Moran Yacht & Ship is an independent, family-owned superyacht brokerage based in Fort Lauderdale, with offices in Monaco and Newport. We work across four business lines: yacht sales, charter, new construction, and management. Robert Moran founded the firm in 1988, and the family still runs it today. Read more about how the firm started →
Most of the people on our team came up through the industry on the water rather than in an office. We have former captains, chief stewards, engineers, project managers, and crew on staff. Between them they have logged a lot of nautical miles. They have walked the docks at Lürssen and Feadship during builds. They have run charter weeks in the Med. They have been the person on the bridge at three in the morning when a system fails.
We call this experience The knowledge, and it shapes the advice we give. When we say a yard will hit a particular delivery date, someone on our team has watched that yard hit it before. When we recommend against a charter itinerary, we have probably tried to run it ourselves at some point and seen what falls apart. And if we tell a client a boat is the wrong fit, we are usually drawing on real time spent with similar systems and a clear sense of what those systems will cost an owner to live with over a few seasons.
This kind of background takes years to build. Most of our team has put in those years working on yachts.
We work across four business lines because the way an owner experiences a yacht does not break neatly into four separate transactions. The same client who buys a boat will eventually charter it out, manage its crew, refit it, or commission a new one. Having all four under one roof means a single team that understands the full lifecycle, and clients who do not have to start over with a new firm every time their needs change.
A superyacht purchase or sale comes with thousands of variables and millions of dollars on the table. Our job is to give you straight, unbiased advice on every one of them
Getting a charter right comes down to matching the boat, the crew, and the itinerary to the client. We work that way around rather than starting from whichever boats we happen to have to fill.
A new build takes several years, and the owner lives with the result for a generation. We sit at the table with the world’s best yards and represent the owner’s interest from contract through delivery.
Crew, maintenance, budgets, regulatory compliance, scheduling. This is the operational work that keeps a yacht running well so the owner can enjoy the boat.
A lot of yacht brokerages are organized around the next deal. That is not really how this firm works. The work we do tends to play out over long timelines: new builds take three years, charter programs often run for a decade with the same family, and management contracts can outlast the boats they cover. Brokers here tend to stay, and so do clients. The same broker a client started with is generally still around for the next chapter, which means people keep working with the same team across years and across multiple boats. When a client calls, we pick up the phone, including when the call lands at an inconvenient time on a Sunday.
We have around fifty people working across three offices. A lot of them came to us from the bridge or the engine room. Many on our team have been the person on a boat who has to make the call when something goes wrong, and that operational background carries through to the work they do here. Read more about our experienced team →
President – Robert founded Moran Yacht & Ship in 1988 after years running yachts as a captain. Before he ever sat at a brokerage desk, he had crossed oceans, overseen new builds in shipyards, and lived the day-to-day work of running a boat. He still leads the firm today, and the operating principles he set on day one continue to shape how the team works.
Managing Director – Sean is a Director of Moran Yacht & Ship and leads its New Construction practice. He manages the firm’s relationships with the world’s major shipyards and represents owners through the multi-year process of commissioning and delivering a new yacht. As Robert’s son, he grew up in the business, and his role keeps the firm family-owned and family-run into its next generation.
Managing Director & COO – Taylor is a Director and Chief Operating Officer of Moran Yacht & Ship. He runs the day-to-day operations of the business, oversees how the firm’s three offices work together, and is closely involved in most major decisions that shape its direction. He works alongside Sean Moran in directing the company and carries operational responsibility across all the companies four business lines.
Our deals, our deliveries, and the yachts in our charter and management fleet have been covered in the major yachting and luxury press.
Reach out to us today to learn more about our company and our services.
Moran Yacht & Ship was founded in 1988 by Robert Moran, a former yacht captain, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company is still family-owned and independently operated. Read the full founding story →
We are headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with additional offices in Monaco and Newport, Rhode Island.
We operate across four business lines: yacht sales (buying and selling superyachts), yacht charter (luxury vacation charters), new construction (representing owners during new yacht builds), and yacht management (operational oversight for owners).
Since 1988. That is over 37 years as an independent, family-owned superyacht brokerage.
Yes. Founded by Robert Moran in 1988, the firm remains family-owned. His son Sean Moran serves as Director and Head of New Construction.
