Auckland

Auckland is the southern-hemisphere capital of yacht building and refit, and the natural staging port for any superyacht working the Pacific season between Fiji, Tonga, and the New Zealand fjords. The city has hosted three America's Cup defences, and the resulting cluster of composite, rigging, and systems trades is unmatched south of the equator. For tender programmes, Auckland is where Pacific-bound yachts tune up, repaint, and replace gear without the long haul to Asia or North America. The season is structured: the austral-summer Pacific window draws fleets through and back, and the New Zealand winter is the recognised major-refit slot when northern-hemisphere yards are busy with the Med season.

Local tender stock is heavy on aluminium chase boats and RIBs built for coastal range; the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Islands reward boats that handle a steep short sea, so deep-V aluminium hulls outsell flat limousine tenders here. New Zealand is also the home market of Naiad, Sealegs, Rayglass, and Senator, all of which sell into the support-vessel and chase-boat segments, so build slots and refit expertise for that class of boat are close at hand. The buying market is yard- and captain-led, and the winter refit window is when re-spec decisions and tender replacements tend to be made.

• Orams Marine is the primary superyacht yard, with hauling capacity to 950 tonnes following the 2021 expansion; tender packages are usually folded into the mothership haul.
• McMullen and Wing for new build and substantial refit on aluminium and composite hulls.
• Yachting Developments (Hobsonville) for advanced composite tender and chase-boat work, including carbon prepreg.
• Sealegs (Albany) for amphibious tender support and overhaul.

The depth of America's Cup-grade composite and systems trades means tender-scale paint, carbon repair, and electronics work can be turned around to a high standard alongside a mothership refit, which is why many Pacific programmes consolidate all tender work into the New Zealand winter slot.

New Zealand applies GST at 15% on locally delivered tender sales. Visiting superyachts can use Temporary Import Entry (TIE) for up to 24 months, extendable, which covers tenders carried in the inventory; standalone tenders require a TIE in their own right — see our tender import VAT note for the general principles. Refit work performed under TIE is GST-free, which is the main reason major refit is scheduled here under TIE rather than after import. New Zealand's biofouling standard (Craft Risk Management Standard) applies to all hulls arriving in NZ waters and is strictly enforced; expect divers and a dive report at first port of entry, and clean tenders before passage to avoid quarantine delays.