yacht transport via freighter

[brine]

This is information which may interest people considering yacht transport by freighter. In our case, we are shipping our 40' sailboat via United Yacht Transport (UYT) out of Port Everglades, Florida to La Paz, Mexico. The original timing estimate for loading our boat in Florida was March 20 to 30th; we loaded the boat yesterday, April 10th. This delay (which should be considered 'normal', I understand, when it comes to ocean freight) meant that we had to moor in Fort Lauderdale for about a month. UYT charters various freighters for their trips and UYT does not supply reliable information on the ETA of the freighter. In our case, the arrival/loading changed six times, each estimate a few days later that the last. Extremely frustrating and the delay added considerably to the cost of the transport overall.
Also, because UYT charter ships which also carry general cargo, you may find a crew more accustomed to hauling containers, steel pipe and auto parts than yachts. We found that the ship's crew were not prepared, in ways we expected they would be. They had no lines dropped over the side to secure our boat prior to attaching the loading straps; there were no ship's fenders available and we had to use our own; the backstay had to be removed (with the promise from the crew that it would be re-attached after the boat was hauled aboard). I was not given any prior notice that any of these measures would be needed. None of the crew came aboard the boat when we were alongside, and we were not allowed to stay with the boat for loading and not allowed aboard the ship to inspect any aspect of its final preparation aboard. All fenders and lines we had used could not be stored or secured (I have asked specifically that this be done by the ship's crew but I have no assurance), and the backstay re-attachment will have to be done by the crew to whatever standard they can manage. These things add considerably to the stress and uncertainty of this means of tranport, and customers have no knowledge of, or control over, how their boats are handled aboard the ship.
We are hopeful, and perhaps naive, thinking that the boat will arrive in La Paz without damage. Even if it does, the repeated delays in loading, the lack of input on securing the boat aboard the ship, and the fact that the boat will be treated as general cargo convince us that will not be using United Yacht Transport in the future, and would not recommend the company to others.

[john61ct]

A cradle built to fit in/on a standard open 40' conex would be the way to go, all well-secured before delivery by truck to the port facility.

Industrial cargo often goes longer / wider than that footprint, but the standardized loading / fixing points of the floor helps the load fit their automated systems.http://www.special-container.com/upl...8134709479.jpg

This would also eliminate the need for a "yacht shipping" company, much cheaper freight charge, but of course up-front prep costs rise.


A boat designed for such transport would be ideal, if one knew in advance of building/buying.

https://www.google.com/search?q=site...x+OR+container


Along those lines, http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ts-193354.html

[chouliha]

This above photo is called a flat rack. These are available from the shipping companies. We shipped Jacaranda from Brisbane to LA in the 90’s on a container ship. It required building a steel cradle to conform to Jacarandas hull shape. This steel rack then gets strapped to the flat rack.

But we had to remove the mast first and make a rack for it on top of the boat.

This flat rack was then stored on the very top of the containers right in front of the bridge.

The yacht shipping agent in Brisbane went walk about ( thankfully without our money) and I had to organize everything. Something I did NOT want to do.

Sorry you are having such a hard time with thing and hope it all works out well for you.

Did you take out extra insurance that covers transport?

Chuck
Jacaranda
Mo’orea, FP

[Paul L]

What was the shipping costs for Port Everglades to La Paz? Did you get other quotes?

[Falbala60]

Thank you vey much Brine for this information.

We are waiting for a catamaran to be delivered from La Rochelle to USA/Bahamas and would also like to have it by cargo than sailed.

Sharing your experience is very good for us, and I thank also others comments.

The problems are :
1- the delivery/commisionning ending date should be somewhere in October and the cat MUST be ready to sail for Chrismass in the Bahamas.

2 - if you "buy a place" on a cargo for a certain departure date and you miss it you loose the cargo, the early delivery date... and the money.

3 - if you wait when the cat is ready to go to get a place you will pay much much more than a reserved date or conveying Atlantic.

We are actually in a "wait and see" to make a final decision... in August-September. To follow....

[sailcrazy]

for comparison, we shipped our 43' monohull from Phuket to Marmaris, Turkey, and then from Genoa to St Thomas; we used 7-Star Freighting Company. We had to wait almost 5 weeks in Phuket for the transport to arrive, and then we waited 3+weeks in Genoa for that freighter. I think that's just the nature of the beast! We, too, had to remove our backstay both times, but unlike the OP, we were allowed to ride our boat as she was lifted up to the freighter deck. And once there, we were able to watch the ships crew, directed by 3-4 7-Star boat shipping experts (yes, they really did know their stuff) as they used the pre-positioned 7-Star stantions and straps to secure our boat to the deck. Once positioned, the stantions were welded to the ship's deck, the straps were tightened, and then we were allowed to go back onboard our boat to re-secure the backstay and complete any last minute things we wanted to do. When WE were ready, we were assisted off the freighter! Sounds like a whole different approach than the OP experienced. Also, we did have a little damage to our masthead from the ship's crane when they off-loaded, then reloaded, us at an enroute stop. But when I pointed it out to the 7-Star rep at destination, he made a few phone calls and I had a check that more than covered the damages within a week. FWIW

[scottydaum]

This is a small departure form the original post but I would be curious about the price difference between shipping with all the above mentioned issues, and just using a Delivery Crew to get it there?
I understand the Canal Fees are quite pricey.
I understand you may have had other motives for your choice than just simple price.
I have not delivered any boats thru the Canal but I would like to add that to my list of Routes.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by scottydaum

This is a small departure form the original post but I would be curious about the price difference between shipping with all the above mentioned issues, and just using a Delivery Crew to get it there?
I understand the Canal Fees are quite pricey.
I understand you may have had other motives for your choice than just simple price.
I have not delivered any boats thru the Canal but I would like to add that to my list of Routes.

The Panama Canal transit costs less than usd$1,000. It is a pretty good deal.

[Inthefridge]

Warning for transport company "United Yacht Transport"

We purchased a boat in Italy in January 2016. We contracted with United Yacht Transport (UYT) to ship the boat from Genoa, Italy to Ensenada, Mexico, with a stop and ship change in St. Thomas, USVI. We dealt with their Vice President, Vadim Yegudkin.

Our loading date in Genoa was delayed, but otherwise the first leg of the transport and offloading went smoothly. The boat was offloaded in St. Thomas in December, 2016.
Our contract stated that our second leg was to load between March and June, 2017. Because of our concerns about hurricane season, we had many discussions with Vadim about the availability of a ship for the second leg and we were assured that it was on their normal monthly schedule, and that there would be “no problem”.
We stayed in contact with Vadim during our time in St. Thomas and let him know that the boat was packed up and ready to go in April. We were told that we would be on the May ship. Throughout May, we kept being told that the ship was delayed. Eventually we were told that there would be no May ship and that we would go on the June ship. Same thing happened in June. No ship. We were told July for sure. In July, again we were told that there would not be a ship, maybe August?
It was now hurricane season. We had to have the boat hauled out of the water and stored on land until November (and our insurance costs rose). Of course we were hit directly by two Cat 5 hurricanes and the boat had $100,000 of damage.
They did not have a November ship to Ensenada, or December, or January, or February. Finally, February, 2018 they offered to ship our boat to Florida first and then ship it to Ensenada. BUT WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR AN ADDITIONAL $21,000 TO SHIP THE BOAT TO FLORIDA!!! After all the extra costs that we have suffered due to their lack of performance! Vadim had already offered to pay for our storage costs in St Thomas because of their delay (Of course they never paid anything).
We declined to pay the additional $21,000 (who knows if they would have performed on the last trip to Ensenada) and contracted with another company (for $15,000) to deliver the boat to Florida, then paid to have the boat trucked to California.

Their response to us was aggression and “sue us”.

They are not honest businesspeople and did not make good on their contract to deliver the boat. STAY AWAY!!!

[Inthefridge]

***UPDATE: Paul, the President of the company called me after my post. He was very apologetic for what happened to us and how we were treated. He offered to reimburse us for the portion of our payment that was for the second leg, as well as a future discounted transport. It certainly did not cover our extra costs (unless we can use the future discount), but we appreciated his effort towards making things right.

[Clamdigger]

Thats whats called 'hush money' in any business in order to silence an unhappy, irrate customer. Id accept the money refunded and stick with your original post regarding crappy service. It doesnt do any other cruisers a favor that the company employee mislead and lied to you for months on end, only to have your vessel and dreams destroyed because of the companys inability to perform the contract.

UYT will always have a negative customer service image and to be avoided.

[admiralslater]

I helped a friend load a boat on dock wise (float on ) the ship arrived on time ,we where given a load time that was accurate to the half hour and the ship left on time . Martinique to Genoa in about three weeks . Super professional

[Deep Blue Water]

In lieu of traveling with containers, isn't there a shipping company with a huge ship, it sinks for a bit and then they float on the yachts? It resembles a giant ] but sideways. Since all they do is yachts perhaps they're a little more friendly to the standing rigging.

[admiralslater]

This is in Martinique this febuary

[Falbala60]

At the moment our Lucia is on a cargo from La Rochelle in route for Palm Beach. It was announced to load Oct 27th ... is was loaded Oct 27th... arriving Palm Beach Nov 8th... the cargo have now passed Bermudas, so will be close to this target.
DYC dealed with Seven Star... which until now made a very good job dealing with shipping companies...
Until now just nice comments