"Yacht Express" to visit Newport, R.I.

Dockwise Yacht Transport "Yacht Express" to visit Newport, R.I​

Newport, R.I. (July 20, 2009)—Dockwise Yacht Transport’s (DYT) Super Ship "Yacht Express", will visit the Northeast for the first time ever when it stops in Newport, R.I., for two days next week. Not since the "Queen Elizabeth 2" last came to Newport in September of 2008 has there been a ship of such magnificence to grace Narragansett Bay. In fact, at 685.7 feet, Yacht Express stretches to more than 70% of the QE2’s length. Moreover, just as the QE2 is said to be one of the last great trans-Atlantic liners, Yacht Express can claim to be the first and only purpose-built yacht transport vessel on the planet.

“While other transporters use cranes to lift yachts onto their decks, Yacht Express purposely ‘sinks’ to accommodate a float-on cargo of private luxury yachts, sailing and sport fishing boats,” said DYT East Coast agent Ann Souder. “After she submerges her deck, she then rises to let the yachts—ranging in size from 24 to over 200 feet—ride high and dry. No problem, and no anxious moments for yacht owners and their dream yachts.”

Appearing more as a floating marina than an ocean liner while underway, the Yacht Express will arrive on Monday, July 27th. It will anchor just south of Goat Island and begin submerging that evening while clients board to sign paperwork and inspect their yachts, which have been transported here from Toulon, France. The unloading of several yachts and the loading of others will take place on Tuesday, July 28, and the ship will leave later that night for Ft. Lauderdale.

“It’s an amazing process,” added Souder about the submersion of the ship and the utilization of a swat team of experts—including a loading master, the ship’s crew and scuba divers—for safety and efficiency, “somewhat like a scene out of a James Bond movie, but it is one that provides the safest, most efficient way for boat owners to move their prized possessions around the world.”

Souder explained that DYT, headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, transports approximately 1,200 yachts on these “floating marinas” each year. Yacht Express is more than 130 feet longer than DYT's other carriers (which have been specially retrofitted to accommodate float-on/float-off yacht transport service and have visited Newport in the past) and features such added amenities as complimentary cabins for crew who are riding along, an atrium with a 180 degree view and lounge bar, an outdoor swimming pool deck, restaurant and cinema, as well as conference, media and fitness facilities. It 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.

“Yacht Express completed her June, 2008 inaugural trip to the Med from Ft. Lauderdale in just 10 days at her 18-knot service speed,” said Souder. “Normally that voyage takes two to three weeks for any yacht, depending on speed and weather. Shipping with DYT saves time plus a generous portion of wear and tear on a boat and its engine, not to mention it gives professional boat crews a much-needed break. And with the rising costs of diesel, the price tag for the service generally saves money in the long run."

For most owners, there is another consideration. DYT’s schedule for its fleet of transporters connects the world’s most exotic ports. If owners want their yachts delivered from Florida to the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific West Coast of North and Central America, or the South Pacific, and back, they can ship it with Dockwise Yacht Transport—worry free.

For more information:

Dockwise Yacht Transport LLC,
1535 S.E. 17th St, Suite 200,
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33316,
Tel.: + 1 954 525 8707
www.yacht-transport.com

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