DYT Yacht Transport has announced that on 30 July it will celebrate the official keel-laying ceremony of its new semi-submersible yacht transportation vessel at Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore on the Shandong Peninsula in China. Once completed, Yacht Servant, as the vessel is to be known, will be the largest vessel of its kind dedicated to the transportation of yachts. DYT is also ramping up its service to superyachts as various locations continue to welcome tourism.

“This is not just the laying of a keel, but it is also the start of a new era in yacht transport,” comments Laura Tempest, general manager at DYT. “This will be the largest semi-submersible vessel dedicated to transporting yachts ever built. We are very proud, as this will set a new benchmark in the yacht transport industry.”

According to the DYT team, Mediterranean nations have seen some of the quickest recoveries from COVID-19, with Montenegro, Malta and Tunisia among the top six European countries to record the lowest number of active cases and subsequently lift travel bans. France, Italy and parts of Spain have also now reopened ports, permitted cruising and charter is available to those from EU and Schengen countries.

Further afield in Australasia, Fiji is open to superyachts regardless of nationality and Tahiti’s borders are open to international tourism with newly relaxed charter laws creating a surge of interest in visiting its pristine waters. Furthermore, Australia is inviting yachts that are currently within its borders to freely charter. Likewise, in the Maldives, Seychelles, the Bahamas and the across the US, waters are open to tourism, albeit with some quarantine restrictions in place.

While it is positive that we are now able to talk about various regions that are once again open to tourism and the superyacht community, and while superyachts have proven to be some of the safest and most comfortable places to spend lockdown, DYT also acknowledges that there is still a great deal to be done relocate displaced superyachts and even repatriate owners and crew. With not all vessels suitably equipped for long-distances and some of the world’s most challenging oceans, the role of the yacht transportation companies will remain vital in the days to come.

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