Liveaboard for Sale in Indonesia — Wooden Dive and Expedition Hulls, With Permits Explained

By Wooden Yacht For Sale Editorial Desk

Asking prices, not valuations: prices on this page are quoted as published by third-party brokers and marketplaces, with source and check month. Every boat is subject to third-party survey, haul-out and document check. Nothing here is legal advice.

Liveaboard for sale Indonesia listings in October 2026 included a 2023 91 ft wooden dive boat in Labuan Bajo, since expired, and a 40 m unfinished project offered as a company takeover. An operating liveaboard is bought with its permits: SIUPAL, SIOPSUS and SIUPAR, according to Emerhub, plus the vessel's own certificates.

When you buy a liveaboard you are usually buying two things, a hull and a business. They have separate paperwork and separate risks. The hull is checked by a surveyor, and the business by a lawyer and an accountant.

What differs between a dive liveaboard, an expedition hull and a guest boat?

The word covers several layouts. The fit-out should match how you plan to earn from the boat or enjoy it.

Are wooden boats good for liveaboards? Plenty work that way, and the 2023 Labuan Bajo example we quote is wood throughout. The material brings a maintenance load, though, and a boat in steady use has little downtime for it. Ask how haul-outs were fitted around the season.

Which liveaboards were published in October 2026?

The table on this page shows most of these with source and month. They are references only, and some have conditions you should read closely.

• A 2023 dive liveaboard on Boat Guru: 91 ft, six cabins, 12 berths, wooden, Labuan Bajo. The listing has expired.
• Three used vessels on Yacht Sourcing: 39.75 m with six cabins and 12 guests in Jakarta, 30.5 m with five cabins in Raja Ampat, and 47 m with ten cabins and 20 guests in Labuan Bajo.
• A 40 m project on Divecenterforsale: ulin and steel, 16 guests planned, about nine months of work left, offered through a partial or full company takeover. It is not a finished boat. The full case is in our guide to unfinished hulls.

For other sizes, a 25 m wooden liveaboard or 35 m example may come up on request, but we will not quote one without a source. For guidance on any used boat, go to our pre-owned wooden yacht checklist.

Which permits travel with an operating boat?

Emerhub (March 2026, a commercial consultant) describes the operating licences for a liveaboard as SIUPAL, SIOPSUS and SIUPAR, with a PT PMA and licences usually taking 3 to 6 months. It also says hull and machinery and P&I insurance are needed for port clearance from the Syahbandar.

The key point is that business permits generally belong to the company. If you buy only the hull, you may buy none of them. A takeover of the company may bring them along, together with the company's debts, tax position and staff obligations.

Also note what we cannot confirm: whether SIUPPAK or PPAL applies to a yacht charter could not be established from the sources we found. Ask DJPL, KSOP and OSS before you advertise a trip. For the ownership side, see foreign ownership and the PT PMA route.

How do season and route affect an Indonesian liveaboard?

Season drives use, and use drives everything from crew to haul-out timing. Neptune Liveaboards and related guides put Komodo's dry season at about April to October or November, with the best visibility from June to September. Raja Ampat's best period runs about October to April.

Emerhub adds that operators commonly rotate between Bali and Komodo from May to October, then reposition to Raja Ampat from November to April, crossing the Banda Sea or Wakatobi around September to November and March to May.

Three practical things follow:

• Viewing. A working boat may be far from the listing address, so plan a survey window.
• Repositioning. Long crossings put more stress on hull and machinery than a seasonal Komodo-only boat would see. Ask which pattern this boat followed.
• Bookings. Ask who holds forward bookings and deposits, and what happens to them at sale.

How should you treat operating history and income claims?

Treat every income figure as a claim until you have seen the evidence. Published liveaboard rates vary so widely by source that no general rate tells you much, and we have no verified data on occupancy or profit.

Ask the seller to support each of these with documents:

1. Trips run per season, with logs.
2. Bookings against capacity, with dated records.
3. Revenue per trip and refunds, with bank statements.
4. Fuel, crew, food, port, park and maintenance costs, with receipts.
5. Haul-out and repair spending over several years.
6. Incidents, insurance claims and any suspension of sailing.
7. Tax filings for the operating company.

Then ask your accountant to rebuild the numbers from those records, not from the seller's summary. Our note on whether a wooden yacht is a good investment explains why we make no promises on returns.

How do you narrow the search by size and type?

Wooden liveaboard boats for sale do not share one standard size. A short list of decisions will save you a lot of viewings.

A dive liveaboard for sale in Indonesia is also only as good as its season plan. Ask which dates are already sold, and where the boat will be during your survey window.

What should you check on crew, safety equipment and insurance surveys?

A commercial boat answers to more people than a private one: guests, insurers, port officers and your own conscience. In 2025, media counted at least six wooden tourist vessels sunk around Labuan Bajo, and KSOP temporarily closed sailing for tourist boats at one point.

• Crew. Emerhub says all crew on an Indonesian-flag PT PMA boat, including captain and engineer, must be Indonesian. Foreign staff work ashore in management, marketing or as dive instructors with separate work permits. Confirm this with your lawyer.
• Safety kit. Rafts, jackets, fire systems, bilge alarms, communications, each matched to guests and area.
• Dive safety. Oxygen, emergency plans and procedures for reaching a chamber.
• Insurance survey. This is separate from a pre-purchase survey. Get the underwriter's written requirements first, and check the policy accepts wooden construction and your cruising area.

Do not treat a certificate as proof of condition. A valid paper says an inspection happened. It does not say what is behind the ceiling boards today.

What do buyers ask about wooden liveaboards in Indonesia?

Most of these questions start with permits and end with what a seller can prove.

Where can I find liveaboard boats for sale in Labuan Bajo?

Yacht Sourcing and marketplaces such as Boat Guru and Divecenterforsale have carried Labuan Bajo examples, and KSOP counted 340 phinisi among 707 registered vessels there in September 2025. Send the desk your brief to look for a current one.

Is an operating liveaboard sold with its permits?

Not automatically. Emerhub names SIUPAL, SIOPSUS and SIUPAR as the operating set. Licences generally sit with the company, so a hull-only sale may leave them behind. Ask your lawyer to check what actually transfers.

Can a foreign-flag liveaboard take paying guests in Indonesia?

The foreign-yacht regime is for own, non-commercial use, with no commercial charter while in Indonesian waters, per the transport ministry. Domestic sea transport generally uses Indonesian-flag vessels. Take any other plan to a licensed maritime lawyer.

Should I buy the company or just the boat?

Each route has trade-offs. A company may bring permits, along with liabilities such as debts, tax and staff obligations. A hull-only purchase avoids those but may need licensing from scratch. Get legal advice before choosing.

Are there wooden liveaboards for sale in Thailand?

We hold no verified current example there, so we will not quote one. If you want to look regionally, tell the desk and we will say what we can and cannot find.

Which sources support this page?

These are the sources behind the facts above. Where a source is a commercial consultant, a snippet or a third-party guide, the text says so.

• Emerhub, Liveaboard business in Indonesia, March 2026 (commercial consultant)
• DJPL KP 626/2025, technical guidance for sea transport services (SIUPAL; limited verification)
• Neptune Liveaboards, Indonesia seasons
• Directorate General of Sea Transportation, foreign yacht services
• Boat Guru, 2023 91 ft dive liveaboard (expired)
• Yacht Sourcing, used vessels
• Divecenterforsale, listing 1149
• Labuan Bajo Voice, KSOP vessel count, September 2025
• IDN Times, 2025 Labuan Bajo vessel incidents (media)
• World Yacht Insurance, survey requirements (third-party guide)

Written and checked by the Wooden Yacht For Sale Editorial Desk.

How do I request an operating-boat listing?

Tell the desk whether you want a hull, a company or both, along with guest numbers, region and timing. Reach us on WhatsApp 6281139414563 or at bd@juaraholding.com.

The site publishes no stock list and makes no promise on income. Every boat is subject to third-party survey, haul-out and document check.