Yacht support vessel

Superyacht, Eclipse, with a support vessel

Yacht support vessels, also known as a shadow yacht or shadow vessel, are specialized ships which provide support and auxiliary functions for large sailing and motor yachts.[1]

Design features

In general yacht support vessel are outfitted to support a specific megayacht mothership with their own features tailored to compliment or match those of the main vessel.[2] Support yachts are normally intended to carry the "toys" of the super rich, whether they be a rigid inflatable boat, a fishing boat, luxury yacht tender, jet-ski or submersible.[3]

A helipad is a common feature, especially when supporting sailing yachts which do not have their own landing pad.[3]

Some yacht support vessels are designed to support their owner's scientific research.[4]

Market

Incat Crowther[5] and the Damen Group are major builders of yacht support vessels.[3] Florida based Shadow Marine converts offshore supply vessels into yacht support vessels.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Frank, Robert (6 December 2012). "'My Other Yacht Is a Support-Yacht'". CNBC. CNBC. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Shadow boat: 7 superyacht support vessels as cool as their motherships". boatinternational.com. Boat International. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Lardy, Kate. "A superyacht for your superyacht? The rise of the support vessel". boatinternational.com. Boat International. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  4. ^ Blazeby, Miranda; Gauert, Cecile. "Inside the refit of dedicated scientific support yacht Gene Chaser". boatinternational.com. Boat International. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  5. ^ Hardingham-Gill, Tamara (3 February 2021). "The shadow vessel concept that keeps superyachts free from Covid-19". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  6. ^ Frank, Robert. "The $35 Million 'Shadow Yacht'". wsj.com. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 April 2022.