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The Dockwalk Guide to Yacht Transport

Louisa Beckett is the former editor of Motor Boating, ShowBoats International, and Southern Boating magazines, and a longtime contributor to Dockwalk. Over her career, she has written about a wide variety of vessels ranging from Sea-Doos to superyachts, and has had many adventures on the water, including riding in a U.S. Coast Guard “rollover” boat in heavy surf off Cape Disappointment, Washington.

Even now, in the third year of the pandemic, we’re seeing headlines about global supply chain disruptions caused by worker shortages and other factors related to COVID-19. In particular, the maritime shipping industry has been affected, with long lines of cargo ships frequently sitting idle as they wait to be unloaded in port.

“It’s a very difficult marketplace at the moment. The freight rates are higher than they’ve been in decades. Congestion in ports is at an all-time high, all these things are affecting our ability to get ships where they need to be on time, and space on ships is at a massive premium,” says Simon Judson, CEO of global logistics firm Peters & May , which organizes passage for yachts on board a wide variety of commercial cargo ships.

• How COVID Has Affected Crew Hiring

Right from the start, the pandemic dramatically transformed the yacht transportation industry. In early 2020, the number of bookings by the usual clients, including owners and captains wanting to move their yachts to seasonal cruising grounds and sailing yacht owners and captains following the regatta circuit, fell off dramatically. At the same time, bookings increased from yacht owners who were unable to travel to their vessels and wanted to have them shipped home instead. Then, as COVID-related lockdowns and sheltering began to fuel the demand for new and brokerage boats, yacht manufacturers, dealers, and brokers around the world began to use yacht transport companies to ship boats to clients who couldn’t get to the vessels or send crew to pick them up. “I think COVID has changed everybody’s way of doing business,” says General Manager Laura Tempest of DYT , which owns and operates semi-submersible yacht-transport ships.

Port closures and travel restrictions also made it difficult for yacht transport companies to move their loadmasters into position around the world in order to supervise loading and unloading. In addition, “We have had a shortage of loadmasters at times when they came down with COVID,” said Uta Scarlata, who handles transatlantic and Caribbean sales for Sevenstar Yacht Transport , which operates its own fleet of 120 cargo vessels.

“Everything about the logistics of shipping a yacht from A to B is ten times harder,” Judson says, but he adds, “As we moved through the pandemic, we learned a little bit about how to adapt. Today we are using what we’ve learned to be better placed. That means making sure we’ve got the right people in the right places a lot further in advance [and] thinking about relocating our cradling and lifting equipment and everything we need to load the boats a lot further in advance.”

While internal logistics such as these typically are handled by a yacht transportation company behind the scenes without affecting its clients, industry experts agree that this year, yacht captains are going to have to act earlier than usual in order to secure transportation for their yachts.

If you do need to ship a yacht overseas, there are two basic means of transport: on the deck of a commercial ship or inside a semi-submersible vessel.

“It’s kind of going back to old days when if you didn’t book well in advance, you are not going to have a space…. People are done [with sheltering]. They are going to start using their yachts whether it be in the Med or in the Caribbean,” says Tempest. “We are seeing all of our repeat customers coming back, and the ones we met in the last year and a half that we didn’t know before are coming back.”

“Every ship that we’ve put on from the middle of last year has been fully booked probably a month before it comes to port. That was never the case before. We would always have some space a week before,” says Judson, who also predicts that demand for yacht transportation will increase in 2022 as owners return to pre-pandemic levels of cruising and racing. “If there’s a reason to book early, it would be to avoid disappointment in the fact that there may not be space,” he says. “To be safe, you should be thinking at least two months out.”

Cargo Ship vs. Semi-Submersible

There are a variety of reasons why an owner or captain would want to arrange to have a yacht transported from one location to another. It might be to change cruising grounds with the seasons, or to take the yacht to an event. Some yachts are able to make the voyage on their own bottom, but others must be shipped because they may be too small or have an insufficient fuel capacity to make the trip, their owner wants to avoid wear and tear on the vessel, or the yacht is booked for a charter in the new destination and the timing is just too tight.

Booking space on a cargo ship gives you the advantage of being able to transport a yacht pretty much anywhere around the globe where that vessel is scheduled to deliver freight.

If you do need to ship a yacht overseas, there are two basic means of transport: on the deck of a commercial ship or inside a semi-submersible vessel. Which method to pick depends on a variety of considerations, including the location where you want to ship the yacht, the flexibility of your schedule, whether or not you want to use the transit time to get work done on board, and the price.

In the most common scenario, the yacht is lifted by crane onto a commercial ship and secured in a custom-built cradle on its deck, where it shares space with other cargo for the duration of the passage. Since cargo ships typically make multiple stops and can experience delays in loading and unloading cargo, it’s important to have a flexible schedule. “Shipping is not an exact science. You can’t expect to ship on a certain day and unload on a certain day. You have to give yourself flexibility,” Judson says.

On the other hand, booking space on a cargo ship gives you the advantage of being able to transport a yacht pretty much anywhere around the globe where that vessel is scheduled to deliver freight.

The other yacht-transport method, pioneered by Dockwise Yacht Transport (now DYT) in the 1980s, is “float on/float off.” DYT’s semi-submersible ships are partially submerged in the water; the yacht floats into it and is secured in a cradle on the deck by divers. Then, the water is drained from the hold. At the end of the voyage, the process is reversed and the yacht floats out.

“When the world woke up with a bang, the amount of consumer goods to be shipped outweighed the space available to ship them. That will take some time to stabilize,” he says.

DYT offers a limited number of routes designed to match typical yacht-shipping patterns, such as from the Mediterranean to Fort Lauderdale and the Caribbean and back. “What I think sets us apart from anyone else is that we have a set schedule — there is no deviation; there is no change. That is why charter yachts depend on us,” Tempest says.

When clients want to ship their yachts off the beaten path, DYT will refer them to its sister company, Sevenstar Yacht Transport, for bookings on board its cargo ships.

DYT recently launched a third ship, Yacht Servant , which was built in China and is scheduled to start transporting yachts in May. For a short window in 2022, DYT will have three semi-submersible vessels in operation, which should help to meet the rising demand for yacht transportation.

Riding Along

Before the pandemic, captains typically could send one or two crewmembers along with the yacht during either type of transportation, enabling them to use the passage as a mini yard period to get a variety of jobs done on board.

While most cargo ships do not permit riders to sleep in their yachts while in transit, before the pandemic, they often would assign them cabins in the ship and let them eat in the mess hall and recreate with the ship’s crew. However, when COVID-19 hit, most ship operators suspended this courtesy in order to reduce the risk of the disease spreading on board, which could lead to serious delays if the ship was forced to quarantine before unloading in a port.

“When things calm down, we will accept riders again,” Scarlata says. On DYT, “We still allow riders as it’s such a crucial part of the service that we offer,” Tempest says. In fact, the semi-submersible ships provide power to the yachts so that riders can sleep and work on board. At the height of the pandemic, however, the company limited the riders’ interaction with the ship’s crew. “They needed to provision their yacht for the duration of the voyage. They had to stay in the yacht and on the deck of the ship; they could not go into the ship’s superstructure.”

• 5 Things You Need to Know About Health Insurance During the Pandemic

One thing that has not changed in the yacht transportation industry is the need for owners and captains to ensure their vessel is properly insured for the passage. “Some people get caught out on this. They think their hull and machinery insurance will automatically cover them. They need to take out a separate marine cargo insurance policy,” Judson says.

Both Sevenstar and DYT include an all-risk insurance policy in the rate they quote for yacht transport. “Usually, one of the questions we get is, ‘Can we leave it out?’ It’s not optional,” Tempest says. “It covers everyone on board and eliminates the need for multiple underwriters.”

Price Increases

Captains booking transport for their yachts today are finding that insurance rates have gone up. “The whole insurance market has hardened over the last couple of years,” Judson says.

As for shipping, no matter what method you choose, you are bound to see a COVID-related price increase. “DYT rates have increased over the past six months. Many factors have attributed to this but certainly a large portion is a consequence of the global pandemic,” Tempest says.

“In the last ten years, freight rates have been very low…. Now the market has flipped a little bit,” Judson says. While there are a number of reasons behind this, the main one is the reduced amount of cargo space currently available.

As for shipping, no matter what method you choose, you are bound to see a COVID-related price increase. 

In early 2022, Judson reported that his company had seen rates for shipping yachts between the U.S. and the Caribbean go up 15 to 20 percent; transatlantic shipping rates had increased a 60 to 80 percent, and rates to and from the Far East had gone up 200 to as high as 300 percent. “Coming out of Asia, every ship is full to the gunwales and if you want some space, you have to pay through the nose for it,” he says.

“There are not as many people who are prepared to pay the increased freight rates we are seeing at the moment. There are a lot of people who are holding back…,” Judson continues. “Not everyone who ships a yacht is a multi-millionaire. We’ve got lots of clients who are dealers, brokers, and manufacturers who are moving their boats where they need to be to be sold as new boats…. I think the people and companies who are shipping their boats now are the ones who have more of a commercial need.”

This feature originally ran in the April 2022 issue of Dockwalk.

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Yacht Express, Dockwise Yacht Transport

The Yacht Express is the latest addition to the fleet of Dockwise Yacht Transport (DYT), which is the world's only float

Construction Started

Project type.

Heavy lift transport

Yantai Raffles Shipyard

Estimated Investment

Launched May 2007

Key Players

Dockwise Transport BV, Yacht Express BV, managed by Anglo-Eastern Ship Management Ltd

Engines and Specification

209m long, 32.20m wide, 8.5m deep with a draft of 5.8m. The submerged draft is 14m, the deck length is 165m, the deck width is 31m, deck space is 5,115m² and the weight is 15,000t (carrying capacity is 5,000t). The vessel class is 1A1 General Cargo C

Lead Contractors, Designers, Architects and Engineers

Dockwise Transport BV

The Yacht Express is the latest addition to the fleet of Dockwise Yacht Transport (DYT), which is the world’s only float-on/float-off yacht transport service. DYT is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is a group company of Dockwise Transport BV of the Netherlands.

The company has a fleet of 15 semi-submersible vessels for this purpose and the transport of other heavy maritime cargoes. Yacht Express is owned by Yacht Express BV and managed by Anglo-Eastern Ship Management Ltd.

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YACHT EXPRESS

In May 2007 DYT christened/launched the newest addition to the fleet, the flagship Yacht Express. The vessel was constructed at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard in Yantai, Province of Shandong, China.

The new ship, which is the largest of its kind in the world (130ft longer than the previous biggest carrier), was built with a semi-submersible dock bay which can accept yachts of any class.

The new vessel is 209m long, 32.20m wide, 8.5m deep with a draft of 5.8m. The submerged draft is 14m, the deck length is 165m, the deck width is 31m, the deck space is 5,115m² and the weight is 15,000t (with a carrying capacity of 5,000t).

The vessel class is 1A1 General Cargo Carrier DK(+) PWDK. The propulsion system of the vessel has two azimuth thrusters with a combined power of 10,200kW.

The Yacht Express will run on regularly scheduled trips between Florida and the Mediterranean. The ship has a service speed of 18kt, which means that the transatlantic voyage takes between eight and 15 days, 50% faster than previously.

Following its launch, the Yacht Express was used in the southern oceans around Australia and New Zealand before travelling to its base in Florida. It travelled across the Atlantic to make a special inaugural appearance at the Monaco Yacht Show in September 2007, where it was re-christened.

The loading process involves the carrier taking on ballast water until the main deck is submerged to a critical depth that allows the yachts to sail aboard. When all the yachts are loaded, divers are dispatched to attach temporary supports to keep the boats elevated as the ballast is released. The ballast water is then pumped out, bringing the carrier back above the waterline.

When the carrier deck is dry, the yachts are then welded to specially designed seaworthy fastenings to maintain them safely for transportation.

The ship features complimentary cabins for the ride-aboard crew of the yachts being transported. There is also a swimming pool, restaurant, cinema and conference, media and fitness facilities.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Yacht Express is outfitted with the latest technology for monitoring weather patterns and conditions on the high seas. The system installed in conjunction with the International SeaKeepers Society is the modular SeaKeeper 1000 ocean and meteorological monitoring system.

The SeaKeeper 1000 is installed as a fully automated unit that can sample, measure, record and transmit the critical measures of ocean health-salinity, temperature, oxygen and pollution to various scientific bodies across the world.

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Dockwise Yacht Transport: A Practical Choice for Cruisers

• By Michael Lovett
• Updated: August 28, 2009

For cruisers lacking the time, or the temerity, to sail across an ocean, the traditional means of delivering one’s boat to far-flung destinations involved hiring a captain and crew and having them do the dirty work. And when you consider the costs involved in such a delivery-including wear and tear on the boat-paying $35,000 to load your vessel onto a Dockwise cargo ship for a stress-free ocean crossing starts to make a lot of sense.

At least, it started to make sense to me after I took a tour of Yacht Express, the 685-foot flagship of the Dockwise Yacht Transport fleet, and saw how professionally these guys operate.

Earlier this summer, the world’s first purpose-built yacht carrier made its inaugural visit to Newport, Rhode Island, and Dockwise invited members of the media aboard to witness the loading and unloading process. Approaching the ship through the fog, I didn’t grasp its enormity. It wasn’t until a few minutes later, standing on the upper deck, looking over the dock bay where boats were floating in and out like transients at a marina, that I realized the scale of the operation. Wait a minute, I just watched a 49-foot boat pull a U-turn in the belly of a ship!

As colossal an undertaking as the Dockwise process may seem to a first-time observer like me, it’s becoming part of the routine for many sailors. William Borel is project manager for Challenge Twelve, a 12-meter racing campaign based in Antibes, France. When the boat’s owner opted not to sail in the 2009 12 Metre World Championships (Sept. 22 to 27), the crew came together to finance the regatta themselves– and chose Dockwise as the logical means of transporting the boat from France to Newport. On a July morning, Borel hopped aboard KA 10 and, with a skillful touch and an air of insouciance, backed it off the ship and into Narragansett Bay.

Dockwise charges about $35,000 to ship a 40-foot boat from Newport to the Mediterranean. One family I met (they asked not to be named) had used the service to transport their Hylas 49 Insieme from the East Coast to Palma Mallorca, where they spent two years cruising, and then used it again for the return trip across the Atlantic. They were anxious to float off of Yacht Express and on to the continuation of their journey, two more years of cruising along the East Coast. “When you factor in the costs of hiring a crew and food and fuel and wear and tear on the boat, it just makes more sense to do this,” said the owner.

On deck, Yacht Express felt like your average marina on a Tuesday morning– people working on their boats, preparing for big races, setting out on cruises. The real action happens below the surface of the dock bay. To start the unloading and loading process, the ship takes on water until its cargo bay becomes a 27-foot-deep boat basin, the front of the ship open to surrounding water. Departing boats simply untie and sail off; oncoming boats move into their predetermined positions. As the ship rises and water drains from the dock bay, divers position supports beneath the boats. Before the ship departs, the crew welds seafastenings to the deck and straps down its precious cargo.

Not long after our tour concluded, Yacht Express departed Newport for Port Everglades, Florida. Currently, these are the only U.S. ports Dockwise services, but the company has plans to add Long Beach, California, to its list of more than 20 ports worldwide. www.yacht-transport.com

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From Port to Paradise: The Pioneers in Superyacht Transport

When you need your gleaming superyacht safely and securely moved halfway around the world, you call DYT - the pioneers in yacht transport.

In this first of three articles, we’re going behind the scenes with DYT, deep diving into the high-stakes world of luxury yacht transportation . In a service in which where there’s no room for error, we’ll find out the history of this fascinating company and learn what it takes to successfully cross oceans with some of the world’s most expensive yachts. And of course, you’ll meet DYT’s high-tech, gargantuan semi-submersible vessels and get a whistle-stop tour of their features.

Diving into DYT

DYT offers superyacht owners, captains, yacht builders, and charter companies, amongst others, a regularly scheduled yacht transport service aboard one of its semi-submersible vessels, to major ports and yachting destinations and events around the world.

DYT’s fleet of yacht carriers is fully owned, operated and crewed by DYT as a member of the Spliethoff Group, ensuring that the company retains complete control over the shipping schedule, the quality of its service and all commitments made to its clients. “That’s a big point of difference with us,” said DYT’s Gabriele Consiglieri . “Everything belongs to us. It means that we’re 100% sure of the service we’re selling and the commitments we’re making. If something happens - for example, a delay due to bad weather - we are in a position to take immediate countermeasures. We’re able to find solutions and aren’t totally at the mercy of external challenges and events.” 

“Our clients enjoy a direct relationship with us,” he added, “They can look forward to clear and effective answers to their questions or needs. That’s a big selling point with us.”

The company’s head office is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while its commercial office is located in Monaco. It has additional offices in Genoa, Palma de Mallorca, and Amsterdam, as well as remote offices in Australia and New Zealand. Twenty shore-based staff are responsible for operations, marketing, sales and financial roles. DYT’s fleet of vessels, meanwhile, is crewed and technically supported by a global team of 1,500 people spanning both DYT and its parent group.

Power in people

Originally founded in 1987 as ‘Dockwise Yacht Transport’, the modern version of DYT took shape in 2013 when its current owners bought the company. The sale included the brand and the company’s vessels as well as the staff complement. 

According to Gabriele, the decision to retain the existing staff when the company was purchased, is all part of DYT’s commitment to consistency in every part of its service. “By keeping the original staff, the company delivered continuity and consistency in our service and people. That adds tremendous value to the client’s experience,” he said. “When you’re such an established company and you’re known as the market leader, that operational continuity is key. No matter what happens, both the customer and the market, in general, know that we’re there for them and that we will be there when we say we will.”

Ocean-crossing credibility

DYT has built a formidable reputation for consistency thanks to its regular scheduling and port dates . Apart from its world-class service and unique, high-tech vessels, the company regards its scheduling consistency as its biggest selling point. “We sell a regular, solid solution for people in need of yacht transportation,” Gabriele explained. “We place our port dates around popular events, shows and seasons. If there’s a reason for the yachts to be somewhere, for example, the Monaco Grand Prix, the Cannes Festival or the MYBA Charter show, then we’ll structure our calendar around that to meet the requirements around those events.” 

That scheduling consistency has built credibility and trust in the market, he explained. “Our clients know exactly what they’re getting because we’re always there - they get used to how we structure our service and in many cases, the workflow becomes somehow automatic.”

The submerging giants 

When DYT was first established in the late ‘80s, the idea of transporting superyachts was a novelty that didn’t yet have dedicated vessels capable of doing the job. “It required reinventing semi-submersible vessels that had previously mainly been used by the offshore industry,” Gabriele noted. “These ships were then adapted to yacht transportation.”

Since then, a lot has changed. Today, DYT’s fleet consists of two very big, highly capable, high-tech ships specifically designed to safely carry superyachts across the ocean. M/V Yacht Express was launched in 2007 as the very first purpose-built yacht carrier. Designed to deliver a stellar experience for riders especially, it incorporated DYT’s two decades of experience and has served its customers loyally ever since.

DYT’s latest and greatest asset is M/V Yacht Servant . With 6,800 sqm of deck space for carrying yachts and the ability to accommodate yachts of various sizes plus tenders, with an average of 25 boats per sailing, she is even larger - and much wider - than M/V Yacht Express.

M/V Yacht Servant incorporates the company’s lessons learned from M/V Yacht Express and the demands of modern owners, captains and riders, to deliver a truly world-class service. “No other vessel can carry so many yachts at the same time,” Gabriele confirmed.

On board hospitality 

Both the yachts and their riders are comprehensively accommodated on board Yacht Servant. Thanks to a constant supply of fresh and raw water as well as shore power from Yacht Servant, each yacht’s batteries are kept adequately charged at all times and its systems remain operational.

Outside, crews are able to carry out light maintenance on their yacht such as cleaning, wash downs, antifouling, polishing and repairs. “They can really take care of their yacht during the time that they’re on board with us,” said Gabriele. “They can work on the yacht as though it’s in dry dock. It’s very convenient, especially for very busy charter yachts where maintenance windows are few and far between!”

During their time off, crews are well catered for in a fully-equipped rider’s lounge that offers comfortable sofas, a TV with a PlayStation and games, and table tennis. The ship also includes a gym. “We want the riders to enjoy their time with us as much as possible,” Gabriele remarked. “They’re our guests! Our crew is there to ensure that our guests are happy and able to perform their planned maintenance. We also have some of the best cooks working for us, professionally managing the fully equipped kitchen and serving the best food. We really care about this aspect of our service and guest experience, and we’re constantly mindful that we have that crew aboard with us.” 

Raising the bar

While DYT is the yacht transport industry leader, it never allows itself to become complacent. “Even when you’re at the forefront of the industry, you still need to keep your standards high; you need to keep delivering the best service and improving on it all the time,” he said. “We intend to constantly fight for our position in the market, but we expect that M/V Yacht Servant will keep us on that path of market leadership.” 

Concluding, Gabriele reiterated the importance of DYT continuing to build trust and credibility in the market. “Our focus is on offering an excellent end-to-end experience while  assisting our customers with meeting their own commitments and deadlines. We’re on a mission every day to accompany the stakeholders of our industry in their cruising projects, strengthening our role as a reliable partner. After so many years in the industry, we are proud to call many of our clients friends; it feels great knowing that we’re doing something good and helpful for a customer every day. It’s never boring!”

There’s more to come

Be sure to join us for the next two articles in this series in which we find out where DYT’s client’s yachts are going and why, and we speak to captains and crew to find out what it’s like to ride a yacht in transit.

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Special stuff for boat transport for pond, nice work.

January 3, 2013 at 12:44 pm

Reply ↓

As for the cost of yacht transportation, according to Seven Seasus, it all depends on the specific situation, but the price determining factors – the size of the boat and the distance.

February 24, 2016 at 12:52 pm

Jana Sheeder

Thank you for your comment, Dane! Yes, that’s right. Price for transport is determined by a number of factors. Since #superyachts are transported regularly, it can be a pricey undertaking, but one that is very necessary. Great comment!

Best regards, Jana Sheeder President 1-800 Yacht Charters and 1-800 BAREBOAT

February 25, 2016 at 7:42 am

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Sardinia Luxury Tax on Mediterranean Yacht Charter Vessels Abolished

Posted June 10, 2009 by admin

Ferretti Yacht SEA STREAM brings Luxury Charter to Seychelles

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Dockwise Yacht Transport: Carpooling Across Oceans

• By Michael Lovett
• Updated: July 29, 2009

The Hylas 49 /Insieme/ floats out of the dock bay of Yacht Express, the 685-foot flagship of the Dockwise Yacht Transport fleet. For more photos, click here [1]. [1] https://www.sailingworld.com/photogallery.jsp?ID=1000024220

I had seen commercial ships before-plowing through weeknight racecourses on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, navigating the twists and turns of Ohio’s Cuyahogoa River-but I never understood just how big they are until yesterday, when I took a tour of Yacht Express, the 685-foot flagship of the Dockwise Yacht Transport fleet.

The world’s first purpose-built yacht carrier was making its inaugural visit to Newport, and Dockwise invited members of the media aboard to witness the loading and unloading process.

Approaching the ship through the fog, I didn’t grasp its enormity. It wasn’t until a few minutes later, standing on the upper deck, looking over the dock bay where boats were floating in and out like transients at a marina, that I realized the scale of the operation. Wait a minute, I just watched a 49-foot boat pull a U-turn in the belly of a ship!

As colossal an undertaking as the Dockwise process may seem to a first-time observer like me, it’s becoming part of the routine for many sailors. William Borel is project manager for Challenge Twelve, the 1983, Ben Lexcen-designed 12-meter based in Antibes, France. When the boat’s owner opted not to sail in the 2009 12 Metre World Championships (Sept. 22 to 27), the crew came together to finance the regatta themselves-and chose Dockwise as the logical means of transporting the boat from France to Newport. On Tuesday morning, Borel met Challenge Twelve at the end of its Atlantic crossing and, with a skillful touch and an air of insouciance, backed it off the ship and into Narragansett Bay.

Dockwise charges about $35,000 to ship a 40-foot boat from Newport to the Mediterranean. For owners comparing the costs of hiring a crew to sail the boat over, the Dockwise option starts to look pretty good. It’s also a great option for sailors who don’t have the time, or the temerity, to sail across an ocean.

A Canadian family (they asked not to be named) used Dockwise to transport their Hylas 49 Insieme to the Mediterranean, where they spent two years cruising out of Palma Mallorca. Yesterday, they were anxious to float off Yacht Express and on to the continuation of their journey, two more years of cruising along the East Coast. “When you factor in the costs of hiring a crew and food and fuel and wear and tear on the boat, it just makes more sense to do this,” said the owner.

On deck, Yacht Express felt like your average marina on a Tuesday morning-people working on their boats, preparing for big races, setting out on cruises. The real action happens below the surface of the dock bay. To start the unloading and loading process, the ship takes on water until its cargo bay becomes a 27-foot-deep boat basin, the front of the ship open to surrounding water. Departing boats simply untie and sail off; oncoming boats move into their predetermined positions. As the ship rises and water drains from the dock bay, divers position supports beneath the boats. Before the ship departs, the crew welds seafastenings to the deck and straps down its precious cargo.

Not long after our tour concluded, Yacht Express departed Newport for Port Everglades, Florida. Currently, these are the only U.S. ports Dockwise services, but the company has plans to add Long Beach, California, to its list of more than 20 ports worldwide.

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Dyt yacht transport and sevenstar yacht transport, titans of boat shipping partner to serve the world.

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL --(Marketwired - February 13, 2014) - Now that the partnership between leading yacht transport companies DYT Yacht Transport and Sevenstar Yacht Transport has been finalized, it's great news for yacht owners who, by choice or necessity, depend on the shipping of their prized possessions to various ports around the world. The two companies, while maintaining their separate identities, are fully equipped to advise on the best options for either float-on/float-off (FLO/FLO) or lift-on/lift-off (LO/LO) services offered by a fleet of over 120 ships that are wholly owned and operated by parent company the Spliethoff Group, one of the largest ship owners in The Netherlands, which plays a major role in the global transport market.

"The partnership makes all the sense in the world," said Richard Klabbers, Sevenstar's managing director. He explained that DYT's two ships -- Yacht Express and Super Servant 4 -- are the world's only dedicated yacht transport ships that can submerge their dock bays for easy FLO/FLO entry and exit of yachts on their own keels and are assigned primarily to the safe and expeditious transport of yachts across the Atlantic Ocean. Sevenstar's expansive global routes, which have been serviced by Spliethoff's LO/LO carriers since 1987 -- the same year that DYT performed its first yacht transport operations under the name Dock Express -- offer yacht owners unlimited access to just about any travel destination in the world.

"By keeping the two trusted brands intact, we will continue to give our customers understandable choices," Klabbers continued. "A charter boat owner has to be in the Caribbean or the Med by a certain date and back to the U.S. by another; a game fishing enthusiast needs to be at a tournament in Costa Rica; a cruising couple wants to start a 'round-the-world adventure in the South Pacific -- every situation for every yacht owner is different. Whatever the need and no matter which of our offices or agents they call, they will be expertly advised on the best way to safely transport their yacht."

A total of 12 experienced loading masters constantly travel the globe to orchestrate the loading and unloading of yachts entrusted to DYT and Sevenstar. "Better a specially trained professional than a common stevedore to handle such precious cargo as multi-million dollar yachts," explained Klabbers, who added that DYT and Sevenstar agents also are strategically posted around the world to advise and handle logistics for yacht owners once bookings have been decided. He cautioned that some companies in the yacht transport business are simply "freight forwarders," which can lead to a yacht being stuck in port when its proposed ride -- usually a general cargo carrier that happens to have extra space on deck -- is detained or doesn't meet its schedule. "Our business is about getting the yachts to their destinations safe, sound and hassle-free. All insurance work and port clearances are completed in advance by our agents. All loading, unloading, cradling and fastening of yachts is overseen by our loading masters."

"There are so many fabulous cruising destinations worldwide," said Klabbers, "and with our help, one could possibly reach them all in a lifetime."

Other benefits of transporting with DYT and Sevenstar are less wear and tear on yachts; time off for crew during transport; less time required for delivery; and new horizons to explore. For more information on DYT and Sevenstar, visit http://www.yacht-transport.com and http://www.sevenstar-yacht-transport.com/ ; contact Catalina Bujor, DYT Yacht Transport, +1 954-525-8707, [email protected] , or Sander Schuurman, Sevenstar Yacht Transport, +31 20 4488 693, [email protected]

More about DYT Yacht Transport DYT Yacht Transport (DYT), headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (US), specializes in the maritime transport of private luxury yachts. DYT utilizes semi-submersible dock bays that allow yachts of any size to be safely and easily floated on and off as cargo, making it a leading provider of yacht transportation on a regular liner service. Since its maiden voyage in 1987, the company has transported over 13,000 motor and sailing yachts to various destinations around the globe, offering owners and charterers safe and easy access to many of the world's premier cruising grounds. Along with area representatives around the globe, DYT has additional operating offices in Italy, Martinique and Newport (R.I.).

More about Sevenstar Yacht Transport Sevenstar Yacht Transport is the world's leading provider of yacht shipping services, with a global network of destinations and a fleet of over 120 independent carriers. Sevenstar Yacht Transport is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and runs a worldwide network with offices in the United States, the UK, Australia and Turkey, and agents in Monaco, Germany, Russia and New Zealand. In October 2013 Sevenstar acquired DYT Yacht Transport including two semi-submersible vessels dedicated to float-in, float-off yacht transport, making it a perfect fit with Sevenstar's lift-on, lift-off yacht transport specialty.

The following files are available for download:

One of Sevenstar's fully loaded ships gets underway

A megayacht is lifted on to the deck of one of Sevenstar Yacht Transport's ships

DYT Yacht Express Port Everglades

DYT transporting boats and yachts all over the world

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Written by Zuzana Bednarova

Whether carrying 50-foot sport fishing boats or 250-foot luxury yachts, Dockwise Yacht Transport (DYT) and its fleet of semi-submersible ships provide clients with access to plenty of the world’s most important shipping ports, which in turn lead to some of the most desirable travel destinations around the world.

Super Servant 4 in Auckland New Zealand, a popular yachting destination for Dockwise Yacht Transport

In early February, DYT’s 556-foot (169.49 meter) Super Servant 4 started its annual passage to Brisbane ( Australia ) and Auckland ( New Zealand ), a sailing that originated in Palma de Mallorca in late November, 2012. Having stopped in Le Marin ( Martinique ), Port Everglades ( Florida ) and Golfito ( Costa Rica ) on its way to the South Pacific , the semi-submersible ship, which “sinks” to load and unload its floating yacht cargo, is now enroute to Golfito and will return to Port Everglades before it goes transatlantic.

Currently aboard Super Servant 4 is Glen Kerunsky’s (Calgary, Canada) 64-foot (19.66-meter) motor yacht Mystery Ship, with which Kerunsky has cruised the South Pacific for the last three-and-a-half years.

“The last time we used Dockwise was in 2008, to ship our boat from Long Beach to Vancouver,” said Kerunsky . “We cruised Mystery Ship all the way down to the South Pacific from Canada , but if we could do the trip again, we would start by shipping the boat on Dockwise to Auckland and begin our trip there. The country is a must-see, and there are so many friendly people.”

Kerunsky and his wife Cindy enjoy scuba diving but they like to discover each of their new destinations both by sea and by land. After they had exhausted their options in New Zealand, they cruised north to Tonga and then west to Fiji where they did more diving. The next stop was the Vanuatu Islands .

“It is a very friendly place,” said Kerunsky . “All of these places make you feel like you are stepping back in time, and it’s great because many of the islands are so remote that many tourists cannot get to them.” After exploring the Vanuatu, the couple cruised to New Caledonia , and from there it was a four-day run to Australia. In Australia, they explored the coastline and dove the Great Barrier Reef before cruising south to Brisbane to ship their boat.

“Dockwise is timely, easy to work with, and there is always a representative to talk to,” said Kerunsky, acknowledging that when things go like clockwork, it’s easier for yacht owners to pursue the wilder of their dreams . In fact, when Mystery Ship arrives in the port town of Golfito, located on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, the Kerunskys plan to continue their adventure, taking excursions up and down the Costa Rican coastline and into Panama , Nicaragua and El Salvador before they cruise to Mexico and then head home to Canada by the summer of 2014. “We’re looking forward to hiking through the rain forest in Costa Rica and getting into the whole rhythm of the countries we visit, experiencing the food and meeting the people.”

According to Jason Roberts, president of Aurora Global Logistics and DYT’s agent in Australia, Brisbane is an especially attractive port for both big game fishermen and those cruising on sailing or power yachts. “Australia’s east coast is a major draw for fishing, especially Far North Queensland, where anglers from all over the world come, hoping to catch a 1,000 pound Marlin and win the Port Douglas Marlin Challenge,” said Roberts . “As for superyachts, they can head north to the Great Barrier Reef or south to French Polynesia .” (DYT also directly services Papeete, Tahiti .)

After Super Servant 4 stopped in Brisbane, it picked up additional yachts in Auckland, including the Auckland-based VvS1, a 111.32-foot (33.94-meter) motor yacht ultimately destined for Palma de Mallorca.

“I’ve loaded previous boats on Dockwise for transatlantic voyages, so I knew the process,” said Andy Grocott (Auckland, New Zealand), who has been the captain of VvS1 for over six years . “Dockwise is reliable, on schedule, and the timing of the departure from Auckland has us arriving in Palma in good time for the Mediterranean charter season.”

Grocott explained that VvS1 was built at Alloy Yachts in Auckland and the boat has returned to the region the past six summers , “because it has a great marine infrastructure with marinas, shipyards, technicians, yacht agents and excellent cruising grounds.” He added that VvS1 spends the winters cruising the South Pacific – French Polynesia, Tonga, Wallis, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Queensland. “The owner, who has listed the boat for sale, is looking for new places to go, and when VvS1 arrives in Palma de Mallorca it will spend a few weeks there before heading to the south of France and then Turkey to begin its cruising season,” said Grocott . “VvS1 is capable of making the trip to the Med on her own bottom, but the time it would take, plus the cost of fuel and wear and tear on the vessel, makes transportation by Dockwise a better option.”

Float-on/Float-off Super Servant 4 is one of DYT’s owned and operated “float-on/float-off” yacht carriers. It uses a unique de-ballasting process that allows seawater to flood the ship’s dock bay to a draft required by the yachts to safely motor in from the stern of the ship. When the yachts are over their assigned positions and touch the wooden cribbing or rubber mat, divers place temporary supports upright as the ship slowly rises from the water until the deck is dry and the ship’s crew can begin the docking operation. With its cargo secure, the DYT ship leaves for its next destination, a veritable moving marina.

The company is also able to coordinate lift-on/lift-off voyages onboard third-party cargo ships when needing to service additional ports of call. In fact, to keep up with the adventurous appetites of its clients, DYT has confirmed an upcoming voyage that will commence in Singapore in mid- to late March and stop in Phuket ( Thailand ) and Malta along the way, with a final destination of Genoa ( Italy ) at the end of April.

Please contact CharterWorld - the luxury yacht charter specialist - for more on superyacht news item "DYT transporting boats and yachts all over the world".

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Sevenstar Yacht Transport

“The cooperation makes all good sense on the planet, ” said Richard Klabbers, Sevenstar’s managing director. He explained that DYT’s two ships— Yacht Express and Super Servant 4 —are the world’s only devoted boat transportation vessels that can submerge their particular dock bays for easy FLO/FLO entry and exit of yachts independently keels consequently they are assigned primarily toward safe and expeditious transport of yachts over the Atlantic Ocean. Sevenstar’s expansive international roads, that have been serviced by Spliethoff’s LO/LO providers since 1987– the exact same year that DYT performed its very first yacht transport operations under the name Dock Express – provide boat owners limitless usage of virtually any travel destination on earth.

“By keeping the 2 trusted brands undamaged, we are going to continue steadily to offer our clients understandable alternatives, ” Klabbers carried on. “A charter yacht owner needs to maintain the Caribbean or perhaps the Med by a particular day and back into the U.S. by another; a casino game fishing enthusiast needs to be at an event in Costa Rica; a cruising few desires to begin a ‘round-the-world adventure inside South Pacific – every scenario for every yacht owner is significantly diffent. No Matter What need and no matter which of our offices or agents they call, they'll certainly be skillfully encouraged on how to properly transfer their boat.”

A group of experienced running masters continuously travels the planet to orchestrate the running and unloading of yachts entrusted to DYT and Sevenstar. “Better a specially trained professional to handle such precious cargo as multi-million buck yachts, ” explained Klabbers, whom included that DYT and Sevenstar agents also are strategically posted all over the world to advise and manage logistics for yacht owners as soon as bookings have already been determined. He cautioned that some companies in the yacht transportation business that work as “freight forwarders” aren't built with the understanding and knowledge required to send yachts. This will cause a yacht becoming caught in interface whenever its recommended trip is detained, does not occur, or the costs are perhaps not completely revealed towards yacht owner. “Our company is about obtaining the yachts with their destinations safe, sound and hassle-free. All insurance work and slot clearances tend to be finished in advance by our agents. All running, unloading, cradling and fastening of yachts is supervised by our running masters.”

Other benefits of moving with DYT and Sevenstar tend to be less deterioration on yachts; time down for staff during transport; a shorter time necessary for distribution; and brand-new perspectives to explore.

“There are countless fabulous cruising destinations globally, ” said Klabbers, “and with your help, one could possibly achieve them in an eternity.”

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Destinations - DYT Yacht Transport

Destinations

Dyt shipping destinations: global yacht transport destinations.

DYT services a wide variety of beautiful, exotic and thoroughly enjoyable yacht shipping destinations around the world. Our yacht transport expertise quite literally spans the seven seas. From Australia and the South Pacific to the Mediterranean, and the East Coast of the United States, we ship vessels of any size to some of the most beautiful harbors and waters in the world. Our expansive selection of global yacht transport destinations ensures that our customers can enjoy some of the world’s most desirable cruising grounds around the globe. In addition, our yacht shipping services are covered by yacht shipping insurance so our clients can rest easy knowing that their boat or yacht is in good hands and is covered financially.

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