Buying a Raja Ampat Liveaboard Business: Due Diligence & ROI

Due diligence on a Raja Ampat liveaboard business covers four files: the vessel, the operating company and its permits, the trading record with its deposits, and the people. Return is underwritten from evidenced earnings after a full cost base including dry-dock reserve — never from the seller’s revenue headline.

File one: the vessel

Independent survey, class and statutory position, machinery hours, dive plant condition and inventory. This is the part most buyers do well, because it is the part that feels like buying a boat. See pre-purchase due diligence.

File two: the company and its permits

Shareholding and structure, licensed activities, tax position, outstanding liabilities and disputes, and whether the permits that make the operation lawful survive a change of control. A share purchase inherits everything; an asset purchase may leave the permits behind. Decide which risk you prefer before you negotiate price.

File three: the trading record

• Occupancy and achieved rate by season, not by best month.
• Split between agent bookings and direct, with commission terms.
• Cancellation and refund history.
• Deposits held for departures after completion, and who must deliver those trips.
• Bank evidence that reconciles to the booking record.

If the booking book cannot be reconciled to receipts, the earnings claim is unverified — treat it accordingly.

File four: the people

Captain, engineer, cruise director and dive guides. Contracts, tenure, certification and willingness to stay. In this market, crew continuity is one of the more reliable predictors of whether the first season after acquisition matches the model.

Underwriting the return honestly

Build the cost base yourself: fuel at realistic itinerary distances, crew including rotation, provisioning, park and permit costs, agent commission, insurance, maintenance, and a genuine dry-dock reserve. Then apply an occupancy you can defend from the historic record rather than from the seller’s ambition. A model without a dry-dock reserve overstates return every single time — the structure is set out in the charter business financial model and the cost lines in annual operating costs.

Deal protections worth holding

Completion conditional on survey, permits and key-crew retention. Deposits for post-completion departures transferred with the obligation. Warranties on undisclosed liabilities and on the accuracy of the booking book. A defined handover period and a non-compete. The wider acquisition framework is on 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.