Cruise line floats yacht transport down under

“Yacht transport to Australia is a real option now for foreignflagged charters.” Joseph Hoyt, marketing associate for DYT

New laws making it easier for foreign-flagged vessels to cruise Australian waters have spurred Fort Lauderdale’s DYT Yacht Transport to expand its business to the Land Down Under.

DYT said it will send its largest “semi-submersible” carrier, the 686-foot Yacht Express, to Australia’s capital of Sydney this winter because of an expected increase in demand to cruise there. The carrier used to call on the Australian port of Brisbane, which was less of a charter destination.

“Yacht transport to Australia is a real option now for foreign-flagged charters,” said DYT’s marketing associate Joseph Hoyt. “In the past, there were so many restrictions that many owners and captains didn’t bother to consider it.”

DYT hopes to transport more yachts on each trip to Australia and add more trips too, said Hoyt.

The expansion comes as Australia relaxed rules and reduced fees on foreignflagged charters as part of an effort to bolster its boatyards that handle refits and repairs.

Foreign-flagged yachts now pay just $400 for a li-

cense to offer charter trips in Australian waters during one year. During that period, the yachts can get refits and repairs without needing to pay to be “imported” into Australia. And the charters no longer are limited to cruising in select areas.

DYT plans to send its Yacht Express carrier to Australia on a route that will start in Italy in November after the close of cruising season in the Mediterranean. The carrier then will stop in the Caribbean, Florida and Costa Rica before calling on Tahiti, Australia and New Zealand by February, in time for their cruising season.

To load yachts aboard, the “semi-submersible” carrier partly submerges. Yachts then “float on” under their own power, maneuver into position and are secured to the deck. The car- rier then rises up, so yachts are effectively dry-docked for transport. Later, the process is reversed, so yachts “float off” for delivery.

Since 1987, DYT has delivered more than 13,200 motor and sailing yachts worldwide. It is a partner with Sevenstar Yacht Transport, a unit of Holland’s Spliethoff Group.

Other yacht transport companies also are eyeing expansion to Australia because of the new laws.

“If there’s more demand for the services, we’ll look to meet it,” said Paul Haber, who runs United Yacht Transport of Fort Lauderdale. “The trick to Australia is getting enough boats to make it economical.”

Australia is not the only nation looking to change laws to spur the marine industry.

The Florida Yacht Brokers Association seeks to amend a century-old federal law to make it easier for foreign-flagged yachts visiting the United States to be sold to Americans. It wants to allow import duty to be paid at the time of sale — not before — to expand the inventory of yachts for sale to U.S. buyers.