Cost: Shipping Yacht to Australia

[hoppy]

Anyone here either shipped or got a quote for shipping a yacht to Australia from either the Med or the Caribbean?

I am looking at buying a 35 to 40ft yacht to play with in the Med for anywhere between a season or a couple of years and then taking it to Australia.

At them moment I have no idea if I will want to ship it from the Med or perhaps take it to the Caribbean and then ship it (after a season there).

It would be nice to get a feel for the cost to know what my total budget needs to be. I did write one company on the weekend asking for a ballpark figure, they offer that service to people looking to buy, but I have yet got a response.

Any suggestions on shipping companies would be appreciated.

[akio.kanemoto]

Just a month ago, I got a quote from Dockwise for a 56 footer from France to Brisbane. USD $82k. OMFG.

Remember that the AU Govt will shaft you GST on the transport cost itself on import too... so add another $8k and then more...

I'd be very interested to hear if you find a sensible quote somewhere else.

Originally Posted by hoppy

Anyone here either shipped or got a quote for shipping a yacht to Australia from either the Med or the Caribbean?

I am looking at buying a 35 to 40ft yacht to play with in the Med for anywhere between a season or a couple of years and then taking it to Australia.

At them moment I have no idea if I will want to ship it from the Med or perhaps take it to the Caribbean and then ship it (after a season there).

It would be nice to get a feel for the cost to know what my total budget needs to be. I did write one company on the weekend asking for a ballpark figure, they offer that service to people looking to buy, but I have yet got a response.

Any suggestions on shipping companies would be appreciated.

[hoppy]

I saw the price before I noticed that you are talking 56ft.

I get the impression that Dockwise are the Rolls Royce of yacht shipping. I saw a doco on Discovery about them, quite cool ships. My planned yacht size would get lost among the superyachts

[hoppy]

Found this place Yacht Shipping: Shipping Yachts, Motor Boats, Boats and Yachts and just sent them an email.

[akio.kanemoto]

Good luck!

Originally Posted by hoppy

Found this place Yacht Shipping: Shipping Yachts, Motor Boats, Boats and Yachts and just sent them an email.

[Weyalan]

You pay import duty
You pay GST on whichever is higher out of the purchase price or the gov't valuation (if they think your price is too low)
You pay GST on the import duty
You pay GST on the delivery cost, whichever is higher out of the actualy cost or or the gov't decision on what they think it should have cost

[Cheechako]

My buddy shipped one FROM AUS to USA west coast via normal freighter, Cant remember but roughly $18k US rings a bell. He said if it would fit inside a 40 ft container space would be a lot cheaper. His wouldnt fit.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by Weyalan

You pay import duty
You pay GST on whichever is higher out of the purchase price or the gov't valuation (if they think your price is too low)
You pay GST on the import duty
You pay GST on the delivery cost, whichever is higher out of the actually cost or or the gov't decision on what they think it should have cost

Yeah I know

I expect that if I was to buy in Greece, sail to the Caribbean solo and then ship it, they will calculate the shipping as the freighter cost plus the cost of a fully crewed yacht sailing from the purchase point.

On the plus side at least the duty is 5% and GST 10%. In Sweden I have to suffer 5% & 25% so it still sounds a bargain

The prices of the boats in Europe plus Aussie taxes (not incl shipping) are still substantially cheaper than in Aus which does leave a lot of fat to pay for the shipping.

If it works out at break-even it will still be a good deal for me as I will play with it over this way first anyway.

[osirissail]

I have investigated and kept up ever the last 10 year on the subject shipping my boat rather than crossing oceans. I found there are 3 ways to do it.
#1 and the most known is Dockwise Transport and their float on/off vessels. They are the premium way and charge premium rates. By the way my same size vessel as Akio.... was quoted by DYT in 2004 at US$40K while the 42' boat next to me in a Trinidad marina was quoted US$20K. Seems that at that time DYT had a breakpoint at 50' LOA that doubled the price. I have read recently of 40 footers from USA to AUS being charges around US$60K.
#2 way is as mast-up deck cargo on a freighter. They used to run about 20 to 25% cheaper than DYT which was significant money. Peter and Mays in Tortola BVI handles this for the Caribbean.
#3 way is on Container Ships. This is the least expensive way to ship but the more involved and complicated way. It involves 3 different processes: Hauling the boat, taking down the mast(s) and prepping the exterior and interior. The another company comes in and builds a custom cradle to hold your boat that matches the attachment points and size of a container and they normally arrange to transport the boat from boatyard to the port container ship terminal. Finally, you "rent" as many "container" spaces on the ship as needed to accommodate your boat. The rate for container spaces 10 years ago was US$5K each. At the destination you reverse the process. Many boat manufacturers use the Container Ship option as it is the cheapest and they have the facilities and cradles to do the first two steps.

[Cheechako]

Yea, option 3 is what my buddy used....

[donradcliffe]

We shipped a 40 footer from Auckland to San Francisco back in the nineties, on a cradle based on a 'flat rack', which is a container without sides and top. The shipping cost was US$ 12k, but the total cost was $25K.

[hoppy]

Thanks osirissail, good info

Option 3 sounds like the way to go

No response from either company I contacted. I would not have thought it would take them too much effort to write a quick response to me. Sure I may not be ready to sign on the dotted line and give them business, but their response or lack of now will make a difference when it comes time for me to do it for real.

[hoppy]

I Just checked my yahoo spam folder and found a "delivery notice failure" mail for one of the quote requests and a response from the other company

It pays to check your spam folder

I got a response from tauruslogistics.co.nz where i asked for a price based on a Jeanneau SO 37.

They said as a guide US$25k plus €3000 for cradle and loading and similar upon arrival in Aus. They could only move a boat like this from France or Holland, which would be fine by me.

They said the price was based on volume (so I guess they use the container space method) and if I can remove the keel it will be even cheaper.

[dana-tenacity]

What about a paid delivery skipper, I've done that trip a few times, let's say three months travelling. There would be wear and tear on the boat and gear but you are talking big bucks anyway??????????????

[Boracay]

My costing on bringing a yacht to Australia (even on it's own bottom) was that it was so expensive as to be impractical.

My suggestion: Buy the yacht in the Med, use it for as long as, even sail it to the Caribbean for as long as, then sell it for what you can get.

When you come to Australia you will likely have no time or even use for a large cruising boat, so saving the (getting towards) $150k the exercise would cost you will buy another boat when you want one.