How Much Does It Cost To Ship A Boat Overseas?

1. Cost of Shipping a Boat Overseas
2. How Your Boat Is Shipped
3. Shipping Location & Destination
4. Requirements & Planning For Overseas Boat Shipping

Cost of Shipping a Boat Overseas

Two of the major cost factors involved in shipping a boat overseas are size and weight. Heavier cargo is more expensive to ship—no surprise there—and that’s just as true for boats as it is any other type of vehicle. Size becomes a factor when a boat requires some sort of special preparation due to the dimensions or other aspects that may prevent it from being shipped and loaded in a standard fashion.

How Your Boat Is Shipped

The method used to ship your boat can have an affect on the price, mainly for the size-related reasons mentioned above. Most boats are shipped either in an enclosed container or using roll-on, roll-off (RORO) transport. Boats can also be loaded directly onto a transport ship using submersion loading. For larger sized boats that are shipped overseas, they may need to be shipped in their own cradle, which usually costs a bit more.

Shipping Location & Destination

Shipping costs can also be affected by the origin and destination points. Costs will increase according to the traveled distance and consideration should be given to the most cost-effective port inside the United States. If you are sending a boat to Europe for instance it makes financial and logistical sense to ship it from the East Coast. The expense of transporting the vessel to its destination port is nevertheless something to think about.

Requirements & Planning For Overseas Boat Shipping

Documents - Required documents are one of the most important things to keep in mind when shipping any vehicle to another country. This goes for both yourself and your boat. Naturally, the requirements are slightly different from country to country, but here are the general expectations for most countries:

• Passport or license
• Copy of boat title
• Invoice or bill of sale
• Bill of lading (BOL) & transport documents
• Visa (if needed)
• Proof of insurance
• VAT certificate

Projected Costs - It’s difficult to estimate the cost of transporting a boat since they come in a large variety of sizes, shapes, and weights. As a general rule—and again, this will vary based on many things—you can expect to pay several thousand dollars to ship a boat to another country. If your boat is small enough to fit into a shipping container, that is definitely the most cost-effective way to go. For others, we strongly recommend getting an estimate based on the specifics of your boat, timeframe, and destination.