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Superyacht Management Services

So ownership feels like it should.

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Yacht Management & Superyacht Management Services

Owning a yacht should be about enjoying it, not managing the complexity behind it. Moran Yacht & Ship provides full-service yacht and superyacht management for vessels worldwide, backed by decades of operational experience and ISM Code certification.

Every program is built by a team of veteran captains, chief engineers, and maritime professionals around the owner, the vessel, and the cruising itinerary. Our fees are flat, with no hidden markups and no third-party commissions, and real-time financial reporting means you always know where your money is going.

Explore our management services below, or contact our team to discuss a program for your vessel.

Onboard lifestyle | Moran Yacht & Ship

What is Professional Yacht Management?

Yacht management is the shore-side program that keeps a vessel running at the standard her owner expects: crew, maintenance, compliance, accounting, and the day-to-day coordination behind it. For owners, the point is simple. You show up and enjoy the boat while everything else is handled.

For a detailed owner’s overview of the responsibilities, systems, and cost factors involved, read our guide to how professional yacht management works.

Without a professional team, the owner and captain carry the full administrative load themselves: flag-state filings, payroll across jurisdictions, vendor chasing in every port, and repair bills that arrive without warning. A management company absorbs that work and gives the captain a proper support structure. What that covers, in practice:

  • Planned maintenance, run to manufacturer schedules
  • Crew placement, training, payroll, and HR
  • Shore-side accounting and multi-currency banking
  • ISM and ISPS safety compliance for private and commercial vessels
  • Documentation, flag-state filings, and global vendor coordination
  • 24/7 operational support, wherever the yacht is
Onboard lifestyle | Moran Yacht & Ship

Our Yacht Management Teams

Every yacht under our care gets a dedicated yacht manager, backed by a full shore-side team in our Fort Lauderdale office: technical superintendents, financial controllers, and safety and compliance leads. The captain and owner have one point of contact, with specialists a call away for any operational question.

The team is built from people who have run yachts themselves, from veteran captains and former chief engineers to certified accountants and ISM auditors, most of whom spent decades on the water before coming ashore. When something goes sideways at 0200 in a remote anchorage, the person on the other end of the phone has been in that situation before.

Yacht Operations Management - Moran

Yacht Operations Management

Running a yacht is a lot like running a private company. Our operations team works with owners, captains, and crew on itinerary planning and changes, coordination with charter brokers and local authorities, and compliance with safety management systems and flag-state rules. Someone is available around the clock to help with the day-to-day of yacht and crew operations.

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Seascape | Moran Yacht & Ship

Yacht Safety & Compliance

Compliance is non-negotiable and getting more complex every year. Every yacht we manage runs under a documented Safety Management System built to ISM Code standards, with certifications, drills, surveys, and audits tracked to schedule and ready for inspection wherever the yacht happens to be. In practice, that means we handle:

  • Safety Management System development, internal audits, and annual ISM reviews, plus ISPS security plans and drills for commercial-flagged vessels
  • MLC crew contracts, hours of rest, and welfare standards
  • Flag-state registration, renewals, and documentation across Cayman, the Marshall Islands, Malta, BVI, and other major flags
  • Port-state inspection readiness before arrival in stricter jurisdictions
  • Class society surveys with Lloyd’s, ABS, Bureau Veritas, RINA, and DNV, covering annual, intermediate, special, and dry-dock
  • Safety equipment certifications, drills, and crew training records
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Yacht Financial Management - Moran

Superyacht Accounting & Financial Management

Shore-based financial management from our accounting team frees the captain and crew to focus on running the vessel, and it gives the owner full transparency to make decisions without surprises. It covers weekly reporting with detailed expense and budget tracking, invoice processing and vendor payments, multi-currency banking at competitive rates, and compliant crew payroll for every jurisdiction. Insurance is handled the same way, with full coverage and claims support and no broker commissions, so every negotiation works in the owner’s favor rather than the manager’s.

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Yacht Planned Maintenance

Yacht Planned Maintenance

A good maintenance program is what keeps a yacht safe, reliable, and ready to go. Ours schedules work against manufacturer intervals for every major system and runs systematic inspections that surface issues before they turn into haul-outs. We monitor performance across propulsion, electrical, HVAC, and safety systems, plan upgrades and refits with vendor recommendations, and coordinate emergency repairs with access to qualified marine technicians worldwide.

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How Our Yacht Management Program Works

Every program starts with a review of the vessel: ownership goals, cruising plans, flag requirements, crew structure, and the systems already in place. From there we build a management plan covering operations, compliance, accounting, maintenance, crew support, and reporting. The owner gets a single point of contact backed by specialists in each area, and the aim throughout is to keep the yacht ready, compliant, transparent, and running at the standard her owner expects.

Yacht Financial Management - Moran

Yacht Management Fees and Cost Transparency

Fees vary with vessel size, flag, cruising program, charter activity, crew structure, and the scope of work involved. A privately used yacht with a stable crew and a predictable itinerary is a different job from a commercially registered charter yacht crossing multiple jurisdictions.

Whatever the program, our fee structure is flat, with no hidden vendor markups or third-party commissions. Owners get clear reporting, so operating costs, maintenance spend, payroll, insurance, and vendor payments can all be reviewed without waiting for a month-end surprise.

AMOR À VIDA 220ft CRN luxury superyacht - photo

What to Look For in Yacht Management Companies

Not all management companies are the same, and the differences are worth pressure-testing before you sign with anyone. A few things to weigh:

  • A track record with yachts of similar size and complexity, and references you can actually call
  • Technical management, crew, accounting, and global support under one roof, rather than stitched together from subcontractors
  • Real-time reporting, so you can see operational and financial status without waiting for a monthly call
  • Flat fees, with no hidden markups or commissions on insurance, fuel, or vendors
  • ISM certification, which is required for larger vessels and a baseline signal for any program

It comes down to a handful of questions: Does the company manage yachts like yours? Is technical management in-house or outsourced? Who owns ISM, ISPS, MLC, flag-state, and class requirements? How often will you get financial reports, and are there any markups or commissions buried in them? The right answer protects your time, the captain’s focus, and the yacht’s long-term value, and it makes ownership more transparent, not less.

Why Moran Yacht Management

Managing a yacht is a constant stream of operational decisions: crew contracts, ISM documentation, flag-state filings, haul-out scheduling, insurance renewals, and financial reporting you can actually read when you need it. Most owners did not sign up to become ship operators, and that is where we come in. Our team includes former captains, engineers, and chief stewards who have run these systems on the water. They know where costs hide, what a flag-state auditor is really looking for, and what goes wrong with a system that looks fine tied up at the dock. We handle crewing, accounts, ISM compliance, class survey prep, and technical oversight, and keep you informed throughout.

 

Top View of Yacht next to a boat on the water

Protect your Asset

Scheduled maintenance heads off the surprise failures that become six-figure repairs, and proactive programs almost always cost less than the emergency work they prevent. Systematic care also protects the yacht’s resale position, keeps warranty and class requirements current, and keeps her ready and looking her best whenever you want to use her.

Our technical team benchmarks every system against OEM service intervals, flags parts nearing end of life before they fail, and keeps documentation ready for surveyors, insurers, and buyers.

Aerial top down view of a superyacht under construction, Moran Yacht & Ship new build specialists

A Network You Can't Build Alone

Decades in the market means real relationships with yards, technicians, engineers, and flag-state authorities in the cruising grounds that matter. An independent owner-captain pair is hard-pressed to replicate that, especially in the Med, the Caribbean, or anywhere remote, and it is often the difference between a same-day fix and a ruined week.

Yacht management begins at delivery. If you are commissioning a vessel, our separate new build project management team handles the build itself and hands over to management on completion.

Enjoy your time onboard

Less to Think About

The most common thing owners tell us after their first season under management is some version of “I don’t have to worry about it anymore.” No chasing vendors, no payroll surprises, no repair bills out of nowhere, no compliance deadlines to track, just the boat, fueled, staffed, and ready whenever they are.

That peace of mind extends to guests and family aboard too, since a well-run program means fewer interruptions, fewer last-minute fixes, and a boat that behaves exactly as expected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Owners usually need a yacht management company when the vessel requires professional support for compliance, accounting, crew, maintenance, insurance, or international operations. A management company supports the captain and takes the administrative, technical, and regulatory burden off the owner.

They vary on five fronts: how much is kept in-house versus subcontracted, fee structure (flat fee versus hidden markups on insurance, fuel, and vendors), how often and how transparently they report, ISM certification status, and the operational depth of the shore-side team. The right fit depends on the vessel’s flag, size, and cruising program. We are happy to walk through how Moran compares against any other firm you are considering.

We provide comprehensive yacht management services, including crew management, financial management, technical support, operations management, safety and compliance, and planned maintenance, for vessels of all sizes, from smaller boats to superyachts.

Yacht management costs depend on the yacht’s size, flag, use, crew, itinerary, and service scope. A program may include operations, accounting, compliance, maintenance planning, crew support, and technical oversight. Moran Yacht & Ship provides tailored programs with transparent fees and no hidden vendor markups.

Yacht operations is one part of yacht management. Operations covers the day-to-day coordination such as itinerary planning, port logistics, vendor scheduling, and captain support. Yacht management is broader and can also include accounting, compliance, crew, maintenance, insurance, and technical oversight.

As an ISM-certified yacht management company, we use industry-leading safety management systems and Flagship software, coordinate with insurance providers, and enforce strict security and compliance protocols. Learn more here.

Yes. Our yacht operations team handles every part of charter compliance, from itinerary approval and crew placement to guest embarkation and revenue management, so charters run smoothly from start to finish.

We deliver regular, detailed reports and annual budget forecasts, so you always know where your funds are going. The goal is a straightforward service with no hidden fees.

Our team recruits top crew, from veteran captains and engineers to support staff, with ongoing training and oversight to keep performance and guest satisfaction high.

Contact a Yacht Manager

Contact our yacht management team to learn about our services and what it is like to work with us.

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