Every figure on this page is an indicative planning range, not a quotation. Real numbers come from a specification, a survey and a yard. We publish ranges because owners need to know whether a project is a hundred-thousand-dollar problem or a multi-million-dollar one before they spend money finding out. All figures are USD.
Why the ranges are so wide
Two boats of the same length can differ by a factor of three in cost. The drivers, roughly in order of impact: hull material and construction standard, interior finish level, machinery and systems specification, whether equipment is imported or locally sourced, certification standard, and the yard’s region and labour rates. A traditionally-built timber phinisi with a simple fit-out and a fully-classed steel expedition vessel with imported machinery are different industries wearing the same word.
New build — the main cost drivers
Hull material
Timber phinisi construction in the South Sulawesi tradition remains the lowest capital-cost route to a large hull in Indonesia, and it is why so much of the Komodo fleet looks the way it does. Steel costs more up front and buys durability, damage tolerance and a straightforward path to survey and class. Aluminium costs more again and buys weight savings and speed. Fibreglass is competitive at smaller sizes and rarer at liveaboard scale here. The material decision drives the yard shortlist as much as the budget.
Interior and systems
Fit-out is where budgets diverge fastest. Air conditioning throughout, ensuite bathrooms in every cabin, imported joinery hardware, quality mattresses and soft furnishings, a proper galley, real refrigeration, and entertainment systems together can approach or exceed the cost of the bare hull on a boutique boat. Dive systems — compressors, banks, nitrox, tank racks, rinse and camera facilities — and the electrical generation to run them, are a substantial line of their own.
Certification standard
A vessel built to a documented standard with survey attendance costs more during construction and is worth more, insures better and sells more easily. Owners who economise here usually pay it back with interest at the first sale or the first claim.
Owner-side costs people forget
Project management and supervision fees, survey and class costs, the entity and licensing work needed before registration, delivery voyage, initial spares inventory, crew recruitment and training before first revenue, and working capital for the first season. These are not rounding errors and they arrive at the point when the build has already consumed the budget.
Timeline
A new liveaboard build in Indonesia is normally measured in many months to a couple of years from contract to delivery, depending on size, material, yard order book and how stable the specification stays. Specification changes during construction are the single largest cause of delay, which is the argument for finishing the technical brief before signing — see new-build project management.
Add administrative time after physical completion. Registration, certification and clearance take real weeks, and a boat that is finished but not yet permitted to carry passengers is still burning crew wages.
Refit and conversion
Refit budgets scale with how far down the structure you have to go. A cosmetic and systems refresh — interior soft refit, paint, some equipment renewal — sits at the low end. A structural refit with frame and plank or plate renewal, repower, and stabiliser retrofit sits far higher. A full conversion of a non-passenger hull into a certified liveaboard approaches new-build cost while inheriting an old hull’s remaining life, which is exactly why we insist on survey before scope. Scope detail is on the refit page, and if the boat is not yours yet, read pre-purchase survey first.
Refit versus new build
Refit wins on time to revenue and on capital exposure, and it lets you inspect what you are buying. New build wins on getting exactly the boat your itinerary needs, on structural life, and on the absence of inherited problems. The decision usually turns on one question: how much of the existing hull and machinery will still be there when the work is finished? If the honest answer is “not much”, you are paying new-build money for a secondhand hull.
Running costs
Annual operating budgets for a working liveaboard include crew wages and rotation, fuel, provisioning, park fees, insurance, maintenance and spares, annual docking and antifoul, certification and survey, and shoreside costs. Two lines are consistently underestimated: docking, because slot pressure and transit to a suitable facility inflate it, and spares, because remoteness turns a low-value part into an expensive logistics event. See Labuan Bajo yard logistics.
Regional price differences
Sulawesi timber yards carry the lowest build cost for large wooden hulls and carry the deepest shipwright tradition. Java and Surabaya offer the strongest steel and aluminium fabrication and the best access to industrial supply. Bali is stronger on fit-out, finish and imported equipment access, and prices accordingly. Labuan Bajo is closest to the operating area, which saves transit but has the least industrial depth. Most large projects end up split across regions for exactly these reasons.
Getting a real number
For a new build, the path is: operating profile, then specification, then technical brief, then comparable yard quotations. For a refit, the path is survey first. Either way, email sales@komodoluxury.com or WhatsApp +62 811-3823-875 with the vessel or the profile and we will tell you what has to be established before a number is worth anything.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to build a liveaboard for Komodo?
The range is very wide because hull material, interior standard, systems specification, certification level and yard region each move the number substantially. A traditionally-built timber phinisi with a simple fit-out and a classed steel expedition vessel with imported machinery can differ by a factor of three at the same length. A specification has to exist before any figure is meaningful.
How long does a Komodo liveaboard build take?
Typically many months to a couple of years from contract to delivery depending on size, hull material and yard order book, plus real administrative weeks afterwards for registration, certification and clearance before the vessel can legally carry passengers.
Does refitting cost less than building new?
Usually, and it gets you to revenue sooner with less capital at risk. The test is how much of the original hull and machinery survives the work. If most of it is replaced, you are paying close to new-build cost for a secondhand structure.
Why do Labuan Bajo, Bali and Sulawesi yards quote differently?
Sulawesi has the deepest timber shipwright tradition and the lowest cost for large wooden hulls. Java and Surabaya have the strongest steel and aluminium fabrication and industrial supply. Bali is stronger on fit-out and imported equipment. Labuan Bajo is closest to the operating area but has the least industrial depth.
What costs do first-time owners forget?
Supervision and survey fees, the corporate and licensing work needed before registration, delivery voyage, the initial spares inventory, crew recruitment and training before first revenue, and working capital for the first season.
Talk to the build desk
Send the vessel details or the operating profile you want to run and we will tell you what has to be established before a number means anything. Quotations in USD. Construction, repair, refit and vessel-sale contracts are issued by PT Komodo Galangan Nusantara.