Anyone ever ship a yacht to the philippines?

definitely haven't ruled that out, nor have i ruled out a used model with any degree of modifications and overhauling in mind. i'll be back in 6-8 months and already thinking about paying a visit to seahorse builders near cebu.

the factory hybrid "greenline is an amazing vessel for my purposes. the hard top full of solar panels, the tons of lithium battery storage with electric or diesel propulsion at my fingertips. i remain open minded as i learn what's possible and practical. thanks for the input.





There are expatriate British and Australian power boat builders in the Philippines - in Subic Bay - who, for that sort of money, will build you a boat of equal or better specification and optimised for local conditions. I have seen some of their work and it is outstanding. Get on a plane and see for yourself. They have good local craftsmen, they will deal with all the Customs issues on the imported components, and you will get a boat built in the Philippines and immune from duty and VAT issues.[/QUOTE]
 
Whilst you will see a lot of foreign flagged boats it might be that they are on extended world cruises. Be careful about taking advice on registration from anyone who is not based in the Philippines. Yes, on the world stage there are any number of places which offer tax free registration but if you want to permanently base a boat somewhere that country will usually have very specific rules and time limitations for boats that haven't paid their local taxes.

Ultimately someone selling a boat just wants your money and will generally say whatever it takes to get the deal done. If you have a local tax problem thousands of miles away it isn't their problem it's yours.

Also keep in mind the availability of technical support locally. How many people know and understand the systems on board and how readily available are spares? It's bad enough in Europe where there are free trade borders and overnight shipping. Throw in more complex transportation and import duties / fees / bribes, suddenly what should take 48 hours takes several weeks! Locally available, more common technology is much easier to live with. Were I basing a boat in Thailand for instance it would have CAT engines because there is a good dealer network.

In terms of getting stranded out at sea fishermen and local trip boats will be your first line of defence. Because your wife can speak the language you have a massive advantage. Make sure you have the right rope configuration so you can just throw them a line. Of course a payment will be due but hopefully it won't break the bank. Expensive in the Philippines is very reasonable to a Western pocket :)

Let us know how you get on.

Henry :)
 
all valuable points, good rope and towing setup will be on my checklist.

of course you can't put much stock in a boat salesman. but they are quick with any answer you're looking for (which they are trained to be) it's been good a rstating point on a subject that's not abundant with getting getting knowledgeable info.

i haven't ruled out from being one of the many foreign liveaboard cruisers in phiilippines. i'll be on the docks with some foreign vessel ship captains very soon. periodic departures sounds OK to me, but from what i've been told by a few now that the ONLY restriction is not being able to use a foreign vessel to conduct business. and with that, coming into a malaysian or hong kong port and then sailing to my final destination is not without further investigation.

as for being the 1st in a country with a sophisticated hybrid propulsion boat that no one can work on the electronics, another valid point. my future could be a compromise, of installing an independent bank of lithiums with solar panels and power inverter (like you'd add to a land dwelling) on my custom PH boat build or existing model overhaul, and that would give me just for the extended electric usage feature. common place hybrid vessels probably another decade away in PH waters :(
 
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Not uncommon to require commercial boats to be locally registered, although that may also mean there is a different tax regime.

The point about having an offshore registration is that the convention is that states respect the laws of the country where the boat is registered. The convention is what allows ships and commerce to operate freely and by extension visitors to come without complying with any local requirements while visiting. However it is within the rights of any state to impose any restrictions on visitors who stay in their territory, or limit residents rights to have offshore registration.

Not saying that the Philippines does any of these things, just that they are possible. It may well be that the position is unclear simply because it is not a political issue so there is no formal law that says one way or the other!. some of the comments here about time limitations on temporary import are referenced to specific EU rules which tend to dominate our discourse for obvious reasons, but does not mean they are relevant elsewhere.

If it is any help the offshore registration route, often Deleware, but also 2red duster" offshore registers such as Channel Islands, Bermuda, Cayman Islands etc are commonly used to avoid local registrations or taxes. For example, Turkey, Russia, Israel, Brazil, many of the Balkan states, where residents and citizens can avoid local restrictions and taxes, or where there is no official recognition of leisure boating. One could easily see Philippines falling into this category.
 
good thinking henry. some ancillary income and service would be worth paying for, as not having some type of job to do for the rest of my life is a bit scary to me. considering i pay 10s of thousands in taxes every year, i guess i'm conditioned that paying customs is not my biggest offset. what IS unnerving is gambling on variable practices and a customs nightmare. moving to plan B, i may like what i find in fairly new boats for sale in subic bay and manila. although, my being so specific with boat type, features, size and luxury, i do expect i'll be paying a premium, considering supply and demand.
 
Tranona said:
welcome to the forum.

Doubt anybody here has enough knowledge of the law on boats in the Philippines. Using a "flag of convenience" like Delaware is very common in countries where the owner wishes to either avoid local taxes (as you are) or hide their ownership from the government. You need to take local advice as to whether it applies in your situation. If it is an established process, almost certainly there will be somebody (lawyer, boat dealer, broker etc) locally who can advise you.
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Backman the 80s I delivered a couple of boats o Manila. Shipped to HK and then sailed to Manila. I would think the same is possible today.
 
feedback from a variety of threads and boards has told me that my buying a local 30+ foot trawler in near perfect condition from manila or subic areas is slim to nil, IF i'm even able to find exactly what i'm looking for. i've been told bringing a boat direct to subic can be done, but those giving that vague advice have not given any detail of customs hurdles, costs, paperwork. i've just about ruled out that plan on the weak advice coming from that direction.

what i see as my best choices left is, whether tiawan or hong kong is the better unloading port to ship a yacht in today's market. this remains open, as i look for someone that has current experience in the comparison. i've ruled out several suggestions of any malaysian ports being the best route, as it is a safety concern. heading to PH from the southeast would have me passing through the unsafe philippine waters i've been warned about. perhaps the safety concern is more a question of how often you frequent this region, than total avoidance? but i still say, it's no way to start a maiden voyage.

any other expert advice out there, as i narrow my options?
 
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my plans are to visit puerto galera, puerta princessa and hopefully 1-2 more during our next visit in 8 months. we've been in subic and manila before, and they're both a tough sell to my wife. i'm hoping to find a nice compromise in beauty and infrastructure.









Minn said:
At risk of repeating myself, get on a plane, go to Subic and Puerto Galera, look around, talk to people.
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+1 re Andrew's (aka Minn) comments above - he knows his onions for sure re boats and the Phillippines, and he probably knows more about the boating scene out there than most Filipinos.
I can just imagine the bureaucracy that must exist there, re importing a boat - there are lots of hoops to jump through here (Barbados) as well.
 
I admire your sense of adventure, and hope this works out for you.

I spent time in Manilla, and Cebu, but that was 30 years ago so I can't offer any current advice.
 
Hi
As someone considering retirememt to Phils and wanting to import my 8.5m 2xOB pilot house custom made aluminium plate boat and its trailer. I was wondering how this turned out for the OP? what turned out to be the most cost wffectivr method?
 
Wobo said:
Hi
As someone considering retirememt to Phils and wanting to import my 8.5m 2xOB pilot house custom made aluminium plate boat and its trailer. I was wondering how this turned out for the OP? what turned out to be the most cost wffectivr method?
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You can contact the OP by clicking on his profile.
 
penfold said:
His wife obviously helped him decide on a non-boating retirement.
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There was an English guy that lives there that was on the forum (Clive? maybe memory wrong) he built a house and married to a local girl, I haven't seen him post lately but somebody may know how to find him, maybe he knows his way around the system.
 
I am not that person but I have lived, worked and sailed in the Philippines and my now adult children are half Filipino. I repeat “Kukri”’s advice - don’t import a boat. The Customs is an absolute nightmare. Get a boat built in the country. There are excellent expatriate builders in Subic and elsewhere. Get on a plane and go and see for yourself.
 
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