There are many different way to ship a yacht depending on its size mainly but also weight. It is very important to outsource the best suited carrier based on the profile of the cargo to save time and money.
Geared vessel: This mean of transport also more commonly known as lift on/off is performed by vessels capable of working independently thanks to its equipment onboard. It doesn’t necessary have to rely on the gear of the port as container vessel (gearless) would do.
There are 2 type of services to differentiate when it comes to transporting a boat on a geared or multipurpose vessel.
Liner service: this is the type of service Cigisped yacht transport focuses on. Our very popular line from North Europe (Hamburg, Antwerp) to Far East (Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dalian) via the Mediterranean Sea (Italy, Greece Turkey) and the Arabic peninsula remains over the year our best seller. Its growing demand comes from the fact that it offers our client a maximum of flexibility. Indeed, we are in position to inform where the ship will be months ahaead offering the comfort to plan in advance which is particularly advantageous when it comes to meet tight deadlines such as yacht show, charter, etc…
Charter service: in contrast with the liner service, it is non regular and can be performed subject to enough inducement (or yachts to be combined). Generally speaking, chartered vessel are smaller than the ones operated on liner basis. As a consequence, the running costs aren’t so heavy making a deviation possible to add a port of call in order to load a yacht out of the initial routing.
Roll on roll off: This kind of vessel are particularly well designed for boats on trailer. This avoids extra handling such as cranes reducing the cost. The boat is pulled from the pier and loaded on the ship via its ramp. Although it is also possible to ship a static boat on roro, the main restriction remains the height of the boat. As a rule of thumb, the max height clearance of a ramp is 5 meters and consequently limiting the overall volume of the yacht to be transported.
Float on Float off: This floating barge is preferably adapted for larger units. The semi-submersible will be able to load pretty much any type of yachts without engaging any cranes. The ballasts of the ship are filled in with water so the deck goes below water line allowing the yachts to proceed and take their designated position inside the vessel. While the water is being pumped out of the ballast, divers work on securing the cradles under the hull of the yacht. Although not limited to this trade, this kind of vessels remain mainly employed in the transatlantic and pacific.
Container vessel: this vessels are versatile. They can accommodate boats in flat rack, container (40ft, open top..) and can load yachts as “loose cargo” (or Break bulk). Container vessels offers a very wide variety of ports on regular basis, however, being gearless they rely solely on the equipment of the ports. That means they will not necessary be able to accommodate larger yachts in all the ports they go to.
