Darwin navy team rescues six people from luxury yacht MY Vivierae II
A luxury yacht that spent days off the coast of Darwin after running into engine problems has been retrieved. Find out what happened to the $136k a week boat.
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A luxury yacht that was stuck at sea off the coast of Darwin has continued on its extravagant journey.
The 30-metre MY Vivierae II, which was carrying six people when it hit engine trouble on March 2, spent a number of days anchored in the Arafura Sea near Dolok in Indonesia.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority confirmed on Tuesday the boat had been retrieved and was in working order.
“(We) can confirm the MY Vivierae II reached Thursday Island safely, and is continuing on its passage to Cairns,” a spokeswoman said.
All passengers and crew were rescued from the boat on March 6 after an inflatable boat deployed from the HMAS Hobart navigated “unfavourable conditions” to transfer all six crew members and passengers to safety.
A charter aboard the vessel costs more than $A136,000 for a week.
An Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesman said the boat was on its way to Townsville after leaving from Darwin.
“The crew and passengers have been returned safely to shore on Thursday Island.”
Yacht designer company Nordhavn said the boat was “in our thoughts” and revealed the cause of the engine issues.
“Through no fault of the boat or crew, a line broke free from the 38-foot tender in tow – after the tender’s tow eye severed off due to very rough conditions – and unfortunately got tangled in the prop, which seized the engines,” a statement on their website read.
“This was an unlikely, unfortunate accident and the boat’s engines did not ‘fail’ as has been reported.
“We are confident that following a safe recovery, VivieRaeII will continue her life of adventure.”
Coxswain Petty Officer Christopher Keillor was part of the rescue operation and said his training had prepared him for the difficult rescue.
“It’s a great feeling to be the operator in a situation like this and achieving the mission of getting people to safety,” he said.
“The training we receive to become qualified as rigged-hulled inflatable boat Coxswains prepares us well for operating in real situations.”
According to an article in 2017, the asking price for the sale of the yacht was $US5.28m.
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Originally published as Darwin navy team rescues six people from luxury yacht MY Vivierae II
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