Vessel & Yacht Financing
Vessels depreciate faster than any other asset class we finance, and most banks won't say that part out loud. They just decline the file. We work with 8,000+ private capital sources that price the hull, the flag, and the borrower correctly instead of running a yacht loan through a car-loan model. $1M–$100M placed. No cost to apply, no credit pull at inquiry.
Apply now →Marine collateral doesn't underwrite like real estate, and pretending it does is why most of these files die at the bank.
The depreciation curve versus the loan basis. A 15-year-old hull doesn't hold value like a building. The lender isn't underwriting today's appraisal — they're underwriting where the value curve lands at year five of the loan term. We bring in a marine survey early because the survey, not the sale listing price, sets the real loan-to-value.
Commercial income versus personal use. These are two different underwriting files. A charter or commercial fishing vessel gets evaluated on trailing charter revenue and utilization, the same way we'd underwrite a small operating business. A personal yacht gets evaluated on the borrower's overall liquidity and net worth — the vessel isn't expected to service its own debt. Mixing the two stories in one application is the fastest way to get declined twice.
Title, documentation, and flag state. Banks want a clean, standardized lien position and most vessel files aren't clean. We need to know whether the vessel is USCG-documented or state-registered, whether there's an existing preferred ship mortgage or maritime lien on file, and — if foreign-flagged — which registry. None of these are disqualifying on their own. They just determine which of our 8,000+ sources can actually take the position.
Why banks decline these and what a private lender needs instead. Banks want a depreciation schedule that fits a template and a borrower whose income fits a ratio. Marine assets and marine buyers frequently don't fit either. What a private lender actually needs is a real valuation (survey-backed, not a brochure number), a clean or resolvable lien position, and a credible exit — sale, refi, or seasonal cash flow. If your file has all three, the prior decline usually says more about the last lender's box than it does about your deal.
If your vessel financing got declined, there's a decent chance the lender you talked to doesn't place marine collateral often enough to price it right. That's not a reason to assume the deal is dead — it's a reason to get it in front of someone who does this regularly. Submit your vessel or yacht deal through our application. No cost to apply, no credit pull at inquiry, and an underwriter will call you back within one business day with a real answer, not a form rejection.