Neither the conclusion of the contract of sale nor the payment of the purchase price alone transfers ownership of the vessel, as purchase and transfer are legally separate transactions. The transfer of ownership after the conclusion of the purchase contract requires two things. Transfer of the yacht to the buyer and the simultaneous agreement of the seller and buyer that ownership should pass to the buyer at the moment of transfer. The ship is handed over by providing possession of the ship, e.g. by handing over all the keys to the ship and, if applicable, also to the jetty, etc. The buyer must also be in possession of the ship.   In addition, the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) provides for several variants of the transfer described here, e.g. constellations in which the buyer already has the ship in his possession or the ship is in the possession of a third party. If you are in doubt about the requirements for an effective transfer of ownership, we recommend that you seek legal advice.