Photo: Instagram/salvage_and_wreck
American millionaire JR Ridinger, the founder of Market America, is probably not happy right now. His $51 million superyacht was involved in a serious accident in the Bahamas. Fortunately, nobody got hurt, but the Utopia IV was left with a nasty dent that’s going to cost serious money to fix.
Nobody likes it when their car gets involved in an accident, but it’s even worse when we’re talking about a multimillion-dollar luxury yacht that did an oopsie. A big one because the tanker it rear-ended actually sank and is officially considered unsalvageable. The unfortunate event took place at night when the 206-foot (63 meters) boat hit a 160-foot (48.7 meters) Belize-registered tanker.
The tanker’s operator, Maritime Management, stated that “the catastrophic force of the collision” caused the vessel to sink at 2,000 feet (609 meters) because its stern got pierced. Although more than 30 years old, Tropic Breeze had undergone recent safety checks and was on its way to Great Stirrup Cay, carrying various types of fuel. The incident occurred close to New Providence Island, at 22.00 P.M. local time, but the causes are still unknown.
Luckily, the seven crew members on board the tanker were all rescued with the help of the Bahamian authorities and another motor yacht, the Maya. Because of the depth, Tropical Breeze officially can’t be recovered, but at least the fuels it was carrying (LPG, marine gas, and automotive gas) are considered “non-persistent materials,” which means that they will evaporate, not causing additional damage to the maritime environment.
The marketing millionaire’s yacht, built by the famous Italian shipyard Rossinavi in 2018, can hit an impressive top speed of 24 knots (27.6 mph/44 kph), but its speed at the time of the incident is unknown. The local authorities are currently investigating the accident, so whether excessive speed was the cause is yet to be determined.
While the old tanker will be forever lost in the ocean, the award-winning Utopia IV got away with a dent, but most likely a very pricey one.
The tanker’s operator, Maritime Management, stated that “the catastrophic force of the collision” caused the vessel to sink at 2,000 feet (609 meters) because its stern got pierced. Although more than 30 years old, Tropic Breeze had undergone recent safety checks and was on its way to Great Stirrup Cay, carrying various types of fuel. The incident occurred close to New Providence Island, at 22.00 P.M. local time, but the causes are still unknown.
Luckily, the seven crew members on board the tanker were all rescued with the help of the Bahamian authorities and another motor yacht, the Maya. Because of the depth, Tropical Breeze officially can’t be recovered, but at least the fuels it was carrying (LPG, marine gas, and automotive gas) are considered “non-persistent materials,” which means that they will evaporate, not causing additional damage to the maritime environment.
The marketing millionaire’s yacht, built by the famous Italian shipyard Rossinavi in 2018, can hit an impressive top speed of 24 knots (27.6 mph/44 kph), but its speed at the time of the incident is unknown. The local authorities are currently investigating the accident, so whether excessive speed was the cause is yet to be determined.
While the old tanker will be forever lost in the ocean, the award-winning Utopia IV got away with a dent, but most likely a very pricey one.
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