How Does Shipping a Yacht Work?

Shipping a yacht sounds like a strange concept.

After all, your yacht is a vessel. You can sail it to wherever it needs to go, which may make shipping it to another location seem pointless. But that’s before you take account of the wear and tear involved with sailing your yacht over long distances.

For example, let’s say you want to take your yacht from New York to London. That’s 3008.39 nautical miles of sailing, which places a heavy burden on your vessel, assuming it can make the trip at all. The yacht will likely need to undergo repairs or maintenance work when it arrives at its destination, meaning you face a delay before using it again.

Compare that to what happens when you ship a yacht.

The vessel doesn’t have to handle the journey itself, meaning it arrives at its destination in the same condition it was in when it left. Shipping a yacht gets the vessel where it needs to be safely and ready for use immediately.

So, it’s clear that shipping a yacht makes sense in some circumstances. Now, you need to know how to transport a yacht before you start your search for a shipping company.

How Are Yachts Shipped?

There are two main ways to ship a yacht overseas:

1. On the deck of a larger ship
2. Within a semi-submersible vehicle

Both offer pros and cons, with the first option also offering different ways of loading your yacht.

Shipping on the Deck of a Larger Ship

This is the most common way of shipping a yacht. It involves moving the yacht onto the deck of a ship, where it’s secured in place using a custom cradle built into the deck. The yacht will usually share space with other cargo during the journey. As a result, you might expect the transporting ship to make multiple stops before your yacht reaches its destination.

There are two techniques that a yacht shipping company may use to load your yacht onto a commercial ship:

• Roll-On, Roll-Off (RORO)
• Lift On, Lift Off (LOLO)

The RORO Method

This method allows workers to roll your yacht onto the ship. The vessel is placed on a large trailer, which the shippers can drive directly onto the ship and into the cradle designated for the yacht. RORO ships typically come with ramps and slips to facilitate this loading method.

RORO tends to cost less than LOLO because it requires fewer logistical steps. The carrier only needs to worry about getting the yacht onto the trailer and then rolling it into place. However, the need for workers to drive the yacht around creates a higher risk of accidents occurring. Your yacht will also be exposed to the elements when using this shipping method.

These risks are mitigated somewhat by the convenience of RORO shipping. It’s less time-consuming to load a yacht onto a ship using this method, which usually means your yacht will arrive at your destination quicker than it would with LOLO shipping. Unfortunately, this provision isn’t available at all ports. Some smaller ports don’t allow RORO shipments for several reasons, such as not having the facilities to enable workers to safely drive large cargo off a ship.

The LOLO Method

This method involves using cranes built into the transporting vessel to lift your yacht. Your boat will be dry-docked at a port, where it’s secured using a special cradle. The LOLO ship uses its crane to lift the cradle onto the cargo ship before securing it ready for the voyage. The technique is often used for mid-size yachts.

Using cranes means that LOLO vessels have more logistical issues to concern themselves with. Naturally, this leads to higher costs than the RORO method, which is far simpler. However, the increased safety that comes with LOLO shipping justifies the higher cost. The LOLO method uses special cradles, which protect your yacht against the elements and hold it secure when the vessel is being moved on and off the cargo ship.

Better yet, most ports have the facilities required to handle LOLO unloading, meaning you have more choices for pick-up and drop-off destinations. An often underappreciated benefit of LOLO shipping is that it’s also more environmentally friendly than the RORO method. Driving a heavy yacht on and off a cargo vessel creates more carbon dioxide emissions than using a crane to lift the vessel.

Shipping Within a Semi-Submersible Vessel

Shipping a yacht using a semi-submersible vehicle helps avoid issues related to lifting or driving the vessel onto a deck. Instead, the cargo vessel is partially submerged in water, allowing the yacht to float into a cargo hold. Your yacht is then secured in a cradle before the cargo hold is drained in preparation for the voyage. When the cargo ship arrives at its destination, it partially submerges again, allowing your yacht to be floated out.

The primary advantage of this method is that you don’t have to worry about the logistics of loading your yacht onto the ship. There’s no lifting or driving involved, which reduces the possibility of accidents causing significant damage to a yacht that already costs hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars.

Using a semi-submersible vessel also enables the transportation of superyachts and megayachts, neither of which can be safely driven or lifted onto a cargo vessel.

How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Yacht?

Yacht transport rates vary tremendously based on several factors, including the type of transportation used and the size of the vessel. We’ll dig into the factors in more detail in a moment. But to give you an idea of how much the costs can vary, shipping a yacht from the U.S. to Europe using RORO shipping can be as little as $300 per foot. Most simple motor yachts measure 78 feet long, which creates a total cost of $23,400.

Conversely, shipping a 120-foot yacht may require you to pay surcharges, in addition to forcing you to use a more expensive shipping method. You may pay up to $175,000 to ship between the U.S. and Europe for such yachts. While that may seem excessive, remember that you may have to spend up to $400,000 on fuel alone to make this journey using the yacht.

The Factors That Affect Yacht Transport Prices

Several issues affect your yacht shipping cost. Knowing what they are may help you to mitigate, or at least prepare for, the cost to ship a yacht overseas.

Factor No. 1 – The Size of Your Yacht

The bigger your yacht, the higher the yacht transport cost will be. This applies to all types of transportation. RORO services require larger cradles, more fuel to load your yacht, and more space on their ships when moving larger vessels. The ship space issue affects LOLO and semi-submersible transportation too. Add in the extra resources that may be required to care for the yacht during transit, and you will spend more on larger vessels.

Factor No. 2 – How You Ship a Yacht

RORO shipping costs less than LOLO because of the reduced logistical concerns mentioned earlier. Even when taking the fact that RORO shipping requires more fuel into account, the complexities of lifting a yacht on and off a cargo vessel outstrip the costs of simply rolling it.

Semi-submersible vessels tend to carry a higher yacht transport ship cost than RORO and LOLO. This may initially seem strange, given that your yacht is floated into position. But these vessels are more technologically advanced, meaning they cost more than RORO and LOLO vessels. Furthermore, semi-submersibles are usually used for larger yachts, which only adds to the cost.

Factor No. 3 – Starting Point and Destination

You have to account for the distance of your yacht transport by sea. Cost increases apply to larger distances. For example, shipping a yacht from the New York coast to the Florida coast costs less than shipping it from New York to Europe because of the shorter distances involved.

But distance isn’t the only factor when considering starting and endpoints.

Shipping a yacht requires the rental of deck space in a port. The port must also provide the necessary facilities for your specific type of yacht transport. Prices for these services vary depending on the port and country. As a result, two voyages of comparable lengths may vary in price depending on exactly where the vessel is going.

Preparing Your Yacht for the Voyage

Preparing to ship a yacht isn’t a simple process. Your shipping company requires specific measurements to determine the cost of their service and the cradle needed to secure your vessel. You must also ensure your yacht is protected during the voyage. Follow these steps to get your yacht ready for shipping.

Step No. 1 – Measure Carefully

Your transportation company needs to know your vessel’s exact height, width, and length before they can ship it. This includes any swim platforms, bow platforms, or anything else that protrudes from the yacht but isn’t necessarily part of the yacht itself.

Step No. 2 – Remove Loose Items

If your yacht contains several loose items, you should remove them before shipping. Failure to do so could result in these items bouncing around your yacht and causing damage. Examples of loose articles to remove include:

• Propellors
• Anchors
• Electronic devices
• Lights
• Antennas

You should also secure any cabinets and covers and remove any valuables you don’t want to risk losing during the voyage. Some of these items can be stored safely in your yacht’s cargo hold. If that’s not possible, ask your shipping company if they provide separate storage for the yacht’s fixtures and accessories.

Step No. 3 – Winterize Your Yacht

Winterizing your yacht means preparing it to spend an extended period in storage during a time of year when it won’t be in use. You’ll follow the same steps when winterizing to prepare your yacht for overseas shipping.

Disconnect all of the batteries and empty the fresh and grey water tanks. You should also empty the water from the vessel’s air conditioning and drain plugs. Remove most of the fuel, leaving only enough for the yacht to be driven to the appropriate location when it reaches port.

Step No. 4 – Clean and Photograph the Yacht’s Exterior

Cleaning your yacht isn’t about making it look pretty for your transportation company. Shipping a yacht can be a risky process that can result in damage if it’s not done correctly. Cleaning your yacht gives you a clear view of the condition it’s in before shipping, allowing you to quickly identify damage.

After cleaning:

• Spend some time taking photographs of the yacht from every possible angle.
• Document any scuffs, dents, or other damage you find to create an itemized list of existing issues.
• Present a copy of this list to your shipping company so it knows your vessel’s condition.

Your photographs may prove that you’re in the right if you need to bring a claim against your yacht shipping company.

Step No. 5 – Prepare Your Boat Transport Documents

You may require special documentation if you ship your yacht to another country. This typically includes a copy of your yacht’s title, a bill of lading, and a bill of sale. Ideally, your shipping company will help you handle this documentation before it transports your vessel. If it doesn’t, contact the destination country’s embassy and ask about any documentation you need or customs regulations you have to follow. You may also have to apply for permits for the yacht.

Find the Right Company to Ship a Yacht Safely

Your yacht is a precious vessel that you can’t risk leaving in the hands of an inexperienced shipping company. Any business you work with needs to be capable of describing its entire shipping process, in addition to providing proof that it has the equipment and knowledge necessary to take care of your seagoing pride and joy.

A-1 Auto Transport fits that bill.

We offer full-service yacht shipping to both domestic and overseas locations. Our team helps you prepare your vessel, get the required permits, and handle the logistics to simplify shipping a yacht.

Would you like to learn more?

Call our team at 1-888-230-9116 or get a quote online to find out what it will cost to ship your yacht.