Yacht, Superyacht and Megayacht Surveys in Portugal, Spain and France

MAMVC provides independent yacht, superyacht and megayacht surveys in Portugal, Spain and France. Mykola Aleksyeyev, a certified Deep Sea Captain and Safety Superintendent with more than 20 years in the commercial maritime industry, inspects the yacht, documents findings together with their basis, and issues a written report, with a target turnaround of 48 hours for pre-purchase and insurance work agreed at scoping.

A yacht survey answers one question

Before an owner, captain, buyer, insurer or manager commits to a purchase, a repair programme or an insurance renewal, one question needs a clear answer: what is the actual condition of this yacht, what needs attention, and what does that mean operationally and financially?

MAMVC is built around that question. The service suits international yacht owners, captains, managers, brokers, insurers and family offices who want documented evidence, professional judgement and a report that informs a negotiation, an underwriting decision, a repair plan or a claim.

Survey demand across Portugal and Spain has grown through the current maintenance season, as owners prepare yachts for insurance updates and sale or purchase decisions. Early scheduling helps with the inspection window and the yard or lift-out slot that goes with it.

Why command experience shapes what a survey finds

A survey reads a yacht as a system: hull, machinery, safety arrangements, crew practice and records working together. Mykola has spent two decades inside that system as a Master and as a shore-side surveyor.

His command career spans Wallem, OSM, MSC, GNV (as Staff Master), Shoei Kisen and Bahri, and his operator experience includes NYK Group and OSM Thome. The vessels are among the most demanding in commercial shipping: ConRo ships carrying project cargo, heavy lift equipment and military cargoes, PCTC and PCC car carriers, RoRo and RoPax fleets and tankers. His work covers heavy-lift projects, dry-dockings, P&I claim investigations, safety management and vessel vetting across multiple flag states.

Commercial ships operate under SOLAS, MARPOL, MLC, the ISM Code and the ISPS Code, and port state control inspectors test them against those rules. That discipline carries across to a 50-metre sailing superyacht, a 70-metre motor yacht or a larger megayacht. Mykola sorts every observation into one of four groups:

• a cosmetic item
• a maintenance deferral
• a compliance gap
• a condition that affects safety, insurability or value

That sorting helps turn a long list of observations into a decision about which findings may bear on price, on risk or on the work list.

Safety superintendent depth on every survey

Mykola holds two vantage points on a vessel. As a Master he carried responsibility for the ship, the cargo and every person aboard. As Safety Training Superintendent and Behaviour Based Safety Facilitator at Bahri in Dubai, he audited and inspected vessels across a fleet, led claims investigation and fleet-wide training, and shaped how crews think about safety. This work focused on finding gaps early, documenting them clearly and supporting crews as they addressed them.

The second vantage point changes what a yacht survey finds. A safety superintendent reads the distance between the paperwork and the practice, and builds trust with a crew in the first five minutes of an inspection. On a yacht that reading turns into specific checks:

• safety management documentation, drill records and training records compared with what the crew can demonstrate
• fire detection, suppression and fire-fighting equipment, including fire zones, fire doors and machinery space arrangements
• watertight integrity, bilge systems and flooding arrangements
• life-saving appliances, rescue boat and tender launch readiness
• emergency power, emergency lighting, muster stations and escape routes
• permit-to-work, hot work and maintenance safety practice in engineering spaces
• incident and near-miss reporting, and how the crew responds to findings

For an owner or captain, the survey describes safety observations the crew can use as a basis for action, with each finding sorted by what it may mean for safety, insurance and value.

Independent advice, commissioned by the client

Every MAMVC survey is commissioned by the client and conducted independently. The only commercial relationship on each survey is with the client, and the surveyor’s only obligation is accuracy. Independence shapes how each reader uses the report:

• A buyer receives an independent view of condition before committing funds.
• A seller learns what a buyer’s surveyor is likely to identify.
• An owner receives a practical maintenance and risk picture.
• An insurer receives condition findings relevant to underwriting.
• A captain or manager receives clear priorities.

Each report documents what was inspected, what was found, the basis for each finding and the recommended follow-up. Reports are prepared with negotiation, insurance and flag-state use in mind, and are written to be read by owners, P&I clubs, underwriters and legal teams. Each report is addressed to the instructing client.

What MAMVC checks in a yacht or superyacht survey

The scope follows the yacht’s size, age, construction, usage profile, the purpose of the survey and whether the yacht can be lifted or dry-docked. A detailed inspection considers the following areas.

Hull, structure and external surfaces

The survey examines the hull’s accessible condition for impact damage, cracking, delamination, corrosion, repair evidence, coating failure and blistering. It covers the keel, rudder, stern gear, through-hull fittings, seacocks and anodes, which are the standard focus of an out-of-water inspection.

Steel and aluminium hulls receive attention to plating, welds, coatings and structural integrity, and ultrasonic thickness gauging records the remaining plate thickness where the scope calls for it. GRP hulls receive moisture readings and a review of gelcoat, laminate and any osmosis or repair work.

Machinery, propulsion and engineering spaces

The engine room review covers main engines, generators, gearboxes, shafts, propulsion, exhaust, fuel, cooling and bilge systems, fire-fighting equipment, alarms and housekeeping. On larger yachts the inspection adds engine diagnostics, oil sampling for laboratory analysis, vibration analysis and, with the yacht lifted, shaft clearance and stabiliser checks.

The objective is to confirm that installation, maintenance evidence, operating condition and safety arrangements match a yacht of that size, age and intended use.

Sea trial

On a large yacht the sea trial is usually the most informative stage of the survey. It typically runs for about four hours and covers engine performance under load, manufacturer diagnostics where a technician attends, manoeuvring, anchor and ground tackle operation, tender launch and recovery, and a check of noise and vibration. Sea trial findings feed directly into the pre-purchase decision, and buyers commonly work to a short contractual window after the trial.

Electrical, navigation and onboard systems

Electrical generation and distribution, batteries, charging, shore power, lighting, navigation and communications equipment, automation, alarms, pumps and HVAC all receive attention where accessible. On a superyacht these systems depend on each other, so the survey follows the connections: electrical supply, fire detection, bilge pumping and emergency power.

Safety equipment and crew readiness

Life-saving appliances, fire detection and suppression, escape routes, emergency lighting, communications, safety plans, drills and records are reviewed for presence, condition, servicing status and practical usability. This is where operational command experience adds the most. The survey asks whether each item is accessible, maintained, understood and ready.

Documentation, compliance and maintenance records

The documentation review covers registration, class or flag-state records, statutory certificates, insurance requirements, maintenance and service histories, previous survey reports, manuals and planned maintenance evidence. Commercial yachts of 24 metres and over in load line length operate under the REG Yacht Code, which consolidated the earlier LY3 Large Yacht Code and the Passenger Yacht Code, and the survey checks the yacht’s certificates against the regime that applies to it.

Survey types for owners, buyers and insurers

Pre-purchase surveys inform the buyer’s decision

A pre-purchase survey is usually the most comprehensive inspection in a yacht transaction. It is commissioned before completion and gives the buyer an independent understanding of the yacht’s condition at the time of inspection. MAMVC treats it as decision support. The survey helps a buyer:

• identify visible and accessible defects before signing
• separate urgent work from deferred maintenance
• form a view on whether the asking price reflects the yacht’s observed condition
• request repairs, price adjustments or contractual protections
• decide whether to proceed, renegotiate or withdraw
• establish a baseline for future maintenance and insurance

MAMVC inspects the hull, machinery, electrics and safety equipment and issues a written report, with a target turnaround of 48 hours.

Insurance surveys make renewal straightforward

Insurers commonly request condition and valuation information when a yacht changes hands and again at age-based intervals, often around every five years. Some underwriters specify an out-of-water survey, and for steel and aluminium hulls some specify a thickness gauging report. The policy wording and the insurer’s brief define the exact requirement, and MAMVC prepares condition and valuation reports formatted to the insurer’s brief, with a target turnaround of 48 hours.

Owners and captains gain a clear list of observations to review with their insurer or broker before renewal. Acceptance and terms remain the insurer’s decision.

Pre-sale surveys bring findings forward

A pre-sale survey tells the owner what the buyer’s surveyor will find, while there is still time to repair, disclose or price accordingly. On higher-value yachts this can help the timeline, since a buyer’s survey that confirms what the seller has already documented supports a smoother completion.

Survey scope by yacht size

MAMVC surveys yachts from 12 metres upward. The core of the work sits between 50 and 100 metres and extends to the largest megayachts. Each size band carries its own systems, crew structure and regulatory picture, and the survey scope follows them.

Scale is familiar ground

Mykola’s career has been spent on large and complex vessels, where engineering plant, safety arrangements and crews operate at a scale that rewards planning. A yacht of 50 to 100 metres carries the same kinds of systems in a more compact form, and the disciplines carry across: scope agreed early, specialists lined up before the yacht arrives, documents requested in advance, each system inspected against its purpose and every finding sorted by what it may mean for safety, insurance and value.

That preparation serves every size band. The same structured approach and clarity of reporting apply to a 30-metre yacht and a 90-metre yacht, and the survey of a 120-metre megayacht is planned to the scale of the yacht.

Superyacht and megayacht surveys call for wider judgement

System complexity grows with size. A superyacht or megayacht carries multiple generators, advanced automation, layered fire and safety systems, extensive guest areas, tender operations and a specialised crew. A useful survey therefore examines how the whole yacht works. It considers:

• how well systems are integrated and maintained
• how practical and well understood the crew’s safety routines are
• whether documentation matches the yacht’s operating condition
• whether maintenance priorities match the cruising profile
• how findings affect insurance, charter readiness, resale value and availability

Large yacht surveys involve a wider set of counterparts than a small craft survey: brokers, managers, captains, chief engineers, lawyers and technical representatives. MAMVC works across that group, agrees scope and schedule early, collects statutory documents, specifications and drawings in advance, and brings in specialists such as engine manufacturer technicians where the yacht’s systems call for them.

MAMVC’s approach comes from commercial maritime operations, where a vessel is assessed for what is visible and for whether the organisation around it manages risk effectively. That second reading is the added perspective a yacht owner or insurer receives.

How a MAMVC survey runs

1. Enquiry. Send the yacht name, IMO number where applicable, yacht type, current port and survey type to contact@mamvc.com. MAMVC aims to answer enquiries within 24 hours.
2. Scope and schedule. The survey scope, the lift-out or dry-dock arrangement and the sea trial are agreed with the client, captain and yard.
3. Inspection. The yacht is inspected in the water, at sea trial and out of the water as the scope requires, with documents reviewed alongside.
4. Report. A written report records what was inspected, what was found, the basis for each finding and the recommended follow-up. The target turnaround for pre-purchase and insurance reports is 48 hours.
5. Follow-up. Mykola supports the client through negotiation, repair specification, yard liaison and insurer queries.

Coverage across Portugal, Spain, France and the Atlantic corridor

MAMVC is based at the Port of Leixões in Porto and covers Portugal and the Atlantic corridor from the Port of Bilbao to Gibraltar, with international assignments accepted on instruction.

Portuguese locations include Leixões, Lisbon, Setúbal, Sines, Aveiro, Figueira da Foz, Viana do Castelo, Portimão, Faro, Funchal in Madeira and Ponta Delgada in the Azores. For Spain and France, MAMVC works with owners and managers whose yachts sit in Spanish and French marinas, including the established refit centres around Barcelona, Palma and Antibes, and supports clients across the Iberian Peninsula and the western Mediterranean.

Who MAMVC works with

• Private yacht owners and family offices
• Captains and yacht managers
• Buyers and sellers
• Insurance companies and brokers
• Marine lawyers and claims handlers
• Shipyards, refit managers and technical teams
• P&I clubs and other marine insurance interests

For claims and incident work, see damage and claims surveys. For the full survey range, see marine surveying and survey services.

Frequently asked questions

Scope and limitations of a survey

A marine survey is a professional opinion based on a visual inspection of the accessible areas of the yacht at the time of inspection, together with the documents and information made available. Several points frame every MAMVC survey:

• The report records condition at the time of inspection, and condition can change afterwards.
• Concealed, enclosed or inaccessible areas stay outside the visual inspection unless the agreed scope provides for opening up or testing.
• The report is one input to the client’s own decision, and the client remains responsible for that decision.
• Class, flag-state and statutory surveys are separate processes, carried out by their own authorities.
• Scope, fee, reporting format and terms of engagement are agreed in writing before the survey, and each report is addressed to the instructing client.

This article provides general information about marine surveys and applies to yachts in general rather than to any one yacht. Each engagement is governed by its written terms.

Standards and further reading

• IIMS: Surveying large crewed yachts, on sea trial, machinery and reporting practice
• MSN 1895 (M): Red Ensign Group REG Yacht Code Part A
• UK Ship Register: large yacht codes, practice and standards