Superyacht with support vessel at Gilbraltar 2017-11-08

Yacht support vessels, also known as a shadow yacht or shadow vessel, are specialized ships which provide support and auxiliary functions for large sailing and motor

yachts A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

Design features

In general yacht support vessel are outfitted to support a specific megayacht mothership with their own features tailored to compliment or match those of the main vessel. Support yachts are normally intended to carry the "toys" of the super rich, whether they be a rigid inflatable boat, a fishing boat, luxury yacht tender, jet-ski or submersible. A

helipad A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...

is a common feature, especially when supporting

sailing yacht A sailing yacht (US ship prefixes SY or S/Y), is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applie ...

s which do not have their own landing pad. Some yacht support vessels are designed to support their owner's

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and medieval world. The ...

Market

Incat Crowther Incat Crowther is an Australian marine engineering company, headquartered in Sydney. Incat Crowther has offices in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States and Eastleigh, England. The company has a diverse product portfolio of designs for monohull, ...

and the

Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...

are major builders of yacht support vessels. Florida based Shadow Marine converts

offshore supply vessel A platform supply vessel (PSV) is a ship specially designed to supply offshore oil and gas platforms and other offshore installations. They typically range from in length and are distinguished by the large open deck area used to store supplies ...

s into yacht support vessels.

References

{{Reflist Ship types

Design features

Market

See also

References