Owner-exit phinisi
Sold because the owner is consolidating or leaving, not because the boat is failing.
View class: Owner-exit phinisi
Harbour-side · Labuan Bajo
Labuan Bajo Liveaboards
Liveaboards already berthed in the harbour that serves Komodo National Park. Inspect under load, meet the crew and verify the history where it was made.
In short
A Labuan Bajo liveaboard is a vessel already berthed and working from Komodo's charter port. You can inspect it under load, meet its crew and check its history locally — and it usually changes hands with its mooring, crew and forward bookings.
Why the berth matters
The only practical departure point
Multi-night Komodo itineraries start in Labuan Bajo, and everything that supports a liveaboard sits within a few kilometres of coast. Repositioning a boat from elsewhere means rebuilding that from zero, usually across a full season.
- Support Fuel, provisioning, dive fills, engineers, slipways and guest transfers, all close by.
- Relationships The engineer, the shoulder-season agent and harbour staff never appear on an invoice.
- Verification Watch the boat leave and return, and cross-check repairs with the yard that did them.
On the harbour market
What typically comes up for sale at the Labuan Bajo berth.
Fleet-reduction vessels
Operators trimming to their best hulls. Fleets usually keep good records.
View class: Fleet-reduction vessels
Dive-configured liveaboards
Compressor banks and tank racks already installed.
View class: Dive-configured liveaboards
Fast boats & speedboats
Traded alongside the overnight fleet, often to buyers building a two-boat operation.
View class: Fast boats & speedboatsIndicative prices
Labuan Bajo berth bands
A vessel with a transferable mooring position, retained crew and confirmed forward bookings sits at the top of its band. The premium is usually justified: the buyer earns this season, not next.
Komodo liveaboard bands- Older wooden phinisi, refit needed 4–6 cabins
- USD 180k–400k
- Working phinisi, charter-ready 6–9 cabins
- USD 500k–1.1M
- Premium overnight vessel 8–12 cabins
- USD 1.1M–3M
- Day boat or fast cruiser 0–2 cabins
- USD 60k–250k
All figures indicative, confirmed on enquiry.
At the berth
- Recommended viewing time
- 3 days
- Cabins, overnight fleet
- 4–12
- USD, indicative entry price
- 180k+
- Local negotiations: mooring, crew, bookings
- 3
Figures indicative, confirmed per vessel.
Local negotiations
Mooring, crew and bookings are negotiated in Labuan Bajo. Settle them before the deposit, not after.
Settle before the deposit
- Mooring continuity written into the sale agreement
- Captain and engineer retention terms
- Handover period, agreed wages and a first-season stay bonus
- Forward deposits: transferred, refunded or honoured
What the desk tells you
- Which listings are genuinely available
- Which have sat on the market for two seasons
- Which asking prices the market stopped supporting
- When nothing suitable is berthed
Viewing protocol
Allow three days in Labuan Bajo. Compressing it into an afternoon costs far more later.
Good to know
All boat sales FAQ
Buying in Labuan Bajo
Do I need to be in Labuan Bajo to buy?
Not for the paperwork. But attend the sea trial and overnight generator test, or send a surveyor you appointed yourself — remote purchases are where the biggest post-sale surprises happen.
Can the mooring position really transfer?
It is arranged in practice, not sold as a title, through the harbour and the operating entity. Write the seller's duty to support the transition into the sale agreement.
What is the best month to buy?
The close of high season, when most vessels list. You get the widest choice and the longest runway for refit work before the next season.
Is a wooden hull a liability at resale?
Not here. A well-maintained ironwood phinisi holds value because guests come to Komodo to sail on one. Deferred hull maintenance and undocumented repairs are what destroy resale value.
More on Boats for Sale
Buying at the Labuan Bajo berth?
Send the vessel type, cabin count and the month you want to operate. If nothing suitable is berthed, we will say so.