Used Passenger Vessel for Sale: The Second-Hand Ferry Buyer’s Checklist

A second hand ferry can be a very good buy. A well-built aluminium passenger vessel that has been maintained and refitted will give a new operator many years of service at a fraction of newbuild cost, and it can be earning within months instead of the two to three years a new vessel takes. The trick is to evaluate it in the right order, so that you do not fall in love with a hull whose paperwork cannot follow you to your flag.

Step one: documents before deck shoes

Ask for the registry details, class or statutory certificates, the stability booklet, the general arrangement, the last survey and docking reports, engine service records and the life-saving inventory. For a used passenger vessel the certificate history tells you how many persons it has been allowed to carry, under which code, and whether any conditions of class are outstanding. If the seller only shares full ownership and registry records under a non-disclosure agreement, that is normal practice for commercial passenger boats for sale and should not put you off.

Step two: hull and structure

Walk the vessel with a surveyor who knows aluminium. Look at the keel and chines, plating around the waterline, the bow where slamming loads concentrate, engine beds and the transom around shaft and rudder fittings. Check that dissimilar-metal fittings are insulated, that anodes have been renewed, and that any repaired areas are documented. Inside, lift floor panels in the bilge and look at frames and stringers, not just the paint.

Step three: machinery and systems

Record engine hours and compare them with the service book. Ask for oil analysis, check exhaust colour on start-up and at load, and listen to the gearbox through the clutch engagement. Test the generator on load, the switchboard, steering from wheelhouse to rudder, bilge pumps and the fire pump. On a sea trial, run the vessel at design speed for at least an hour and watch temperatures and vibration.

Step four: safety equipment

Life rafts, lifejackets, lifebuoys, EPIRB, SART, fire detection and fixed suppression systems all have service dates. Out-of-date gear is cheap to renew but it tells you something about how the vessel was run. Confirm that the life-saving capacity, for example 220 persons on the Sea Keepers listing, matches the passenger certificate you intend to apply for under your flag.

Step five: accommodation and turnaround

Seats, air-conditioning, toilets, galley and luggage space decide whether passengers come back. Check seat fixings and fabric, the condition of windows and seals, and whether the boarding arrangement suits your berths. A 35 m vessel with an aft boarding deck and open foredeck will turn around in minutes at a simple jetty; a bow-loading design may not.

Step six: commercial terms

Second-hand ferry sales normally use the Norwegian Saleform with a deposit in escrow, delivery against payment, a bill of sale and a deletion certificate from the previous registry. Buying directly from the seller, with no brokers in the chain, keeps commission out of the price and lets you talk to the people who know the vessel.

Step seven: the real landed cost

Add together the purchase price, survey and travel, reflagging and class entry, the refit you actually need (seats, livery, ticketing, extra rafts), delivery by own keel or heavy-lift, insurance, and working capital for the first season. Compare that landed figure, not the asking price, between candidate vessels.

Sea Keepers has a used high speed passenger vessel for sale now: a 35.4 m aluminium monohull, refitted 2018–2019, lying in Karachi and available for inspection, survey and delivery to Africa, the Gulf and Asia.