Pricing & Valuation
Dive Liveaboard for Sale in Raja Ampat: What a Fair Price Looks Like in 2026
Published by the Raja Ampat Yacht Broker Desk · Updated 19 August 2026
A fair price for a Raja Ampat dive liveaboard is built from saleable berths, class and permit status, documented refit history, machinery life remaining and the forward booking book. Length overall is the weakest predictor of value, which is why two similar-looking hulls can be worth very different numbers.
Why asking prices scatter so widely
Buyers arriving from established markets expect comparable boats to carry comparable prices. Here they do not, because the underlying assets are not comparable. One 32-metre hull is a certified passenger vessel with permits, a booked season and a documented survey history. Another 32-metre hull is a tired charter boat with expired certificates and no paper trail. The second is a project priced as a business, and that gap is the whole story.
The five variables that actually move the number
| Variable | Direction of effect |
|---|---|
| Saleable berths | Revenue scales with cabins sold, not with metres of hull. |
| Class and certification | A vessel that can trade tomorrow is worth materially more than one that needs a yard period first. |
| Permits | The right to carry paying guests where the itinerary says it goes. Its absence is a price adjustment you should insist on. |
| Refit evidence | Documented works convert into value. Undocumented works convert into questions. |
| Forward bookings | Cash flow attached to the asset, valued separately from the hull. |
What a valuation should show you
A credible valuation is not a single number. It shows the comparable evidence used, the adjustments made for condition and certification, the remaining life assumed on major machinery, and the separate treatment of the booking book. If a broker gives you a figure without showing that working, treat it as an opinion rather than a valuation.
The cost of an inexpensive-looking hull
The hulls that appear inexpensive usually carry the cost somewhere else: an overdue class survey, a compressor at the end of its life, tanks out of hydro test, crew who left with the previous owner, or a permit position that needs rebuilding from scratch. None of that is a reason to avoid the boat, but all of it must be priced. The technique for pricing it sits in pre-purchase due diligence.
Where to start
Shortlisting brackets, the checklist the desk runs on every hull, and current mandates are on dive liveaboards for sale. If the vessel you want is already trading under a brand, compare against buying the whole operation in charter businesses for sale.
Next step: send the desk your brief — vessel type, cruising ground, budget band in USD and timing — via the enquiry desk.