Hereafter is a summary of unlucky stories that happened on yachts.
Not all news about yachts is good news. Bad things do happen, yachts are involved in accidents, accidents occur onboard, yachts are involved in scandals, yachts are seized by government officials for breaking the law, owners getting in prison... All those unfortunate happenings involving the yachts, can and should be known. We all learn from our errors.
YachtAndCrew.com invites you all to share your knowledge on these "unhappy events".
Just send your story to info@yachtandcrew.com
Thank you.
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Motor Yacht PARI
31st May 2009 |
About 4 O'Clock in the morning, the first gusts of wind of 50 to 60 km/h started. The motor yacht Pari anchored in the bay of Beaulieu, started drifting. She finally grounded on an unstable position at the point of « Rompa Talon », just in front of the former villa of David Niven.
On board, there were 8 passengers, the German owners and six crew members.
The owners and 5 crew members were disembarked. Only the captain and 2 coast guards stayed on board.
A fuel tank had a hole and fuel was spreading on the coast. About 07H00, you could smell diesel close to Nice. The risk of pollution was a the end very limited.
In the afternoon, the wind calmed down and a meticulous inspection revealed 3 distinct holes, making impossible any towing.
The French tug Abeille Flandres came from Toulon the next morning but couldn't do any towing.
A raise of the yacht will be tempted weather permitting.
More pictures...
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Motor Yacht ALIBEA
5th February 2009 |
In a few minutes, this morning at 09H00, the motor yacht Alibea, 25 metres long, started to get list. A flooding occured as she was off Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (France). Just enough time for the 2 crew members to send a mayday. Alibea was towed in the evening about 18H00 towards Beaulieu sur Mer. |
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Motor Yacht LADY CANDIDA
29th July 2007 |
| The 30 metre long Lady Candida was completely caught by a fire. The fire started at 16H30. The yacht was on charter with 12 guests on board (including 4 kids) and 5 crew members. Nobody was hurt. They all have been evacuated to Pianottoli-Caldarello Marine Rescue Co-ordination sub centre (South of Corsica). Apparently, the cause was accidental. The French Navy ship Ailette succeeded in starting to tow the yacht from 21H00. But because of all the water used to extinguish the fire, Lady Candida listed and sunk at 21H40 with 16,000 litres of fuel offshore Pianottoli-Caldarello. The fuel floating on the surface has been treated by the navy ship Ailette. |
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Motor Yacht LAND'S END
9th August 2005
Photo credit: Marine Nationale |
 
 Land's End went onto rocks off Corsica (Sagone Gulf) the August 9. Partly submerged by the bow, the yacht sank completely the August 12. She's now on the ground with 70.000 litres of fuel in her tank. The fuel has been pumped out by the French Navy the August 17.
The captain was arrested the August 12. He was accused of "endangering life by imprudence and negligence and causing pollution with hydrocarbons by imprudence and negligence". He was released with justice restrictions. |
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Motor Yacht ALYSSA M II
5th April 2004 |
Millions of dollars spent converting a former British navy vessel into a luxury motoryacht went up in flames today at Port Nelson.
Firefighters from Nelson, Stoke and Richmond were called to battle the blaze aboard the 58m former HMS Bulldog at 11.40am, as thick black smoke billowed from the burning ship.
The vessel is owned by a Hong Kong based businessman, who was rebuilding the vessel as a replacement for his current superyacht, the 36m Alyssa M.
In August last year more than $15 million was estimated to have been spent on the refit to
transform HMS Bulldog into Alyssa M II since it began in early 2002.
Electrician Martin Duffield said 40 people were working aboard at the time and all got off safely.
He believed a gas welder had possibly started the fire.
Nelson fire chief Kevin Smith said the fire was under control by 12.30pm as 24 firefighters, many using breathing apparatus, fought the blaze.
However, the vessel was extensively damaged.
HNS Bulldog was launched in 1968 and decommissioned by the Royal Navy in 2001.
Project director Richard Fogarty said the ship was about a year from completion before yesterday's blaze.
He said the Alyssa M II was definitely salvageable. |
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Motor Yacht PICANTE
18th October 2003 |
| Apparently the motor yacht Picante, a 123' Christensen built in 1999, sunk off Palma de Mallorca on Saturday 18th of October. Apparently Picante has been blown against the rocks while at anchor in bad weather. The crew made it off the vessel safely. |
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Motor Yacht SAHARET
August 2003 |
| The motor yacht Saharet burned in the harbour of Beaulieu-sur-Mer (France). Built in 1971, from Lavagna Admiral shipyard, about 30 meters. |
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Motor Yacht KATANA now ENIGMA
July 2003 |
| Katana suffered fire on her top aft deck, supposed to be caused by the electric lights. It was extinguished by the crew. The damage was repaired very quickly by the shipyard Ben Mennem in La Cuidad within one week, enabling her to welcome her charter guests for the Film Festival in Cannes and the GP in Monaco afterwards. |
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Motor Yacht BLUE MOON
8th June 2003 |
| The Feadship Blue Moon suffered a fire on June 8th while in Newport, RI. The fire started because of an electrical problem over the main salon's ceiling. Some electrical problem were reported four months ago. |
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Motor Yacht AL MANSUR
March 2003 |
| Al Mansur, the Saddam Hussein's yacht sunk at the end of March. Al Mansur was on a River, to moor her far from the coasts. But finally she was destructed by bomb attacks. Now she's grounded in the middle of this river. For information, Al Mansur mesured 394ft/121m in length and 7360 grt. She was built by Kvaerner Masa-Yards (then Wartsila Turku) in 1982 and delivered on March 26. Her design wasn't very attractive, like a cruise vessel with accommodation for 200 guests. |
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Motor Yacht JOHN JOHN
Saturday, 23rd June 2002 |
| The yacht struck a sailing ship at full speed. It happened off Esterel Montains (between Cannes and St Raphaël, France). The yacht of 31.6m did not have time to avoid a small sailing ship of 8m which sailed in the opposite direction. The shock was terrible and the sailing ship was crushed and sunk instantaneously in more than 300m of depth. On the two passengers of the sailing ship (a couple of around fifty years) only the body of the woman was found. The body of the owner of the sailing ship was never found. Only few pieces of the sailing ship could be found to serve the investigation... |
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Motor Yacht FROSTY'S SLEIGH
Friday, 13th April 2001 |
| The 36 m Azimut rammed and sank a 13 m dive boat and then proceeded to crash into a bridge. The yacht was southbound on the Intercoastal Waterway near Ft Lauderdale when, around 4pm, the captain made a turn to dock the yacht along side a local restaurant. While maneuvering, the yacht went out of control and struck a dive boat which was docked nearby, sinking it. Frosty's Sleigh then continued northward and hit the Dania Beach Blvd. bridge and became stuck under the center span. The yacht was pulled away from the bridge by a tug later that day, but she had suffered extensive damage to her wheelhouse and hull. Fortunately, there where no injuries and the yacht has apparently been fully repaired. The cause of the accident was reported to be a failure of the engine controls. |
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Motor Yacht TIGRE D'OR
2001
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| The motor Yacht Tigre d'Or again suffered an accident. In rough sea in the Biscaya, the gangway door at the stern sprang open. The incoming water mixed with fuel for the jet-skis, and an explosion followed. The pumps were not able to fight the incoming water so that the rudder went out of order. A new pump was brought by a helicopter, but this pump was out of order !!! Anyway, the helicopter flew the four female crew members and the slightly injured engineer off the yacht. Altogether, it took another two and a half days, until a towboat was able to take her to Brest. |
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Motor Yacht AURIGA (renamed Hemilea)
7th September 2000
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Auriga, a 34m-Baglietto, crashed into the port side of catamaran ferry Milenium at 21H31
at 39° 32' N and 2° 21'E, South-East off Majorca (Balearics). The ferry, with 143 passengers on board, was at this moment at a speed of 38 knots. Auriga, sticking in the ferry's hull, heeled over so that the furniture flew through the yacht. It was reported that eight people were hurt by that. After that, her bow broke off. The rescue ship Castell de Belver arrived and took the injured persons with her. Auriga could only be rescued, because a towboat helped her out by pumping the water out of her hull and taking her into the harbour of Palma. There, a provisional blunt bow was welded by Astilleros de Majorca. The rest of the story was a case for the lawyers, fighting out the different interests of the owners, the towboats, owner and the insurance companies. |
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Motor Yacht ONTARIO
2nd August 2000
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At 05H30 the MY Ontario reported that she had run aground in Lat. 36° 31' N - Long. 27° 52' E and that she was experiencing water ingress and listing as a result of striking a rocky bottom.
Ontario had at that moment 13 persons onboard and was stuck and awaiting the arrival of divers to conduct a survey. Her engine room had flooded. This accident happened off an uninhabited islet south of Symi, near Rhodes. Of the 13 passengers and crew, 9 were taken off, leaving only the Captain and four others. A tug from Tsavliris Salvage International Ltd, named Eleftheria, offered assistance to the yacht. On August 3, Lloyds Standard Form was signed with Tsavliris Salvage. On August 11 the yacht was still aground with no change in the situation : she suffered a flooded engine room, water ingress and a 20° list to starboard. Later the yacht was freed and towed back. After this accident she was taken to HDW in Kiel for a very big repair and refit and was launched again quite some time later. Today she is in pristine condition and can be seen at port Pierre Canto. Fortunately no one was injured because of the accident |
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Motor Yacht SHIRALEE
Tuesday, 22nd February 2000
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Navy rescues crew of sinking cruiser By Terri Judd
A Royal Navy destroyer rescued the crew of a motor cruiser that sank in the Caribbean yesterday.
A Royal Navy destroyer rescued the crew of a motor cruiser that sank in the Caribbean yesterday.The 11 crew members, including six Britons, sent out a mayday message when water started flooding the engine-room of the L13m Shiralee. Within half an hour the sea, which was calm, was lapping at the main deck and the crew abandoned ship.As the 148-ft Shiralee sank,
HMS Manchester arrived in the area. The destroyer, on anti-drug operations, was 35 miles from Puerto Rico's capital, San Juan, when it responded to the Shiralee's call. The destroyer's
helicopter guided it to the crew and an hour later the Manchester picked them up from their rafts. They were taken to San Juan in a US Coast Guard cutter.Commander Bob Brown, captain of the Manchester, a Type 42 destroyer, said: "All of the crew of the Shiralee were recovered and brought on board for medical checks and food. There were no injuries and they all seemed very grateful
to have been rescued so quickly."The seven men and four women also included two Irish crew members, a Bermudan, a South African and an Australian. They were believed to have been en route to Havana to pick up a dozen passengers for a cruise to St Thomas. The boat was said to have been booked up for months by people willing to pay up to L100,000 to charter it for a week.
It is not known what caused the Cayman Islands-flagged cruiser, which was less than two years old, to sink. |
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Motor Yacht GOLDEN CELL
Around 2000
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| The 164' Benetti Golden Cell was stranded in middle of night off the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet in British Columbia. Both props and rudders were destroyed rendering the yacht high and dry in this land of 18 ft. tides, requiring full salvage operation including inflatable bladders and tugs. Repair opertions required several months at Allied Shipyard in Vancouver. |
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Motor Yacht Destiny Langkawi
19th November 1999
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The motor yacht "Destiny Langkawi is easily towed by the salvage combination consisting of Wijsmuller Salvage BV and Scaldis Salvage & Marine Contractors NV from Belgium. The motor yacht was out of balance during the launch, after a new equipment on board had been added in the shipyard Atilleros de Mallorca on September 23 in Palma de Mallorca.
On November 8, a first attempt stopped and postponed because of too much wind. ... |
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Motor Yacht NADINE
June 1997
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She was built in 1961 by Witsen & Vis in Holland for fashion icon Coco Chanel with a length of 37 metres. In the 70s she was extended by 4.5 metres through the addition of cockpit and in 1988 she was cut in two halfs and a 9 metre section was inserted amidships by Merrill-Stevens yard, which gave her a complete salon amidships in addition to the more usual aft one.
In 1989 she was for sale bearing the name Edgewater and was by then still powered by two 480 hp diesels. In 1993 she was for sale once again, this time bearing the name Big Eagle and repowered with two Caterpillar 3412-diesels. Her beam was always a very slender 6.8 metres. There was actually a feature of her in February 1993 in Boat International when she was shown at the Fort Lauderdale yacht show.
Nadine's sinking was indeed caused by the violent waves. A foredeck hatch was smashed, allowing water to flood the crew quarters and bringing the yacht down by the bow. This allowed more waves to break over the fordeck and they caused one of the large tenders carried there to shift, breaking one of the dining salon windows that overlooked the foredeck, which causing flooding on the maindeck. As if that wasn't bad enough, the violent motion of the yacht caused the swim platform to rip off the hull, allowing the lazarette to flood.
"Nadine" sank during a storm off the east coast of Sardinia, while crossing from Porto Cervo to Capri. Some people may recall her as the yacht that has an incredible number of toys onboard such as a seaplane, a helicopter, 8 jetskis, 4 or 5 tenders and much more including two large glass windows in the master stateroom that allowed to see the sea floor. Everyone onboard was saved by the Italian coast guard also thanks to all the floating devices the yacht carried. |
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Motor Yacht PRINCESS TANYA
(renamed Lady K I)
8th July 1996
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The motor yacht Princess Tanya survived distress at sea some 40 miles off Portofino (Italy).
On board were 10 guests and 17 crew members. In rough sea, a wave set the rudder out of order. Moreover, one of her two engines also stopped working. Thus, the captain was no longer able to manoeuvre her. While the waves increased up to more than six meters, an Italian ferry and a towboat came along to help, and so did a helicopter of the Italian coast guard. It took some seven hours to rescue her, and luckily no one was hurt. |
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Motor Yacht MARIDOME
3rd September 1995
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A very unfortunate story regarding the motor yacht Maridome.
The information come from a court case and a judgment from the US 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals in the case of "Warn vs MY Maridome".
It all goes back to an accident that occurred in the night of September 3rd, 1995 in the harbour of Poros, Greece. That night a tender from the Maridome brought some passengers and crew from the Maridome to the harbour. The yacht was moored outside.
During that transport, the tender hit a metal construction in the harbour with the tragic result that Nicholas Warn, George Stathopoulos, Andres Brigman and Simon Willshaw died in that accident while Richard Brooks was severely injured. Warn, Willshaw and Brooks were crewmembers of the Maridome while Stathopoulos and Brigman were guests onboard.
The later investigation showed that the tender and her passengers were on their way to a disco and that the pilot of the tender was drunk and was driving the tender too fast.
After this very tragic accident, the families of the victims began a fierce legal battle and already on September 5th, 1995 the vessel Maridome was placed under arrest (was seized) after a decision by a Greek Court in Piraeus. Only after a bail of US$ 400.000 was paid, could Maridome leave Greek territory on September 18th.
Subsequently, the legal proceedings before the courts in Greece were halted and a new lawsuit was started before a judge in San Diego on October 17th, 1996.
This new lawsuit in the USA was conducted against the owner Maridome Marine Limited and her Captain James Boos. The yacht was once again seized and arrested and was only able to leave US-waters after a bail of US$ 15.000.000 was paid !
The judicial decision that is known is not a final decision. |
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1994 |
| Unfortunately a professional diver died in Palma de Majorca while working under the Motor yacht Lady Moura, because suddenly the engines were started. As it was said, the officer on duty was not informed of the diver. |
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Motro Yacht FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
23rd November 1987 |
Three Denison yachts sunk.
The first to sink was the 32 m For Your Eyes Only, the yacht left Hillsboro Beach, FL for a short trip to the Bahamas. The seas were rough and while passing through the inlet into the Atlantic, the vessel hit a sandbar which cracked the housings for the waterjets causing water to flood the engine room. The yacht did take on water through the engine vents on her stern but it was determined that it was an insufficient amount to sink the vessel. For Your Eyes Only was raised, rebuilt and was for many years a successful charter yacht under the name Dynamo.
The second Denison to sink was the 30 m "Lady Anna", a large sport-fisherman. Not sure on all the details but the yacht sank off the New Jersey coast and was never raised. There were strong rumors that it was a deliberate sinking so the owner could claim the insurance on the yacht.
The motor yacht "Miss Turnberry" sank on the 26th Dec 1995 off St Kitts. The crew noticed water in the engine room but despite their efforts, they could not discover the source of the flooding and the yacht sank about 2 hours after the water was discovered. There was a theory that the through-hull exhaust valve failed but we don't know if the actual cause has ever been discovered. Because of the depth of the water where she sank, "Miss Turnberry" was never raised.
The claim that Denison yachts were poorly constructed was largely the result of a lawsuit brought by the owner of For Your Eyes Only after the sinking that never went to trial. The actual causes of the sinking cleared the builder but by that time, they had lost so many contracts due to the bad publicity that they were forced to file for bankruptcy. |
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Motor Yacht CARINTHIA V
Around Year 1965 |
| Around year 1965, the Carinthia V rammed a rock, which wasn't mentioned in the map, in front of Corfu, Greece and sunk on her first voyage. A few days later Mr. Helmut Horten ordered Carinthia VI. |
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