In a world where environmental consciousness is ever growing, Silent Yachts is revolutionising yachting forever. With solar powered technology, yacht owners and charters can now enjoy an eco-friendlier yachting experience. As Silent Yachts’ chosen logistics supplier, Peters & May are thrilled to be involved in meeting client demand for these unique yachts by assisting in their shipment.
Silent Yachts shipments
Over the last few months, Peters & May have shipped 3 of these unique yachts between the factory in Qingdao China, Barcelona and the SE Asian market in Singapore. The first shipment that Peters & May were involved in was the shipment of a Silent 55 which originated as an enquiry in our German office. This yacht needed transporting from Barcelona to Singapore after a successful season with customer sea trials in the Mediterranean.
Peters & May shipped the Silent 55 to Singapore ready to exhibit at boat shows in the region. Following this, the yacht headed to Myanmar and Thailand to start its life as a charter yacht working seasonally between SE Asia and Europe in the Mediterranean charter season. These unique yachts are fast becoming popular, especially in regions where strict restrictions are in place over pollution in some of the world’s most untouched, remote areas.
With collaboration needed across the globe, the Silent Yacht shipments require international effort from Peters & May’s teams. As such, we decided to follow the end to end process of one of the shipments travelling from the factory in China, to Barcelona for final technical equipment fitting.
Following the shipment of a Silent 55
Factory to Qingdao Port
The yacht was craned from the factory on to a barge as the factory was located some distance from the port of loading in Qingdao. Once at the port, the Silent 55 was discharged by Peters & May from the barge and trucked to the terminal, where it was then lifted into a container overnight.
Qingdao, China to Barcelona
It took 35 days to ship the Silent 55 from China to Barcelona on board the vessel. On arrival the yacht was carefully discharged by our expert Loadmasters in Spain, before being towed by a tugboat to the shipyard Roda de Vara in Tarragona in order to get its solar technology installed.
Shipping challenges
Like with all shipments, unexpected challenges can arise. However, being prepared and flexible, most issues are solvable. Projects like this take months to plan in order to find the best solution. We spoke to the team to discuss challenges and solutions along the way:
Lack of Propulsion
“Transported straight from the factory in Qingdao, China, the Silent 55 was heading to Europe to get technical equipment fitted. This meant that initially the yacht had no propulsion to sail on its own power from the factory in Qingdao to the shipping terminal in China. This didn’t make things simple. Working with 3rd parties in China a barge had to be arranged to tow the yacht to the terminal in China.”
Port access
“Barging the 55ft yacht in itself was a challenge. Qingdao is a really busy port so meant that we had to work hard to ensure that we had all necessary port authorisations and arrange for a pier to be available. Once port access was granted there was also the concern of shallow waters around Qingdao port. Our team were mindful of this employing all their skill and knowledge when discharging the barge. At the end of the day it is all in the planning and preparation – something which we take very seriously at P&M.”
Looking to future shipments
After working closely with Silent Yachts over the last few months arranging the shipment of 3 yachts, the team at Silent Yachts gave their comments on the shipment: “We are seeing a massive increase in popularity of solar powered yachts. With demand increasing, we needed a reliable shipping partner which we found in Peters & May. With global representation, they are on hand to offer expertise for the shipment of Silent Yachts to customers worldwide.”
The Silent 55, along with other Silent Yacht models have been well received at various boat shows worldwide. With 100% solar powered technology, each yacht has an unlimited cruising range, with limited power settings of course – just one of the reasons their popularity continues to grow!
If you are heading to Cannes Yachting Festival this year, both Peters & May and Silent Yachts will be at the show. The latest Silent 55 shipped to Barcelona will also be on display, so pop by. Peters & May will be located at Jetee 154, whilst Silent Yachts will be found at VIEUX Port in the exhibition area Quai Maz Laubeuf QML 058.
