Shipping a Boat/ Asia Import Costs/Decent Agents

[Koumari]

Anyone have any idea about how much it would cost to ship a Power Catamaran (44ft x 22ft x 4ft) from Spain to Singapore or Phuket?

Would it have to go to Southampton first as I assume it just gets loaded on top of a container ship) or elsewhere more local from where it can get collected?

I am in the process of getting quotes from various specialist shippers but am also interested in finding out what charges may await me at the other end.

Things like whether Thailand or Singapore would want me to pay a local tax if I were to keep a boat moored there all year around

My original intention was to buy a VAT paid boat in Europe and keep it in the Med but every government department I have cintacted about possible luxury tax and VAT implications (even though already tax paid in Spain) if mooring in various EU countries has not generated any response whatsoever so am now thinking about shipping the boat to Asia.

I cant believe that I am meeting such non responses to questions of appropriate departments about a major purchase I am contemplating. I try and find out as much as I can about possible future expenses and problems and its like there is some conspiarcy to try and prevent me from finding out exactly what I need to budget for

A similar thing has happened when trying to find out about mooring fees around the Med. The relevant marinas dont bother replying with charges or even if they have sppare beths.

I also recall at the start of all this searching for a boat some 9 months ago how pathetic most brokers I contacted were in that I had to keep chasing them up and I will be damned if I am going to chase after people in order to make them money.

I am now definitely buying a boat privately and going to employ my own surveyor to sea trial and survey any boat and employ a specialist agent/lawyer to cover the paperwork and avoid all brokers at all costs as they seem to be worse than second hand car salesman and a prefoession littered with apathetic individuals who just cant be bothered to earn their considerable brokerage fees.

I thought the world was full of people who have suffered considerably financially over the past few years and never before in my life have I tried so hard to spend money without people coming out of the woodwork to aleviate me of my hard earned cash and its so bad that at times I just feel like walking away.

Is it supposed to be this hard to buy a boat or is it a case of too many bad apples making it difficult to find the good ones that must exist in the world to help me buy a boat?

Apologies to any honest brokers out there but there dont seem to be too many of you from my ersonal experiences.

Gripe and Whinge over...many thank in advance for any helpful responses

 

[Tranona]

Not sure why you are worried about wealth taxes etc. If the boat is VAT paid then it can move around the EU without any further taxes, and indeed outside the EU and return if the basic rules are followed (usually not an issue).

Any other taxes that are related to the boat as an asset will be a function of your residence (assuming you are the owner) for tax purposes. Not surprised that you are not getting any response as any advice would need to be in relation to your specifc circumstances. The only country where there is a significant potential problem is Spain, where if you are resident (on your boat or in say an apartment) for 183 days in one year you could be classed as resident for tax purposes and there is a possibility of paying a one off tax on your boat. However, this is variably enforced, and if you intend becoming resident there you will find out how it can be avoided.

There are proposals for taxes on boats in Italy, but only for residents. Similar proposals for Greece which have been passed into law, but only partly implemented (and mainly affect only large boats) and are currently in abeyance. Wealth taxes on boats (apart from Spain) are a new phenomenom and are usually aimed at extracting some tax from wealthy residents who might otherwise have avoided paying taxes on their income - so tend not to be aimed at non residents or visitors for obvious reasons.

Thousands of non-residents keep their boats permanently in many Med countries - Portugal, Spain, France, Greece being the most popular without any difficulty and without paying any more than minor local taxes such as light dues or cruising logs that locals have to pay as well.

It is difficult to get individual responses from marinas as they have for a long time been in the position of having more customers than capacity, so tend only to deal with people in front of them. However, most now have websites and there should be no difficulty in finding details of basic tariffs.

Can't comment on your experience with brokers as don't know who you have been dealing with. However, there are many good brokers around, and if you are buying remotely or in a market you are not familiar with there is merit in employing one to work on your behalf to find you a boat check it out and handle the paperwork for you. That could be money well spent.

As to shipping a boat to the east, this is not a particularly popular activity and you may well find a shortage of easily available information. A specialist shipper such as Peters & May would be a good start.

 

[AndieMac]

Have you considered buying within the Asian region?

Multi-hulled vessels are quite popular in S.E. Asia and you may find quite a large selection.
Queensland (Australia) based brokers like Geoff Lovett International or Grant Torrens Marine often have large power-cats on their books, or know where to source them, and reguarly deal with international clients.

 

[Koumari]

I haved looked at some in Asia in the past year but found them to be either overpriced for my budget and/or overworked ex charter vessels and in not such great condition.

I did however see a rather nice Lagoon 500 at Royal Phuket Marina (seing that boat actually started this sickness I now have for buying my own boat) but unfortunately it was around usd $895k which is way over my budget and its a sailing cat rather than a power one to boot :-(

Europe definitely seems to have a better priced selection though (Spain and Greece in particular) due to numerous desperate owners who have endured financial hardships in recent times resulting in prices significantly lower than elsewhere in the world (or at least thats the way it seems to me) and allows me the luxury of having it shipped elsewhere if necessary

 

[squadron]

hi koumari , dont worry , i am in the same position, i live in taiwan , and want to do exactly the same as you.
if you are not eu resident then you dont need to pay vat , you can have a temporary admission for the boat for 18 months , then leave the eu tax area and apply again, so why pay vat ?? especially if your budget is tight ?.
anyway what i wanted to say was that lots of brokers read this forum and i wouldnt be suprised if you dont get some private mails very soon from a few pro-active ones , i did after my first post ?, also lots of marinas have websites and prices so shouldnt be a problem , see the link below .multihulls carry a hefty surcharge though .
anyway good luck with you search (i have only been looking for a couple of week but it is all consuming once you set mind on doing this) also the people on here are very good and will give you excellent advice, i have learnt so much in so little time because of this forum .


http://www.oceanvillage.gi/marina-pricing-2/.


good luck david

 

[henryf]

My understanding is that when the Royal Phuket Marina development was undertaken it was one of the catalysts to put an end to the draconian import tax on boats. Clearly you will have to look into it carefully but I think you might be able to get it into Thailand duty free.

There may well be issues from a skippers licence side of things but that is for you to discover. There are several people you could talk to either at Royal Phuket marina or the Boat Lagoon (which has a new marina just outside Krabi as well on the other side of Phang na bay.

You may find different rules apply to some of your problems depending on whether you approach the Phuket or Krabi authorities and the right local friend on your side could help smooth things.

Good luck

Henry

 

[Koumari]

That Marina in Phuket is SUPER EXPENSIVE but nice nonetheless

As for the import duties I have found out that as far as Thailand is concerned they have been abolished as long as there is no outboard motor but if you want to fly a Thai flag you have to pay 7% VAT. So with an outboard motor you still ned to pay import duty too.

The boat regostration then gets transferred to Thailand but you cannot use it commercially although there are obviously some loopholes as a lot of boats are available for charter so I am guessing its something to do with setting up compnay ownership which is part Thai owned and part Foreign owned in the way they do for property over there.