Photo: Instagram/Ricardo Salinas (Composite)
Unlike cars or two-wheelers, there aren’t many superyachts crowding a single traffic lane, fighting for every inch of space with their horns blaring and risking rear-end collisions. Which makes the collision of two of the world’s largest and most expensive vessels all the more bizarre.
On July 22, the 256-foot (78.2-meter) superyacht Venus, built and partly designed by the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, crashed into Lady Moura. With a total length of 344 feet (105 meters), Lady Moura is older but holds the distinction of being the world’s first megayacht due to its impressive size and features.
Both vessels were at anchor, by the way, when the collision occurred. While the initial statement was that the damage was minor but costly, a later statement claimed that the damage was mostly cosmetic and repaired within 24 hours. The same statement claimed that the situation was resolved amicably and professionally, but here we are, still talking about it, while contradictory accusations are thrown back and forth.
It's safe to say that the latest video to surface online won't make the drama go away. If anything, it might add more fuel to the blazing fire, even if it's not literal. So grab your tinfoil hats and your bags of popcorn because this billion-dollar saga is far from over.
Photo: Instagram/Ricardo Salinas
Who said what?
As previously mentioned, the collision occurred with both vessels at anchor in Naples, Italy, when a sudden gust of strong winds swept Venus onto Lady Moura. News of the collision was spread via a video posted on social media by Lady Moura's owner, Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas, who claimed in the caption that Venus was to blame.
According to Salinas, Venus dropped anchor near Lady Moura a few hours after arriving in Naples. The crew on board noted that Venus was getting too close for comfort, but all their repeated attempts to call the crew on Venus failed. Salinas concluded that the “pendants”, meaning that the Venus' captain and crew had left the bridge unmanned, an obvious taboo in the industry.
As video of the incident went viral, a statement from Venus attempted to set the record straight. It blamed the collision on unexpected winds, but also blamed the Lady Moura's captain for using an anchor chain at least twice as long as necessary at that depth of water.
Photo: Camper & Nicholsons
Earlier this week, Lady Moura reacted once again, responding to Venus's statement with another. The length of the chain was standard, she said. However, Venus “he misjudged the length of the chain Lady Moura had in the water” when he dropped anchor, which caused her to hit the anchor as she was pushed by the wind.
In other words, being the second to arrive at the anchorage, it was Venus' responsibility to position herself at a safe distance from Lady Moura. That was mistake number one. Number two was leaving the bridge completely unmanned, which Lady Moura's statement said had happened.
Since the only video of the incident was shot from the deck of the Lady Moura, by none other than Salinas himself, it was almost impossible to tell who was closer to the truth in these conflicting statements. Although both sides claim that the damage was minor, we are still talking about vessels that cost more than $130 million each. According to the most generous estimates available online, their total value could be close to $370 million. Even a scratch on a vessel like that will cost a lot of money to repair.
Photo: Camper & Nicholsons
New video shows Lady Moura turning around
A new video of the collision has emerged and, surprise surprise!, it shows that it wasn't Venus that crashed into Lady Moura, but the other way around. The video was sent to superyacht vlogger eSysman shows Lady Moura swinging in the wind around her chain, which pushes her directly into the path of Venus.
According to the vlogger, who has a long experience in the superyacht industry, it is the responsibility of every captain to assess in advance the minimum safe distance for anchoring from another yacht, taking into account the possibility of unexpected winds. In this case, if Venus was at fault for not doing so, Lady Moura should have greeted her immediately as she was entering the anchorage.
Furthermore, it was Lady Moura's responsibility to move a little further away from Venus, if she had tried to make contact with the captain and failed. In other words, Lady Moura was not entirely responsible for the collision, but Venus is not solely to blame.
Photo: Feadship
Mistakes were clearly made, and despite claims that the incident was handled professionally, it appears the exact opposite happened. Salinas' original post, by the way, is not only still visible on his Instagram; it's been pinned to the top of the page.
Who would have ever thought that a megayacht collision could happen and be so fascinating and dramatic?
