Shipping France to Australia

[Barra]

Hi All

As I have been posting on a couple of other threads here I am getting close to buying a french cat (taking advantage of the weak EUR) and then shipping it back to Oz (time comittments prevent me sailing her and im not that keen on a delivery though that may change)

In getting quotes for this it seems i have run into a bit of a cartel amongst shipping brokers and shipowners ie quotes have near doubled once Ive gone from indicative to a firm ship. Im getting multiple quotes and the one broker that doesnt double his price is just informed that "due to preexisting relationships" he can no longer quote me for a particular ship as another broker has exlusive arrangements in place.

The broker locked out is the one that I have been dealing with for some months so theres no actual pre existing anything with the other mob.

Ill leave actual brokers names out of it for now but if the same kind of behavior happened here in Oz there would be a wall of consumer protection coming to bear. Not so it seems for interntational freight.

Luckily ive not committed too far to a boat but its made me very wary that if i do i have a sold shipping agreement in place.

What have been others experience here? can they recommend an agent based on actual experience (not heresay)?

many thanks
Barra

[Morrissey]

Shipping prices are quite volatile, its very demand sensitive in general for standard sizes. You want to ship something odd sized when demand is high - you'll pay a premium. Perhaps you can take delivery and then wait for a downturn in shipping prices - that can happen quite quickly, over a few months.

I figure that unless you are spending more than about $400K on a catamaran, the only import route that makes sense from EU to AUS is sail back yourself.

[Barra]

Thanks for you reply Armagh

I used to ship the odd cape size of coal from oz to asia back in the day so i know how much the cost of a ship can move short term!

My beef is with the cartel aspect of it and was wondering how others have dealt with it ie buy and wait as you say is one option.

Sailing is another but not for me as im still working

[maxingout]

Shipping prices vary significantly with the season and with the port from which the yacht is being shipped.

I have a friend who wanted to ship a yacht from Fort Lauderdale to Israel. The megabuck price from Fort Lauderdale was way too high. But if he moved the yacht north of Charleston, South Carolina, the shipping was less than half the Fort Lauderdale price.

You might want to consider sailing the boat to another port in France, England, or Spain if the prices were less.

My boat catamaran was built in Sable d'Olonne, France, but it was sailed to England and then shipped to the USA from England, because that was the most affordable way to make it happen.

[ausaviator]

You should consider a delivery crew. With schedules of the ships particularly dedicated ones it might (should) work out faster and it might work out cheaper even with wear and tear.

[dirkdig]

It would be interesting to get a approximate cost on wear and tear for a water delivery.sails up for severl months has got to add up i would think?

[Morrissey]

Expensive from Europe to Aus. Probably cannot get insurance if using Suez Canal. So, its the long way either Atlantic plus Pacific crossings, or around Cape of Good Hope. I'd say $50-60k if you are lucky, before spares/sail replacement etc

[Ozbullwinkle]

Hi Barra, I do not know what your budget is or if you are currently in the offer stage for an overseas cat but with the added cost of shipping a cat from Europe + duty + GST have you seen this one? A nice looking Oram 44C on the Gold Coast & 2007 professionally built with an asking price of $355K. Looks good.

ORAM 44C boat details - BoatPoint Australia

Just throwing this in the mix.

Steve

[downunder]

Very good value comparitively to French built vessels up to 42ft.

[Morrissey]

But when the time comes to sell it, and eventually it does, it will take forever and have to be discounted. Production cats have their advantages.

[downunder]

Its certainly a vessel for a long term cruising owner. Your needs may be different.

Worth a look in the flesh as you are close by.

Cheers

[Gordon]

Hhttp://www.multihullsolutions.com.au/pre-owned-multihulls/buy-a-pre-owned-multihull/boat-details?DocumentID=3741998ere is another Ausi option!

[Morrissey]

Gordon
Very nice boat, yours it would seem!

Bear in mind that its the most expensive one on the market (excluding a new boat), by a long way on price/age trend line. Ok, its the crash of the Euro, and lesser extent USD, that created this situation, but just sayin....

[Dragon Lady]

Try Matt at mat@direct-yachts.com he'll give you a quote on a delivery.

[ausaviator]

There are a number of delivery captains on this forum that can give you a quote.

I had one for circa $9,000 from the Caribbean to Aus, plus expenses and they were quiet reasonable and included fuel, taxes, port fees and Panama Canal.

Put something in the crew-wanted section and see what happens.