From Port to Paradise: The Pioneers in Superyacht Transport
When you need your gleaming superyacht safely and securely moved halfway around the world, you call DYT - the pioneers in yacht transport.
In this first of three articles, we’re going behind the scenes with DYT, deep diving into the high-stakes world of luxury yacht transportation. In a service in which where there’s no room for error, we’ll find out the history of this fascinating company and learn what it takes to successfully cross oceans with some of the world’s most expensive yachts. And of course, you’ll meet DYT’s high-tech, gargantuan semi-submersible vessels and get a whistle-stop tour of their features.
Diving into DYT
DYT offers superyacht owners, captains, yacht builders, and charter companies, amongst others, a regularly scheduled yacht transport service aboard one of its semi-submersible vessels, to major ports and yachting destinations and events around the world.
DYT’s fleet of yacht carriers is fully owned, operated and crewed by DYT as a member of the Spliethoff Group, ensuring that the company retains complete control over the shipping schedule, the quality of its service and all commitments made to its clients. “That’s a big point of difference with us,” said DYT’s Gabriele Consiglieri. “Everything belongs to us. It means that we’re 100% sure of the service we’re selling and the commitments we’re making. If something happens - for example, a delay due to bad weather - we are in a position to take immediate countermeasures. We’re able to find solutions and aren’t totally at the mercy of external challenges and events.”
“Our clients enjoy a direct relationship with us,” he added, “They can look forward to clear and effective answers to their questions or needs. That’s a big selling point with us.”
The company’s head office is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while its commercial office is located in Monaco. It has additional offices in Genoa, Palma de Mallorca, and Amsterdam, as well as remote offices in Australia and New Zealand. Twenty shore-based staff are responsible for operations, marketing, sales and financial roles. DYT’s fleet of vessels, meanwhile, is crewed and technically supported by a global team of 1,500 people spanning both DYT and its parent group.
Power in people
Originally founded in 1987 as ‘Dockwise Yacht Transport’, the modern version of DYT took shape in 2013 when its current owners bought the company. The sale included the brand and the company’s vessels as well as the staff complement.
According to Gabriele, the decision to retain the existing staff when the company was purchased, is all part of DYT’s commitment to consistency in every part of its service. “By keeping the original staff, the company delivered continuity and consistency in our service and people. That adds tremendous value to the client’s experience,” he said. “When you’re such an established company and you’re known as the market leader, that operational continuity is key. No matter what happens, both the customer and the market, in general, know that we’re there for them and that we will be there when we say we will.”
Ocean-crossing credibility
DYT has built a formidable reputation for consistency thanks to its regular scheduling and port dates. Apart from its world-class service and unique, high-tech vessels, the company regards its scheduling consistency as its biggest selling point. “We sell a regular, solid solution for people in need of yacht transportation,” Gabriele explained. “We place our port dates around popular events, shows and seasons. If there’s a reason for the yachts to be somewhere, for example, the Monaco Grand Prix, the Cannes Festival or the MYBA Charter show, then we’ll structure our calendar around that to meet the requirements around those events.”
That scheduling consistency has built credibility and trust in the market, he explained. “Our clients know exactly what they’re getting because we’re always there - they get used to how we structure our service and in many cases, the workflow becomes somehow automatic.”
The submerging giants
When DYT was first established in the late ‘80s, the idea of transporting superyachts was a novelty that didn’t yet have dedicated vessels capable of doing the job. “It required reinventing semi-submersible vessels that had previously mainly been used by the offshore industry,” Gabriele noted. “These ships were then adapted to yacht transportation.”
Since then, a lot has changed. Today, DYT’s fleet consists of two very big, highly capable, high-tech ships specifically designed to safely carry superyachts across the ocean. M/V Yacht Express was launched in 2007 as the very first purpose-built yacht carrier. Designed to deliver a stellar experience for riders especially, it incorporated DYT’s two decades of experience and has served its customers loyally ever since.
DYT’s latest and greatest asset is M/V Yacht Servant. With 6,800 sqm of deck space for carrying yachts and the ability to accommodate yachts of various sizes plus tenders, with an average of 25 boats per sailing, she is even larger - and much wider - than M/V Yacht Express.
M/V Yacht Servant incorporates the company’s lessons learned from M/V Yacht Express and the demands of modern owners, captains and riders, to deliver a truly world-class service. “No other vessel can carry so many yachts at the same time,” Gabriele confirmed.
On board hospitality
Both the yachts and their riders are comprehensively accommodated on board Yacht Servant. Thanks to a constant supply of fresh and raw water as well as shore power from Yacht Servant, each yacht’s batteries are kept adequately charged at all times and its systems remain operational.
Outside, crews are able to carry out light maintenance on their yacht such as cleaning, wash downs, antifouling, polishing and repairs. “They can really take care of their yacht during the time that they’re on board with us,” said Gabriele. “They can work on the yacht as though it’s in dry dock. It’s very convenient, especially for very busy charter yachts where maintenance windows are few and far between!”
During their time off, crews are well catered for in a fully-equipped rider’s lounge that offers comfortable sofas, a TV with a PlayStation and games, and table tennis. The ship also includes a gym. “We want the riders to enjoy their time with us as much as possible,” Gabriele remarked. “They’re our guests! Our crew is there to ensure that our guests are happy and able to perform their planned maintenance. We also have some of the best cooks working for us, professionally managing the fully equipped kitchen and serving the best food. We really care about this aspect of our service and guest experience, and we’re constantly mindful that we have that crew aboard with us.”
Raising the bar
While DYT is the yacht transport industry leader, it never allows itself to become complacent. “Even when you’re at the forefront of the industry, you still need to keep your standards high; you need to keep delivering the best service and improving on it all the time,” he said. “We intend to constantly fight for our position in the market, but we expect that M/V Yacht Servant will keep us on that path of market leadership.”
Concluding, Gabriele reiterated the importance of DYT continuing to build trust and credibility in the market. “Our focus is on offering an excellent end-to-end experience while assisting our customers with meeting their own commitments and deadlines. We’re on a mission every day to accompany the stakeholders of our industry in their cruising projects, strengthening our role as a reliable partner. After so many years in the industry, we are proud to call many of our clients friends; it feels great knowing that we’re doing something good and helpful for a customer every day. It’s never boring!”
There’s more to come
Be sure to join us for the next two articles in this series in which we find out where DYT’s client’s yachts are going and why, and we speak to captains and crew to find out what it’s like to ride a yacht in transit.
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