reportedly holds five 72-meter catamaran orders at roughly €60 million per hull.
What is the Camper & Nicholsons deal, and when does it close?
On May 28, 2026, Sea Expandary subsidiary Wave Expandary agreed with Hong Kong’s Lai Sun Development to acquire 80% of Camper & Nicholsons for €40 million — an implied valuation of about €50 million — with closing expected by September 30, 2026. Founded in 1782, it is the world’s oldest luxury yacht services house: superyacht brokerage, management, design management, insurance and crew placement.
Is Sea Expandary a JD.com company?
No. Sea Expandary was founded in February 2026 with RMB 5 billion of Richard Liu’s personal capital — a purely personal investment, legally and financially separate from JD.com.
Why does the OceanWalker deal matter for Yazhou Bay Science City?
Sanya has proposed rezoning roughly 217.7 mu in the zone specifically to land the Sea Expandary yacht club project. With manufacturing (OceanWalker) and services (Camper & Nicholsons) secured, the complex now has real volume and international standards behind it — a concrete opening for foreign suppliers, designers and service firms.
How can a foreign marine supplier enter the Sanya yacht industry?
Register a Hainan company (WFOE or joint venture) with a marine scope — encouraged categories qualify for a 15% corporate income tax rate — and set up a base in Yazhou Bay Science City, where workstations and offices are available in state-run parks. A short consultation maps scope, licenses, incentives and workspace in one call.
Sources
The deal facts in this article are attributed to the outlets that reported them:
- Interface News (Jiemian), August 17, 2026 — the OceanWalker 80% acquisition closing; company profile, product lines, dealer network and order book
- marinebusiness.news, August 20, 2026 — the €40 million agreement for 80% of Camper & Nicholsons, closing expected by September 30, 2026
- Sanya Municipal People’s Government, April 16, 2026 — the Consumer Expo announcement of the Sanya sailboat base and yacht service center
- Sanya planning bureau, August 13, 2026 — the Yazhou Bay rezoning consultation
Timeline items are drawn from public announcements as of August 2026. This article is market commentary, not legal, tax or investment advice; verify before acting.
Final Thoughts
Six weeks of news answered the biggest caveat from our first report: when Sanya rezoned land for a yacht club complex, intent was clear but capacity unproven. The OceanWalker closing removes much of that caveat — Sea Expandary now owns a factory, a four-continent export dealer network, an order book of 72-meter flagships, and, pending the September 30 closing, the oldest services brand in yachting. Sanya’s role was always the glamorous one — the sailboat base, the service center, the Asia-Pacific yacht capital; what changed on August 17 is that the machinery underneath is now visibly real. For foreign marine businesses, the window is the familiar one: the few years when the anchor is built but the supplier bench is not. Those years do not last long.
Mapping a marine or ocean-tech entry into Hainan? Book a free consultation — we’ll scope your licenses, incentives and workspace options in Yazhou Bay, and quote it in writing in 30 minutes.
Related Reading
- Sanya Yazhou Bay Science City: JD.com Founder’s $3B Yacht Project (2026) — the rezoning and the full zero-tariff / 15% CIT policy stack behind this story
- Sanya Yazhou Bay Science City: Office and Workstation Guide for Tech Startups — parks, pricing and subsidies for your base in the zone
- Hainan FTP Incentives by Industry — where marine and modern-services scopes sit in the encouraged-industries map
