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09 July 2009 - Motoryacht Pari heading to Genoa
Over the last four weeks we have been following the grounding of the motoryacht Pari. Now, having spoken with the superyacht's insurance company Pantaenius, we can share with you much more specific facts surrounding this unfortunate set of events.
For those who are not familiar with the story, it started early in the morning of 30 May just off Cap Ferrat, France. Amid storm warnings several yachts left the bay for more secluded and protected moorings. Rising Sun anchored opposite the bay, close to Beaulieu where she was protected, whilst Rosa remained in the same bay as Pari, but much further from the rocks. Various yachts had heard the commotion of helicopters and awoke to a stricken 39.8m motor yacht, Pari, lying at a 25o angle on the rocks (more familiarly known as Mirabella rocks).
By this time though, Pantaenius claim specialists from Hamburg and Monaco had been at the vessel and, having employed specialist salvage experts, were working to assess, contain and secure the vessel.
Photo: Pantaenius
It soon transpired that the grounding was due to the superyacht only placing one anchor in 45knot gusts of wind. With relatively little holding the vessel in place, she soon dragged and was thrust upon the rocks. The attempts to escape their treacherousposition only led to the destruction of propellers and stabilisers on the very rocks they were being pounded upon. Later, these appendages would actually be scythed from the hull to allow the salvage party to free Pari and tow her to Villefranche. Having been buffeted onto the rocks, Pari's demise was now set, literally, in stone. The high waves and their sheer force only served to push the stricken vessel further and further up the rocks.
Compressed between waves and rock, Pari's hull was punctured repeatedly. In total, Pantaenius estimate the total number of holes could be anywhere around 40. However, Pantaenius estimated at the time that 30% of these were inaccessible. This would add to the complications of removing her from the rocks and getting her to Villefranche, the closest dock. The full extent of the damages, however, was only revealed once she was eventually towed from the rocks; as wedged as she was, divers were unable to detect the 3 or 4 giant holes on her starboard side.
Fortunately, other than the captain who suffered some injuries to his torso there were no serious injuries. Images of Pari's tender and life raft on the shoreline are merely just that, empty accessories that were launched but unused. In fact, one very well-known superyacht, Rising Sun, came to the rescue at 4am in the morning. Despite the dangerous conditions and although not seeking publicity themselves, it should be acknowledged that Rising Sun's Owner, captain and crew launched one of their own tenders and rescued all bar Pari's captain, his brother and one other crew member. These latter three remained on board to look after the vessel.
Pantaenius and the salvage company, Monaco Remorquage Maritime, now had two priorities, first preventing pollution, second salvaging the superyacht. Despite the gashes in her hull, no tanks, pipes or main pieces of equipment were reported damaged. However, they still had 20,000litres of diesel to pump out, a feat that took almost a week to complete.
This obviously minimised any environmental hazards, and the only fuel that did leak was reportedly contained within the vessel. Given that the sea did not breach the main deck or saloon, this means that only the lower decks, including all the crew cabins, required a complete cleanse. A bill that came to approximately 100,000Euro when Pari was eventually docked. Pantaenius, keen to avoid any risks had already employed a German company who specialise in containing pollution. They trucked their inflatable oil containment barriers directly to the site and were immediately fenced around the wreckage.
Furthermore once the diesel and water had been pumped out, the team had to repair what damage they could to minimise the amount of water continuing to pour through Pari's unwanted holes.
Pantaenius were now struggling to find a way to remove the superyacht from its position and get it to the nearest dock for initial repairs (Villefranche). Because of the severity of the damage, one option they investigated was to sail a 250 tonnes crane to the site on a barge. Their only available options were based in La Spezia and Gibraltar. This idea was soon quashed, as there was no crane barge available under the time pressure. Instead, the solution lay in floating Pari off the rocks. To do this, giant industrial balloons designed specifically for this purpose were brought from Germany; strapped to her hull, inflated and allowed the vessel to be towed backwards, off the rocks. In order for her to be towed though, as mentioned above, all her hull appendages needed to be cut off - stabilisers, propellers, shafts and rudders.
Photo: Pantaenius
Obviously, throughout this process, the water now in the hull needed to be pumped out. Because a barge was unable to be used, this meant a much larger pump and generator unit was required to remove the water during the journey from wreck site to
Villefranche.
Photo: Pantaenius
As the dock in Villefranche was already booked and had prior commitments; the superyacht was stationed there for an interim period preparing her for a journey to the Amico yard in Genoa, today. This has given a team of 14 welders in Villefranche, 3 days, working round the clock, to close the hull ready for this journey.
Photo: Pantaenius
Throughout this entire process, the Pantaenius claim managers also had a consultant on-site, daily. According to the insurance company, the French authorities, whilst wholly cooperative, were in fact completely reliant on them to organise and execute this salvage and rescue operation.
We will continue to follow superyacht Pari's fate and bring you updates as they become available.
With thanks to Michael Kurtz and Olivier de Roffignac from Pantaenius for their assistance.
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