January 18 - Brisbane, Australia will welcome Dockwise Yacht Transport's (DYT) Super Servant 4 when the 169.49 m semi-submersible ship berths at Fisherman's Island Terminal to unload a cargo of yachts with a total value of approximately USD35 million.
It has been more than a year since the ship's last trip here was diverted to Sydney due to extreme flooding that devastated Brisbane and many other Queensland locations.
Jason Roberts, president of Aurora Global Logistics and DYT's exclusive commercial agent for Australia, sees the ship's return as proof positive of the rebounding yacht manufacturing and boat transport industries as well as the cruising market that Brisbane serves so well in the South Pacific.
"Brisbane is in the process of rebuilding," said Roberts, explaining that when the Brisbane River's riverbanks broke last January, an overflow level of 4.45 m (14.6 ft) was reached, and approximately 20,000 houses were flooded. "At the same time, the Australian economy has survived the global downturn to be quite strong, and this DYT voyage adds momentum to both of those things. We are excited for this voyage as well as many more to come in the future."
Roberts added that Brisbane's location halfway between Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef make it a perfect discharge point for DYT, which operates on a regular schedule to deliver private yachts and charter boats to prime cruising destinations around the world. Looking something like a giant moving marina when it comes to town, theSuper Servant 4-once docked-will submerge itself by pumping nine million gallons of water into its ballast tanks. After scuba divers remove sea-fasteners from each yacht, captains, owners and/or crews will be free to disembark under their own power and be off to new adventures.
Super Servant 4 departed Palma de Mallorca, Spain in December 2011 and will have made stops in Martinique, France, Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale, USA, and Golfito, Costa Rica before arriving in Brisbane. From Brisbane, it will head to Auckland, New Zealand) and return to Port Everglades before heading to Toulon, France in early April.
DYT's second "float-on/float-off" voyage to the South Pacific this year will begin in Palma de Mallorca in November, with stops in Martinique, Port Everglades, Golfito, Brisbane, and Auckland, and return to Port Everglades and the Mediterranean in spring 2013.
