Raja Ampat Yacht Broker
Dive liveaboards for sale — Raja Ampat and Indonesia
A dive liveaboard for sale in Raja Ampat is priced on berths, class status, permits and booking book — not on length. Typical working vessels run 28 to 36 metres with eight to twelve cabins. The desk assesses each hull against its survey file, compressor and tank inventory, crew continuity and forward season before an offer is written.
The buyer’s real question
Almost nobody buys a dive liveaboard to own a boat. They buy it to own a season. That reframing changes what you inspect. A hull with immaculate joinery and no passenger certification is a project. A plain hull with a current class file, a licensed operating company and sixty per cent of next season already sold is a business you can run in month one.
What the desk checks on every liveaboard
- Hull and structure. Plate thickness readings on steel; fastening, frame and sheathing condition on ironwood. Both need an independent surveyor, not a broker’s opinion.
- Class and statutory file. Current certificates, outstanding conditions, last and next scheduled survey.
- Guest-carrying permits. Whether the vessel and the operating company hold what is required to carry paying divers, and whether that survives a change of ownership.
- Dive plant. Compressor hours and service records, tank hydro dates, nitrox system, rental inventory, tender and outboard condition.
- Machinery. Main engine and generator hours, spares held, watermaker capacity against guest load.
- Commercial file. Occupancy by season, average berth rate, agent mix, deposits held, and which bookings are transferable.
- Crew. Captain, engineer, cruise director and dive guides — contracts, tenure and willingness to remain.
Indicative shortlisting brackets
These are the working brackets the desk uses to sort enquiries, not a price list. Every figure is confirmed against the actual vessel, its survey and its permits before it means anything.
| Bracket | Profile | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Sub-28 m, 6–8 cabins, older hull, refit due | Owner-operator, budget expedition product, or refit project |
| Core | 28–34 m, 8–12 cabins, documented class, working permits | The commercial mainstream of the Raja Ampat fleet |
| Premium | 34 m+, 10–14 cabins, recent refit, established brand and booking book | Turnkey acquisition, often bought as a whole business |
Buy the boat, or buy the business?
If the vessel you like is already trading under a brand with a forward book, buying the shares of the operating company is frequently cleaner than buying the hull out of it. That route, its diligence list and its risks are set out on charter and liveaboard businesses for sale.
After the purchase
Owners who do not intend to run the vessel day to day place it under vessel and charter management, which covers technical oversight, crew, compliance and commercial reporting. Vessels working the central corridor spend most of their season in the Dampier Strait.
Before any deposit moves, commission an independent inspection. Our standard is set out in the pre-purchase due diligence brief.
Talk to the broker desk. Tell us the vessel type, the cruising ground and the budget band in USD, and we will come back with what is genuinely available and what it will take to close.
Frequently asked questions
What size dive liveaboard works best in Raja Ampat?
Most commercially viable Raja Ampat liveaboards sit between 28 and 36 metres with eight to twelve cabins. Below that the fixed cost of crew, compressors and fuel is spread over too few berths; above it, mooring and manoeuvring inside the tighter dive sites gets harder.
Steel hull or wooden phinisi hull for a liveaboard?
Steel gives predictable survey outcomes, easier class compliance and lower insurance friction. Ironwood gives the phinisi look that many guests book for, at the cost of a more demanding maintenance cycle and a more specialised survey. The right answer depends on whether you are buying a business or a brand.
Does the dive equipment come with the boat?
Compressors, tanks, nitrox membranes and rental sets are usually listed as an inventory schedule attached to the sale agreement, not assumed. Hydro-test dates and compressor service records should be checked before value is assigned to them.