The Bangkok-based Precious Shipping Public Company Limited shipped 19 catamaran yachts as deck cargo, from South Africa to the US Virgin Islands.

The 19 catamarans were all built by the Robertson & Caine. According to Precious Shipping, the Cape Town-based ship-yard is the largest builder of such vessels in the Southern Hemisphere, and the third-largest globally. The catamarans all measured between  12.8 metres to 16 metres approximately ( 42 and 53 feet) in length. The catamarans models shipped therefore included the full range of models produced by the company: Leopard 42, Leopard 45, Leopard 46, Leopard 50 and Leopard 53.

The catamarans were shipped aboard the bulk carrier vessel Viyada Naree, piloted by Captain Avilo Rosario Cardoso and his crew. Built in 2016, this vessel, which sails under the flag of Singapore, measures 182 metres in length and 30 metres in width, with a gross tonnage of 24,235 metric tonnes. All catamarans were fastened to the vessel’s deck.

The vessel left Cape Town on 27 October 2022, and arrived at Saint Thomas, in the United States (US) Virgin Islands on 14 November 2022. The Viyada Naree left Saint Thomas only 12 hours later, following the discharging of the catamarans, and is now in Port Chalmette, Louisiana, US.