BBC Yacht Transport and marine leisure, sports and event specialist GAC Pindar have teamed up to provide a one-stop-shop for transport solutions for the sailing industry. The agreement combines BBC’s fleet of 160 multipurpose vessels with GAC Pindar’s first-hand knowledge of the sector to offer a door-to-door service.

The official partnership builds on the existing relationship between the GAC Group and BBC Chartering, who worked together during the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2018. GAC also provides some agency services to BBC’s fleet and moves various project cargoes with BBC Chartering worldwide, the company states.

BBC Yacht Transport was established as a subsidiary of BBC Chartering in January 2019, likely following the success of the Volvo Ocean Race.  “We have always transported yachts but in the past, we often did so on behalf of third parties including competing shipping lines. As a result, we would only receive a small part of the total freight fare”, director Bas Bos explained in an interview with Project Cargo Journal at the time.

World Sailing

Exactly one year later, the dedicated sales office, which is headquartered in Amsterdam, has secured a major partnership through the MoU with GAC Pindar. GAC Pindar provides logistical solutions to some of the biggest sailing events in the world. On top of that, the company is the official logistics provider for World Sailing, the governing body for the sailing industry, and the Volvo Ocean Race, for which it claims to be “the only logistics provider in the race’s 44-year history to be appointed twice.”

“This strengthening of our relationship with them offers customers a solid option for shipping yachts and equipment between events or locations with the high standards of service GAC Pindar is known for”, comments Jeremy Troughton, GAC Pindar’s General Manager.

Sander Schuurman, co-founder of BBC Yacht Transport, adds: “We are very pleased to support GAC Pindar which has so many years of specialised logistics experience in the sail racing arena. We will do the utmost to offer GAC Pindar’s customers all the benefits of being ‘powered by’ one of the world’s largest shipping companies.”