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Yacht Express, Dockwise Yacht Transport

The Yacht Express is the latest addition to the fleet of Dockwise Yacht Transport (DYT), which is the world's only float

Construction Started

Project type.

Heavy lift transport

Yantai Raffles Shipyard

Estimated Investment

Launched May 2007

Key Players

Dockwise Transport BV, Yacht Express BV, managed by Anglo-Eastern Ship Management Ltd

Engines and Specification

209m long, 32.20m wide, 8.5m deep with a draft of 5.8m. The submerged draft is 14m, the deck length is 165m, the deck width is 31m, deck space is 5,115m² and the weight is 15,000t (carrying capacity is 5,000t). The vessel class is 1A1 General Cargo C

Lead Contractors, Designers, Architects and Engineers

Dockwise Transport BV

The Yacht Express is the latest addition to the fleet of Dockwise Yacht Transport (DYT), which is the world’s only float-on/float-off yacht transport service. DYT is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is a group company of Dockwise Transport BV of the Netherlands.

The company has a fleet of 15 semi-submersible vessels for this purpose and the transport of other heavy maritime cargoes. Yacht Express is owned by Yacht Express BV and managed by Anglo-Eastern Ship Management Ltd.

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YACHT EXPRESS

In May 2007 DYT christened/launched the newest addition to the fleet, the flagship Yacht Express. The vessel was constructed at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard in Yantai, Province of Shandong, China.

The new ship, which is the largest of its kind in the world (130ft longer than the previous biggest carrier), was built with a semi-submersible dock bay which can accept yachts of any class.

The new vessel is 209m long, 32.20m wide, 8.5m deep with a draft of 5.8m. The submerged draft is 14m, the deck length is 165m, the deck width is 31m, the deck space is 5,115m² and the weight is 15,000t (with a carrying capacity of 5,000t).

The vessel class is 1A1 General Cargo Carrier DK(+) PWDK. The propulsion system of the vessel has two azimuth thrusters with a combined power of 10,200kW.

The Yacht Express will run on regularly scheduled trips between Florida and the Mediterranean. The ship has a service speed of 18kt, which means that the transatlantic voyage takes between eight and 15 days, 50% faster than previously.

Following its launch, the Yacht Express was used in the southern oceans around Australia and New Zealand before travelling to its base in Florida. It travelled across the Atlantic to make a special inaugural appearance at the Monaco Yacht Show in September 2007, where it was re-christened.

The loading process involves the carrier taking on ballast water until the main deck is submerged to a critical depth that allows the yachts to sail aboard. When all the yachts are loaded, divers are dispatched to attach temporary supports to keep the boats elevated as the ballast is released. The ballast water is then pumped out, bringing the carrier back above the waterline.

When the carrier deck is dry, the yachts are then welded to specially designed seaworthy fastenings to maintain them safely for transportation.

The ship features complimentary cabins for the ride-aboard crew of the yachts being transported. There is also a swimming pool, restaurant, cinema and conference, media and fitness facilities.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Yacht Express is outfitted with the latest technology for monitoring weather patterns and conditions on the high seas. The system installed in conjunction with the International SeaKeepers Society is the modular SeaKeeper 1000 ocean and meteorological monitoring system.

The SeaKeeper 1000 is installed as a fully automated unit that can sample, measure, record and transmit the critical measures of ocean health-salinity, temperature, oxygen and pollution to various scientific bodies across the world.

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Dockwise Yacht Transport: A Practical Choice for Cruisers

• By Michael Lovett
• Updated: August 28, 2009

For cruisers lacking the time, or the temerity, to sail across an ocean, the traditional means of delivering one’s boat to far-flung destinations involved hiring a captain and crew and having them do the dirty work. And when you consider the costs involved in such a delivery-including wear and tear on the boat-paying $35,000 to load your vessel onto a Dockwise cargo ship for a stress-free ocean crossing starts to make a lot of sense.

At least, it started to make sense to me after I took a tour of Yacht Express, the 685-foot flagship of the Dockwise Yacht Transport fleet, and saw how professionally these guys operate.

Earlier this summer, the world’s first purpose-built yacht carrier made its inaugural visit to Newport, Rhode Island, and Dockwise invited members of the media aboard to witness the loading and unloading process. Approaching the ship through the fog, I didn’t grasp its enormity. It wasn’t until a few minutes later, standing on the upper deck, looking over the dock bay where boats were floating in and out like transients at a marina, that I realized the scale of the operation. Wait a minute, I just watched a 49-foot boat pull a U-turn in the belly of a ship!

As colossal an undertaking as the Dockwise process may seem to a first-time observer like me, it’s becoming part of the routine for many sailors. William Borel is project manager for Challenge Twelve, a 12-meter racing campaign based in Antibes, France. When the boat’s owner opted not to sail in the 2009 12 Metre World Championships (Sept. 22 to 27), the crew came together to finance the regatta themselves– and chose Dockwise as the logical means of transporting the boat from France to Newport. On a July morning, Borel hopped aboard KA 10 and, with a skillful touch and an air of insouciance, backed it off the ship and into Narragansett Bay.

Dockwise charges about $35,000 to ship a 40-foot boat from Newport to the Mediterranean. One family I met (they asked not to be named) had used the service to transport their Hylas 49 Insieme from the East Coast to Palma Mallorca, where they spent two years cruising, and then used it again for the return trip across the Atlantic. They were anxious to float off of Yacht Express and on to the continuation of their journey, two more years of cruising along the East Coast. “When you factor in the costs of hiring a crew and food and fuel and wear and tear on the boat, it just makes more sense to do this,” said the owner.

On deck, Yacht Express felt like your average marina on a Tuesday morning– people working on their boats, preparing for big races, setting out on cruises. The real action happens below the surface of the dock bay. To start the unloading and loading process, the ship takes on water until its cargo bay becomes a 27-foot-deep boat basin, the front of the ship open to surrounding water. Departing boats simply untie and sail off; oncoming boats move into their predetermined positions. As the ship rises and water drains from the dock bay, divers position supports beneath the boats. Before the ship departs, the crew welds seafastenings to the deck and straps down its precious cargo.

Not long after our tour concluded, Yacht Express departed Newport for Port Everglades, Florida. Currently, these are the only U.S. ports Dockwise services, but the company has plans to add Long Beach, California, to its list of more than 20 ports worldwide. www.yacht-transport.com

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This 700-Foot Transport Vessel Can Carry 36 Superyachts at the Same Time

'yacht servant' will be able to carry superyachts by submerging its hull and letting them float right on., julia zaltzman, julia zaltzman's most recent stories.

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Ever wonder how the world’s largest superyachts—and hundreds more than are not quite as large—cross back and forth between the Americas and Europe? The crossing doesn’t necessarily happen on their own hull bottoms. Rather, they often take place on a large vessel designed to carry dozens of yachts at a time. Loading and unloading can be a nail-biting process in which these multi-million-dollar yachts are lifted by crane from the water, a hundred feet into the air and then set on cradles on deck.

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DYT Yacht Transport (previously Dockwise) has the only dedicated fleet of yacht transport semi-submersible vessels in the world. Now, it’s building the King Kong of submersibles, a 699-footer called Yacht Servant , that can carry up to 36 superyachts back and forth across the ocean. It will be the largest vessel of its type.

Instead of hoisting yachts by crane, Yacht Servant takes on ballast water until the main deck is flooded. The boats can then float on and off—a process DYT calls “flo-flo.” When all yachts are loaded, divers attach temporary supports to keep the boats elevated as the ballast water is released. Yacht Servant floats up and its decks become dry. At that point, the yachts are fastened into cradles for safe transportation. The process eliminates the need for cranes or dry docking.

Submersible transport vessels actually sink into the water so that yachts can drive on, rather than using a crane to lift them out of the water.  DYT

Yacht Servant will increase the size and type of yachts that the company can transport, compared to its current largest carrier, Yacht Express . “On average, Yacht Express carries around 25 yachts with tenders on a single transatlantic voyage,” Andriy Antonenko, DYT Load Master, told Robb Report . “With Yacht Servant we can up that number to 36 yachts.”

Carrying a third more superyachts is significant. From an operational standpoint, Yacht Servant also cuts in half the two days it currently takes to load the yachts, because the time it takes to ballast and de-ballast is reduced to one hour. “That means it’s only a day to load and unload,” says Antonenko.

Last month, Yacht Servant held special keel-laying ceremony in Yantai, China. “This is not just the laying of a keel, but the start of a new era in yacht transport,” said Laura Tempest, DYT general manager. “Yacht Express will set a new benchmark in the yacht transport industry.”

Scheduled to be completed next year, “Yacht Servant” will usher in a new era in yacht transport. 

Tempest says that sailing yachts that could not be accommodated before because of their deeper drafts can now be transported. The vessel was designed by DYT’s parent company, Spliethoff Group, in Amsterdam.

“We opted for to build a new vessel because there is a lack of availability worldwide of boats that can be converted to a submersible yacht carrier,” Tempest told Robb Report . “Everything was either the same size or smaller than what we already have. A new build gave us the opportunity to increase our capacity and be more fuel efficient. We’ve really maximized the whole ship in terms of what we can do.”

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What is so different about her? Her trick is she “stoops to conquer”. While other transporters employ giant (sometimes risky) cranes to lift large yachts onto their decks, Yacht Express submerges her deck so they readily float aboard; then rises to let them ride high and dry. No problem, no anxious moments for your 150’+ dream yacht. However, this mode of transportation is not for the faint of pocketbook; which is why the great preponderance of yacht transports are done for owners who may afford it. Her inaugural trip to the Med, normally a two-to-three-week+ voyage for any yacht, depending on speed and weather, was recorded by Yacht Express in just 10 days at her 18 knot service cruise. Watching the loading experts at their labor – in a brief, few hours – the entire, bizarre, operation seems scripted by Hollywood, scenes from a James Bond/Dr.No extravaganza.

This exceptional craft was built at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard, in China, with an aim to provide the fastest transoceanic yacht delivery service ever from Florida and the Mediterranean. While DYT operates four other submersible yacht carriers, Yacht Express is the largest vessel of its kind in the world. DYT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dockwise, Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda, with additional operating offices in Italy, France, Martinique, and Newport, R.I. A partnership with BBC Chartering and Logistics also allows DYT to manage safe lift-on/lift-off service aboard BBC's fleet of 140 cargo vessels worldwide. The service is for clients who need additional scheduling flexibility or the ability to get to a destination not normally serviced by DYT's semi-submersible ships.

DYT – Dockwise Yacht Transport President, Clemens Van der Werf guided us on an all-inclusive, sometimes arduous, walking-climbing voyage up and around this spectacular vessel, which on this occasion loaded 18 yachts, but has the ability to hold more or less – depending upon size, of course – for the simplest overseas voyage of your yacht’s dreams. And oh, yes, your trip may include passage for a pair of “riders” as well, if you want to send your crew, in complimentary cabins.

While the yachts it carries are sleek, stylish, high-gloss fiberglass and sculpted aluminum, the Express’ steel tower construct is undeniably mechanical, rugged, tectonic. Narrow passageways; sealed, weathertight metal doors. Numerous steep flights of stairs connect its seven no-nonsense steel decks bottom to top. She is a case-hardened, power-built pyramid afloat on the ocean. An industrial battlewagon! The majority of YE's systems are located in the forward section of the ship and occupy 13 decks. Strange as it may seem, this also where the engines are located, housing twin Wartsila 12v38-B common-rail diesels that provide electrical power for YE's twin Azimuth Pod Drive Systems, which are located in the aft section of the ship.

How it’s done: At the Captain’s command, the twice-football-field length submersible deck slides underwater as the yachts line up, prepped and ready to board. A swarm of loaders appear. There are 28 crew on this ocean-crossing behemoth. Suited up in orange cover-alls w/white-helmeted uniforms, others in black scuba gear armed with various tools; their secret weapons. As the transiting yachts, under power, are guided in, one by one between Yacht Express’ tall twin gates, they’re corralled, ushered and floated to particular pre-planned slots. In this photograph, looking north along Ft. Lauderdale's Port Everglades, all of the yachts strewn about are waiting their turn to enter YE's gates.

The loading team coaxes each craft to its exact position, then the “seafastening” procedure begins with underwater bracing. At that point, DYT Loading Master Pascal Minjon gives the signal for the entire ship to be raised and in a short time, the brilliant yacht cargo, all 18 of them, chocked and steadied, are perched high and dry, ready to ride.

And there you have it. The float-on process is complete and this trans-Atlantic marina can hang-out its no vacancy sign. The loading process may appear simple, but it's really a well staged event that starts weeks before Yacht Express lowers herself into the berthing mode. This starts with scheduling, then procuring drawings on each yacht to determine load points, hull shapes, length, beam and weight. Only after these factors are determined can DYT prepare the proper keel blocks, initial loading stanchions and final welded stanchions that will secure YE's parasites. In reality, loading day is akin to the days leading up to a boat show, when yachts loiter about in a milling area awaiting permission to enter a marina and take up their designated slip.

After the deck is raised, the dry-docked yachts undergo two more procedures; the first is placing precisely measured stands under the hull, exactly blocked out to support each vessel, no matter what the conditions, or any mischief the weather gods may have in mind. Once the hulls are completely supported, the braces are welded into place, then belts are used to strap the yachts to YE's deck, thus completing the seafastening. Each vessel is now fully attached, becoming an appendage of the mother ship.

A Tour of the Ship: The Sundeck surrounds and overlooks a 12’ deep swimming pool, 14’ square. Lining the perimeter, a bevy of comfortable sun chaise lounges draped in DYT's signature orange towels. And talk about a million dollar view! Among the toys in the trunk are a pair of new Palmer Johnsons; the 135' "Dragon" and the 150' "Hokulani", the 162' Feadship "Pegasus", a 130' Westport "My Colors", Denise Richards new 157' Christensen "Lady Joy", the recently sold Calixas 105' and another dozen vessels ranging from center-consoles to superyachts.

Elevated on one of her upper floors, a fine-art decorated atrium offers a fully enclosed serving bar with padded leather stools. Framed by ceiling-high windows overlooking the following seascape; it’s an observatory-terrace many floors above the marina below. The views are enhanced by photographic blow-ups created by Onne van der Wal, so well conceived, they could be art museum paintings.

Giving new meaning to the word "Skylounge", Yacht Express' Command Bridge is 28-meters above the waterline. That's nearly 100 feet folks! As expected on a ship of this magnitude, YE’s helm is sophisticated at a level conducive to trans-oceanic operation. A wrap-array of monitors, gauges, sat-nav, radars, etc. are attended by DYT's experienced crews, veterans of many crossings.

Van der Werf explained that prior to Yacht Express’ maiden run; the company has previously transported more than 9,000 motor and sailing vessels to various destinations around the globe. As an adjunct, DYT has partnered with the International SeaKeepers Society, and its modular, automated, SeaKeeper 1000™ ocean and meteorological monitoring system. This system transmits critical measures of ocean health to various world scientific interests.

Amenities continue to manifest as we clamber through the sky-high vessel. The Lounge is comfortably set with easy chairs and long, upholstered couches, with onyx-topped tables for reading matter or board games. Large windows flood daylight into the room, and present horizon/ocean views from high above.

The fitness gym is accessible for all crew and passengers to stay ship-shape. The fully mechanized, though modest in size facility, boasts a treadmill, a wardroom packed with cardio-exercise equipment, plus free weights; to sustain any level of fitness. Because pool tables don't fair well in high seas, a Ping-Pong table is supplied to help Gump groupies pass trans-oceanic time.

Set up for staff business conferences as well as after-hours entertainment viewing, the 50-seat theater offers commodious, padded comfort. A roll-down screen provides theater-size cinema viewing as well as instructional videos for yacht crew training, and onboard crew. It boasts an extensive media library.

Adjacent to the media room, Yacht Express’ full size dining room accommodates the entire crew as well as guests, in utilitarian seating. Comfortable arm chairs and lined-up tables provide a college lunchroom atmosphere, but allow quick serving and clean-up on the all-business ship. Tiled floors and generous overhead lighting complete the decor. There is also a separate 20-seat crew mess for those on duty.

An example of the guest accommodations, this double is set up with bunk beds plus a pair of easy chairs and a writing desk. It sports a closed viewing port, communications outlets, and overhead lighting. Up to 28 guests can become stowaways on YE.

An entire deck is dedicated to controlling YE's machinery, hydraulics & electronics. From here, twenty different ballast tanks can be filled or emptied. There are eight ballast tanks to port, another eight to starboard and four in between. Four Danfoss pumps feed these tanks, capable of transferring approx. 4800 tons of seawater per hour.

Yacht Express’ mammoth engine room houses its diesel electric propulsion plant: 2x 8700 kW Wartsila 12V38B common rail diesels; well capable of driving this magnificent yacht-circus across the ocean or around the world at 18 knots. An interesting concept not shown here; Yacht Express conceals a vast tunnel which extends 550 feet under her cargo deck. With walking headroom, from the engine/thruster room forward, the tunnel holds all the ships electrical wiring components, for careful and complete maintenance.

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DYT takes delivery of world’s largest purpose-built yacht transport vessel

by Mariska Buitendijk | Jan 19, 2022 | News , Project cargo , Ship design , Shipbuilding , Yachts

DYT Superyacht Transport has added the purpose-built semi-submersible yacht transport vessel Yacht Servant to its fleet. In addition to being thirty per cent larger than its sistership Yacht Express and being Tier III compliant, it only requires an operating water depth of 9 metres using a unique float-on, float-off system.

The official delivery took place on 4 January at Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard on China’s Shandong Peninsula. Three days later, the vessel embarked on its maiden voyage from Shanghai to Panama.

With a length over all of 213.70 metres, a 46-metre beam and a 4.6-metre draught, the Yacht Servant provides virtually double the capacity of its predecessors. The IMO Tier III compliant vessel is also 32 per cent more fuel efficient, while its 6380 m2 deck space facilitates the transport of more vessels per crossing.

Also read: Shipping company Spliethoff orders ten new vessels

Reduced operating water depth

It has a lower deck height, which means the ballast time (therefore port time) is significantly reduced. It also means it can carry yachts with deeper draught and enter ports with shallower waters. It is equipped with two spud poles for quick mooring, and has electricity and water facilities for onboard yachts.

Whereas the current vessels in DYT’s semi-submersible fleet require operating water depths of around 14 metres, Yacht Servant only requires an operating water depth of 9 metres using a unique float-on, float-off system. Yacht Servant’s new specialised deck located behind the bridge built to accommodate tenders, containers and small race boats offers extra flexibility.

‘We’re all hugely excited about the addition of Yacht Servant to our semi-submersible fleet,’ says Richard Klabbers, Managing Director of DYT Superyacht Transport . ‘Her sheer size and volume allow for so much more capacity, and we’re looking forward to discovering how the vessel’s additional capabilities – such as onboard cranes, reduced board draft and increased submerged draft – will further what we can deliver.’

Fleet of three yacht transport vessels

On completion of its 2022 maiden voyage, Yacht Servant will return to China to transport cargo to Colombia during the yachting off season, before arriving in the Caribbean in May to commence its sailing schedule between Florida, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

‘Last year was a challenge for the entire yacht transportation industry, with lockdowns and global uncertainties affecting travel the world over,’ adds Klabbers. ‘But our order books for 2022 are already encouragingly healthy, and with Yacht Servant now bringing our DYT fleet total to three vessels, we’ve made a hugely promising start to the new year.’

DYT was formerly known as Dockwise Yacht Transport and is a member of the Spliethoff Group. The design of the Yacht Servant was conceived in-house by the Spliethoff Group.

Pictures by DYT.

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A Sinking Ship – World’s Largest Yacht Transporter

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Dockwise Yacht Transport has been in the boat delivery business for 21 years. Their semi-submersible vessels operate world wide.

Launched in April of 2008, the China Built heavy lift ship Yacht Express is the world’s largest float-on float-off yacht carrier ( Video ). This amazing ship has opened a regular round-trip service between Florida and the Mediterranean. 18 yachts worth in total some £78 million are being carried aboard the 209m long vessel on its inaugural voyage. Here is information from the owners:

Yacht Express

Design Features This specially designed yacht carrier is semi-submersible in order to maintain the unique float-on/float-off loading method. The yacht delivery carrier will have a length of 209 meter (685.7 ft) and a beam of 32.2 meter (106 ft). The yachts can be safely accommodated between the spray covers in the dock bay, which measures a deck space of 165 meter (541 ft) in length and 31 meter (102 ft) in width. With a deck space of 5,115 square meters (55,060 ft) DYT is able to transport more yachts in one voyage.

Ballasting and deballasting is carried out with four main ballast pumps, each with a capacity of 1,200 cu.m/h at 30 m head. Other pump systems include two fi-fi/general service pumps, each with a capacity of 100 cu.m/h at 80 m head or 210 cu.m/h at 30 m head; an emergency fire pump of 72 cu.m/h at 70 m head; and a 200 cu.m/h ejector pump. Cargo handling is facilitated by a 2 x 10 t crane with an outreach of 15 m.

Propulsion Plant

Propulsion and maneuvering plant consists of two 8,700 kW Wärtsilä 12V38 B common rail diesel generator sets, each driving two Lips azimuth pulling thrusters featuring cp-propellers via two electric motors of 5,100 kW each. Maneuvering is enhanced by a single 1,640 kW bow thruster with cp-propeller.

Auxiliary power is derived from two Wärtsilä 6L20 common rail diesel generator sets of 1,020 kW. Emergency power is supplied by a Volvo Penta D34A MS generator of 610 kW, 440 V, 60 Hz.

The spacious bridge features an integrated bridge system consisting of a UniMACS 3000 with two radar systems with ARPA and two ECDIS, one conning and platform management system, incorporating an advanced DPT 3500 autopilot/joystick system.

Sophisticated

“More important is that this sophisticated yacht carrier is designed to have a service speed of 18 knots”, said Clemens van der Werf, President of DYT, “meaning that a trans-Atlantic voyage from the Mediterranean to Florida/Caribbean with this ultra modern yacht carrier will be reduced by nearly 50% from 15 to 8 days! Owners can enjoy the advantage of extra riders on board to accompany the yacht during the voyage and they can enjoy our state-of-the-art facilities on board. The addition of this new yacht carrier to our fleet implies an important step forward for DYT to improve the quality of services to clients that is based on safety, regularity and reliability.”

Launch completed

The launch of the Yacht Express was a major milestone in the development of the yacht transport industry. On January 15th, 2007 the Yacht Express was skidded from its construction berth ashore, where it was built since September 2005, onto four connected floating submersible barges. The skidding process was completed within 6 hours.

On January 19th, 2007 the barges were submersed and the Yacht Express floated off at high tide and moored alongside the construction berth for further outfitting and commissioning. Dockwise Yacht Transport took delivery of the vessel in October, 2007.

…And for anyone that’s curious: yes it is built to sink .

Photos of Dockwise in action can be found HERE .

Principal Characteristics

Length o.a.: 209.00 m / 685.7 ft

Width o.a.: 32.20 m / 105.64 ft

Depth: 8.50 m / 27.89 ft

Draft: 5.80 m / 19.03 ft

Max. draft submerged: 14.00 m / 46 ft

Deck length: 165.00 m / 541.34 ft

Deck width: 31.00 m / 101.71 ft

Deadweight: 11,000 t

Service speed: 18 knots

____________________

This post was written by gCaptain staff and Richard Rodriguez who can also be found at the Bitterend of the internet.

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Dockwise Yacht Transport: Carpooling Across Oceans

• By Michael Lovett
• Updated: July 29, 2009

The Hylas 49 /Insieme/ floats out of the dock bay of Yacht Express, the 685-foot flagship of the Dockwise Yacht Transport fleet. For more photos, click here [1]. [1] https://www.sailingworld.com/photogallery.jsp?ID=1000024220

I had seen commercial ships before-plowing through weeknight racecourses on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, navigating the twists and turns of Ohio’s Cuyahogoa River-but I never understood just how big they are until yesterday, when I took a tour of Yacht Express, the 685-foot flagship of the Dockwise Yacht Transport fleet.

The world’s first purpose-built yacht carrier was making its inaugural visit to Newport, and Dockwise invited members of the media aboard to witness the loading and unloading process.

Approaching the ship through the fog, I didn’t grasp its enormity. It wasn’t until a few minutes later, standing on the upper deck, looking over the dock bay where boats were floating in and out like transients at a marina, that I realized the scale of the operation. Wait a minute, I just watched a 49-foot boat pull a U-turn in the belly of a ship!

As colossal an undertaking as the Dockwise process may seem to a first-time observer like me, it’s becoming part of the routine for many sailors. William Borel is project manager for Challenge Twelve, the 1983, Ben Lexcen-designed 12-meter based in Antibes, France. When the boat’s owner opted not to sail in the 2009 12 Metre World Championships (Sept. 22 to 27), the crew came together to finance the regatta themselves-and chose Dockwise as the logical means of transporting the boat from France to Newport. On Tuesday morning, Borel met Challenge Twelve at the end of its Atlantic crossing and, with a skillful touch and an air of insouciance, backed it off the ship and into Narragansett Bay.

Dockwise charges about $35,000 to ship a 40-foot boat from Newport to the Mediterranean. For owners comparing the costs of hiring a crew to sail the boat over, the Dockwise option starts to look pretty good. It’s also a great option for sailors who don’t have the time, or the temerity, to sail across an ocean.

A Canadian family (they asked not to be named) used Dockwise to transport their Hylas 49 Insieme to the Mediterranean, where they spent two years cruising out of Palma Mallorca. Yesterday, they were anxious to float off Yacht Express and on to the continuation of their journey, two more years of cruising along the East Coast. “When you factor in the costs of hiring a crew and food and fuel and wear and tear on the boat, it just makes more sense to do this,” said the owner.

On deck, Yacht Express felt like your average marina on a Tuesday morning-people working on their boats, preparing for big races, setting out on cruises. The real action happens below the surface of the dock bay. To start the unloading and loading process, the ship takes on water until its cargo bay becomes a 27-foot-deep boat basin, the front of the ship open to surrounding water. Departing boats simply untie and sail off; oncoming boats move into their predetermined positions. As the ship rises and water drains from the dock bay, divers position supports beneath the boats. Before the ship departs, the crew welds seafastenings to the deck and straps down its precious cargo.

Not long after our tour concluded, Yacht Express departed Newport for Port Everglades, Florida. Currently, these are the only U.S. ports Dockwise services, but the company has plans to add Long Beach, California, to its list of more than 20 ports worldwide.

www.yacht-transport.com

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Routes & Schedules - DYT Yacht Transport

Routes & Schedules

On time we ensure your yacht is delivered to the right place at the right time..

DYT provides marine transportation services to various destinations worldwide. Explore the options available on our yacht transport schedule and select the one that suits your requirements best. Should you have any inquiries, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our friendly representatives today! For destinations not listed on our sailing schedule, please contact our trusted yacht transport partner Sevenstar Yacht Transport .

Please Note All dates are approximate dates and without guarantee. Accordingly, any damage, delay, and/or additional cost such as but not limited to costs made in relation to travel arrangements and berth arrangements shall not be reimbursed. For exact dates please check with our Booking Agencies.

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The Yacht Express

• By Mary South
• Updated: January 26, 2009

ytgjan09dockwise525.jpg

When your job sends you to the Italian Riviera, the first thought people have is, well, unsympathetic. Uncharitable. Sometimes downright bitter. They envision the aft deck of a megayacht, a plate of antipasto and a chilled bottle of prosecco nearby, the sun dipping into the Mediterranean as the gorgeous hillside town behind you basks in the gloaming. It all seems terribly romantic.

But the reality is that a gray deluge had been falling for five days straight, and the view from my room was not of an ancient piazza where pigeons gathered and church bells pealed from a 500-yearold chapel belfry-no, my view was from a porthole that didn’t open, over a gritty waterfront of empty containers and giant cranes. Even the seagulls had opted for a more picturesque location. I was aboard Yacht Express, a 686-foot, semi-submersible vessel that would carry 16 yachts-like a floating tractor trailer-all the way from Porto di Voltri in Genoa, Italy, to Port Everglades, Florida.

My first glimpse of the ship was the day before. A 20-minute cab ride from downtown Genoa took me onto the autostrada and through countless tunnels. Just as I began to suspect that my taxi driver would double back and leave me two blocks from where we started (for a mere 100 euros) I saw the ship. She was massive enough for us to navigate to by sight, from miles away-as we exited the highway and sped along the service roads of the terminal, she towered above rows of container stacks.

The taxi deposited me on the dock in the pouring rain and I craned my head back to see over the bow and up to the bridge. To port was a railing along the dock and as I walked back, there were two racing sailboats and a large Azimut bobbing contentedly. All the way down the dock, a large Perini Navi sailing yacht was approaching, also to tie up alongside. “Oh well, I guess this ship’s not so big after all,” I thought, a split second before it hit me. These yachts weren’t alongside the bulkhead-the “dock” was the submerged stern of Yacht Express and what I thought was a “railing” was, in fact, one of three catwalks that ran the length of the stern-the only part of the aft deck that was high and dry. These three yachts had already floated aboard Yacht Express, and in the harbor I saw a dozen other vessels circling patiently, waiting their turn to approach. A bright orange tug stood by and a pilot boat herded the waiting yachts over to one side as a huge container ship left the port for the open sea.

A man in a fluorescent orange jumpsuit and hardhat met me near a giant fender that was permanently fixed to the dock. “Please to come aboard. I take your bag. Be very careful.” I stepped on the fender, climbed over the railing, and trailed obediently behind him as we splashed one, two, three decks up to the ship’s atrium. A glass cabin that protrudes over the stern of the ship, the atrium offers an ideal view of the loading process.

Inside, I met Alessandra Terzi, the Dockwise representative from the Genoa office. She is the initial contact and responsible for all of the paperwork involved in bringing yachts bound from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean aboard Yacht Express. One by one, as their vessels came aboard, crew climbed to the atrium to meet Alessandra and sign final documents. The 125-foot Perini-Navi P2 seemed to slow the process slightly. They tied her to the starboard catwalk, then floated her across to the port railing.

Later, I asked Loading Master Tiekke Sprenger if securing P2 had been a difficult job. She smiled, “We prefer to say ‘Out of the ordinary,'” and went on to explain the normal boarding process. The ship takes on seawater ballast, submerging the stern. The yachts are floated aboard and positioned over yellow temporary supports. Sailboats have custom cradles that are built and secured to the deck in advance of boarding. On this particular loading day, two racing yachts and the P2 had delicate keels and required extra care in being fitted into their cradles-these were the first vessels to board.

“For this, we bring the yacht in and secure her beside the cribbing. Then we send divers in and move the boat across the aft deck, being careful to make sure the keel doesn’t strike the cradle.”

In the case of P2, Tiekke said that months of preparation had gone into the yacht’s crossing plans. “In every case, we work with a draftsman to plan the supports based on the boat make, model, weight, and any special attributes. In the case of P2, they did substantial preparation of their own ahead of time, too.”

Nonetheless, crewmember John Niles from P2 told me he was impressed by the carefulness of Yacht Express. P2’s cradle was designed to fit like a glove, but Tiekke added plenty of extra supports, too.

And no wonder: Yacht Express carries full insurance on every boat. “We are responsible from the moment the yacht crosses our stern,” said Terzi, adding, with a smile “although there is a $1,000 deductible.” That might cover a couple of P2’s fenders if they were damaged, but that’s about it. It’s obviously in Yacht Express’s best interest, as well as the customers’, to be so conscientious about planning, securing, and double-checking everything.

After all the vessels are secured, the ballast tanks are drained, the ship rises, and the stern drains. When it’s dry, hull fastenings are reinforced, lashings are adjusted, and every hull is inspected. At the other end of the journey, the process is basically repeated in reverse. The stern is flooded, divers go in to release the sea fastenings, and the yachts float free of the yellow temporary supports-3,000 miles and 15 days after they were first erected.

Not surprisingly, Yacht Express is no ordinary ship. Built in 2007 at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard in China, the ship-all 12 decks of her-is really a marvel of engineering. The engineroom alone takes up five decks. Ordinary components are so large that they’re unrecognizable. The bow-thruster motors, for instance, are about five feet tall and at least four feet each in diameter.

The main engines are twin Wartsila 12V38B-CRs, generating 8,700kW each, driving port and starboard Azimuth thrusters. There are also twin Wartsila 6L20 auxiliary engines. The computerized ballast handles the almost 35,000 tons of seawater that makes Yacht Express do its magic flooding trick.

The crew is mostly Ukrainian, hard-working and friendly. Officers typically work four months on and four months off, other crew members can spend much longer at sea, with a much shorter relief time. Yacht crew are welcome to dine in the mess where three meals a day are served-stuffed peppers, cutlets, blinis, lamb-burgers-the food is homey and hearty. Yacht Express also has a deep plunge pool and a fitness room with a ping pong table, to help transiting crew while away the long crossing.

There are two comfortable but spartan rider staterooms with heads aboard Yacht Express, but most crew stay aboard their yachts. On this trip there were 16 vessels aboard ranging in size from a 45- foot Wally tender to the 164-foot Odessa. Alessandra noted that their last trip across they had carried nothing but megayachts. “It depends on the time of year,” she added.

So does the price. In general, yachts are charged by the amount of square footage they occupy onboard the yacht-carrier dock bay. “Rates are also lower during counter season,” said Catalina Bujor, Dockwise’s Marketing Director and PR Officer. “For example, if a yacht owner isn’t under any time pressures, it is more cost effective to cross from the East Coast USA to the Med in the winter months. Spring is the high season for sailing to the Med. In the fall, most yachts want to escape the chilly winter weather in the Med, so they head over to warmer climates such as the Caribbean or South Florida.” Many factors go into determining the final cost of transporting a yacht, and Dockwise will work with you to determine a fair price.

Carlos Figueroa of Elisa, a 150-foot Christensen, and Delcio Patrio da Silva, aboard the 90-foot Moonen Commercial Break, talked glowingly about their Yacht Express experiences.

“We were planning to bring the yacht across ourselves,” said da Silva, “But with the cost of fuel, this was about $15,000 less expensive.”

“Plus, it gives you time to do some bottom work,” added Figueroa, who said he was sanding and repainting just below the waterline. “The days aren’t wasted,” he said. “You can get a lot done on the way over, which means less time in the yard and more time for the owners to enjoy their boat.”

After a two-day ride across the Mediterranean, Yacht Express paused in the Straits of Gibraltar long enough for me to disembark. It was 2 a.m. when I stepped through the pilot’s door on the aft deck and climbed down into a waiting launch. The night sky was inky black but studded with brilliant stars. As we bounced across the sea toward the coast, weaving between anchored freighters and tankers of a dozen different flags, I watched the twinkling lights of Yacht Express head off across the Atlantic. It all felt very John LeCarré and I thought, Who needs sunset over the stern of a megayacht? Give me the chilly air, a gently lapping sea as far as the eye can see, and a starry night sky above a passing ship-that’s my kind of romance.

Dockwise Yacht Transport, (954)525-8707; www.yacht-transport.com

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The Dockwalk Guide to Yacht Transport

Louisa Beckett is the former editor of Motor Boating, ShowBoats International, and Southern Boating magazines, and a longtime contributor to Dockwalk. Over her career, she has written about a wide variety of vessels ranging from Sea-Doos to superyachts, and has had many adventures on the water, including riding in a U.S. Coast Guard “rollover” boat in heavy surf off Cape Disappointment, Washington.

Even now, in the third year of the pandemic, we’re seeing headlines about global supply chain disruptions caused by worker shortages and other factors related to COVID-19. In particular, the maritime shipping industry has been affected, with long lines of cargo ships frequently sitting idle as they wait to be unloaded in port.

“It’s a very difficult marketplace at the moment. The freight rates are higher than they’ve been in decades. Congestion in ports is at an all-time high, all these things are affecting our ability to get ships where they need to be on time, and space on ships is at a massive premium,” says Simon Judson, CEO of global logistics firm Peters & May , which organizes passage for yachts on board a wide variety of commercial cargo ships.

• How COVID Has Affected Crew Hiring

Right from the start, the pandemic dramatically transformed the yacht transportation industry. In early 2020, the number of bookings by the usual clients, including owners and captains wanting to move their yachts to seasonal cruising grounds and sailing yacht owners and captains following the regatta circuit, fell off dramatically. At the same time, bookings increased from yacht owners who were unable to travel to their vessels and wanted to have them shipped home instead. Then, as COVID-related lockdowns and sheltering began to fuel the demand for new and brokerage boats, yacht manufacturers, dealers, and brokers around the world began to use yacht transport companies to ship boats to clients who couldn’t get to the vessels or send crew to pick them up. “I think COVID has changed everybody’s way of doing business,” says General Manager Laura Tempest of DYT , which owns and operates semi-submersible yacht-transport ships.

Port closures and travel restrictions also made it difficult for yacht transport companies to move their loadmasters into position around the world in order to supervise loading and unloading. In addition, “We have had a shortage of loadmasters at times when they came down with COVID,” said Uta Scarlata, who handles transatlantic and Caribbean sales for Sevenstar Yacht Transport , which operates its own fleet of 120 cargo vessels.

“Everything about the logistics of shipping a yacht from A to B is ten times harder,” Judson says, but he adds, “As we moved through the pandemic, we learned a little bit about how to adapt. Today we are using what we’ve learned to be better placed. That means making sure we’ve got the right people in the right places a lot further in advance [and] thinking about relocating our cradling and lifting equipment and everything we need to load the boats a lot further in advance.”

While internal logistics such as these typically are handled by a yacht transportation company behind the scenes without affecting its clients, industry experts agree that this year, yacht captains are going to have to act earlier than usual in order to secure transportation for their yachts.

If you do need to ship a yacht overseas, there are two basic means of transport: on the deck of a commercial ship or inside a semi-submersible vessel.

“It’s kind of going back to old days when if you didn’t book well in advance, you are not going to have a space…. People are done [with sheltering]. They are going to start using their yachts whether it be in the Med or in the Caribbean,” says Tempest. “We are seeing all of our repeat customers coming back, and the ones we met in the last year and a half that we didn’t know before are coming back.”

“Every ship that we’ve put on from the middle of last year has been fully booked probably a month before it comes to port. That was never the case before. We would always have some space a week before,” says Judson, who also predicts that demand for yacht transportation will increase in 2022 as owners return to pre-pandemic levels of cruising and racing. “If there’s a reason to book early, it would be to avoid disappointment in the fact that there may not be space,” he says. “To be safe, you should be thinking at least two months out.”

Cargo Ship vs. Semi-Submersible

There are a variety of reasons why an owner or captain would want to arrange to have a yacht transported from one location to another. It might be to change cruising grounds with the seasons, or to take the yacht to an event. Some yachts are able to make the voyage on their own bottom, but others must be shipped because they may be too small or have an insufficient fuel capacity to make the trip, their owner wants to avoid wear and tear on the vessel, or the yacht is booked for a charter in the new destination and the timing is just too tight.

Booking space on a cargo ship gives you the advantage of being able to transport a yacht pretty much anywhere around the globe where that vessel is scheduled to deliver freight.

If you do need to ship a yacht overseas, there are two basic means of transport: on the deck of a commercial ship or inside a semi-submersible vessel. Which method to pick depends on a variety of considerations, including the location where you want to ship the yacht, the flexibility of your schedule, whether or not you want to use the transit time to get work done on board, and the price.

In the most common scenario, the yacht is lifted by crane onto a commercial ship and secured in a custom-built cradle on its deck, where it shares space with other cargo for the duration of the passage. Since cargo ships typically make multiple stops and can experience delays in loading and unloading cargo, it’s important to have a flexible schedule. “Shipping is not an exact science. You can’t expect to ship on a certain day and unload on a certain day. You have to give yourself flexibility,” Judson says.

On the other hand, booking space on a cargo ship gives you the advantage of being able to transport a yacht pretty much anywhere around the globe where that vessel is scheduled to deliver freight.

The other yacht-transport method, pioneered by Dockwise Yacht Transport (now DYT) in the 1980s, is “float on/float off.” DYT’s semi-submersible ships are partially submerged in the water; the yacht floats into it and is secured in a cradle on the deck by divers. Then, the water is drained from the hold. At the end of the voyage, the process is reversed and the yacht floats out.

“When the world woke up with a bang, the amount of consumer goods to be shipped outweighed the space available to ship them. That will take some time to stabilize,” he says.

DYT offers a limited number of routes designed to match typical yacht-shipping patterns, such as from the Mediterranean to Fort Lauderdale and the Caribbean and back. “What I think sets us apart from anyone else is that we have a set schedule — there is no deviation; there is no change. That is why charter yachts depend on us,” Tempest says.

When clients want to ship their yachts off the beaten path, DYT will refer them to its sister company, Sevenstar Yacht Transport, for bookings on board its cargo ships.

DYT recently launched a third ship, Yacht Servant , which was built in China and is scheduled to start transporting yachts in May. For a short window in 2022, DYT will have three semi-submersible vessels in operation, which should help to meet the rising demand for yacht transportation.

Riding Along

Before the pandemic, captains typically could send one or two crewmembers along with the yacht during either type of transportation, enabling them to use the passage as a mini yard period to get a variety of jobs done on board.

While most cargo ships do not permit riders to sleep in their yachts while in transit, before the pandemic, they often would assign them cabins in the ship and let them eat in the mess hall and recreate with the ship’s crew. However, when COVID-19 hit, most ship operators suspended this courtesy in order to reduce the risk of the disease spreading on board, which could lead to serious delays if the ship was forced to quarantine before unloading in a port.

“When things calm down, we will accept riders again,” Scarlata says. On DYT, “We still allow riders as it’s such a crucial part of the service that we offer,” Tempest says. In fact, the semi-submersible ships provide power to the yachts so that riders can sleep and work on board. At the height of the pandemic, however, the company limited the riders’ interaction with the ship’s crew. “They needed to provision their yacht for the duration of the voyage. They had to stay in the yacht and on the deck of the ship; they could not go into the ship’s superstructure.”

• 5 Things You Need to Know About Health Insurance During the Pandemic

One thing that has not changed in the yacht transportation industry is the need for owners and captains to ensure their vessel is properly insured for the passage. “Some people get caught out on this. They think their hull and machinery insurance will automatically cover them. They need to take out a separate marine cargo insurance policy,” Judson says.

Both Sevenstar and DYT include an all-risk insurance policy in the rate they quote for yacht transport. “Usually, one of the questions we get is, ‘Can we leave it out?’ It’s not optional,” Tempest says. “It covers everyone on board and eliminates the need for multiple underwriters.”

Price Increases

Captains booking transport for their yachts today are finding that insurance rates have gone up. “The whole insurance market has hardened over the last couple of years,” Judson says.

As for shipping, no matter what method you choose, you are bound to see a COVID-related price increase. “DYT rates have increased over the past six months. Many factors have attributed to this but certainly a large portion is a consequence of the global pandemic,” Tempest says.

“In the last ten years, freight rates have been very low…. Now the market has flipped a little bit,” Judson says. While there are a number of reasons behind this, the main one is the reduced amount of cargo space currently available.

As for shipping, no matter what method you choose, you are bound to see a COVID-related price increase. 

In early 2022, Judson reported that his company had seen rates for shipping yachts between the U.S. and the Caribbean go up 15 to 20 percent; transatlantic shipping rates had increased a 60 to 80 percent, and rates to and from the Far East had gone up 200 to as high as 300 percent. “Coming out of Asia, every ship is full to the gunwales and if you want some space, you have to pay through the nose for it,” he says.

“There are not as many people who are prepared to pay the increased freight rates we are seeing at the moment. There are a lot of people who are holding back…,” Judson continues. “Not everyone who ships a yacht is a multi-millionaire. We’ve got lots of clients who are dealers, brokers, and manufacturers who are moving their boats where they need to be to be sold as new boats…. I think the people and companies who are shipping their boats now are the ones who have more of a commercial need.”

This feature originally ran in the April 2022 issue of Dockwalk.

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Why sail your multimillion dollar yacht to the Caribbean when you can load it onto a huge 685-foot ship to take if for you?

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 22:56 EDT, 27 May 2013 | Updated: 03:33 EDT, 28 May 2013

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Spring means it's time for every self-respecting luxury yacht owner to abandon the French Riviera and head to the blue waters of the Caribbean where more fun an sun awaits at St. Thomas and the Bahamas.

But the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean can take an arduous three weeks, even for the most well-appointed super yachts. And transoceanic travel wears on a vessel, meaning it will likely need a new paint job and repairs when it arrives.

A rapidly-growing industry will load that massive, expensive boat onto an ever more massive boat and ship it across the Atlantic - or anywhere else, for that matter.

Impressive: The Dockwise Yacht Express is seen leaving Fort Lauderdale, Florida loaded down with $154million worth of luxury yachts

Precious cargo: The yachts are carefully packed aboard the Yacht Express and tied down - allowing for safe voyages across the ocean

Float on, float off: The deck of the Yacht Express is semi-submersible, meaning that yachts simply have to float onto board and then are tied into position

The cost? Just $175,000. In only ten days, the yacht will arrive, none the worse for the wear - allowing the owner to jet into the new yacht club and continue sailing.

Numerous companies offer yacht shipping, but the king of the transoceanic boat voyage is the Dockwise Yacht Express.

The 687-foot behemoth was built specifically for shipping yachts, sailboats, powerboats and any other private craft across oceans for owners who can't be bothered to sail themselves.

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Dockwise launched the Yacht Express in 2008 and its maiden voyage carried $154million in private luxury yachts.

The ship has a semi-submersible deck that allows the yachts to simple float on and be secured - no dangerous cranes involved.

Docking: The ships are carefully guided into the three lanes aboard the Yacht Express and then tied down

Trained divers make sure the yachts are secured to the deck of the Yacht Express

An estimated 4,000 yachts are transported by boat every year, according to industry estimates.

'For a lot of owners, time is of the essence,' Catalina Bujor, a spokeswoman for Dockwise - the biggest player in the industry, told CNBC .

The concept of yacht shipping isn't new. Dockwise itself owns two other shipping vessels with semi-submersible decks. But the company believes it has perfected the art with Yacht Express.

The command bridge sits 92 feet above the waterline. Its crew of two dozen experienced sailors ensure that every yacht makes it across the ocean safely.

Well-appointed: The cabin of the Yacht Express boasts luxury amenities, including this fully-stocked bar - and the cabins are only meant to cater to the yacht crews

The company offers accommodation for one crew member from each vessel being shipped. Conditions on board aren't so far from the luxury yachts the Yacht Express is carrying.

On-board amenities include: complimentary cabins, an atrium with a lounge bar and swimming pool, a restaurant and a cinema, as well as conference, media and fitness facilities.

When the ship launched, John Walsey, a San Francisco real estate tycoon joked to Dockwise that he was so impressed with the facilities inside the Yacht Express that he might ride back across the Atlantic with his 121-foot Broward yacht.

'Or maybe I should just charge my crew members for the ride, since this is like being on a cruise ship,' he said.

Share or comment on this article: Dockwise Yacht Express: Yacht shipping on the rise of mega-rich boat owners

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Yacht Express: So That’s How They Deliver Boats!

How do you deliver a boat from one country to another?    As it turns out, you put them in an even bigger boat that makes the trip.

When it comes to taking boats across the continents, the float-on-float-off Yacht Express from Dockwise is the undisputed king and the largest of its kind.  A semi-submersible, it sinks into the water in order to pick up two dozen or so yachts that it can carry across its deck.  Once they reach the delivery spot, it submerges again to allow each watercraft to be driven off.

The large transatlantic delivery boat measures 686 feet long, with a beam that’s 106 feet high.  Deck space for all the passenger boats (by that, we mean boats that act as the passenger) is 541 feet long and 102 feet wide.  Balancing is accomplished by four main ballast pumps, while cargo handling is performed by a T-crane with an outreach of 50 feet.

Since it delivers full yachts with people who will drive it out once it touches the delivery point, the Yacht Express comes with a full list of amenities, including complete cabins, fitness room, swimming pool and other facilities that may or may not be also present in your actual boat.  Hell, now I want my own yacht just to be able to ride it in one of these!

I always thought it was suspicious that I saw plenty of luxury yachts by the pier but never a single one crossing the ocean.  Now, I know why!

[ Dockwise via Boing Boing Gadgets ]