Another luxury yacht sinks off the Italian coast. On August 20th, MY SAGA, sank in the Gulf of Squillace, off the Calabrian coast whilst under tow.
Luxury motor yacht MY SAGA sank at around 1100 UTC August 20th, 9 nuatical miles off Catanzaro Marina, Gulf of Squillace, Calabrian coast, Italy, Ionian sea. She was under tow at the time, and had already taken on water.
The yacht had earlier reported water ingress. All passengers and part of the crew were evacuated. As salvagers tried to tow the sinking boat to the marina, she developed a heavy starboard list. Finally, she sank.
The remainder of the all-Italian crew were rescued. All 9 people initially on board are safe.
The yacht, built in 2007, was sailing under a Cayman Islands flag. The boat has a capacity for 12 guests and 7 crew. It is understood she was a charter yacht.
Read: man dies as yacht hits rocks
Rescue operation
The yacht, with an Italian crew, was sailing from Gallipoli to Milazzo. Last night, the Operations Room of the Port Authority of Crotone was called by the captain on board, who reported the ship was taking on water from the stern.
A Romanian patrol boat and the CP 321 patrol boat from Crotone were sent to the area.
The first four passengers and a crew member were immediately transferred to the Romanian patrol boat. Meanwhile, the shipping company contacted a towing company from Crotone to attempt recovery of the vessel.
At dawn, the tug ALLESANDRO SECONDO from Crotone arrived and started towing the MY SAGA towards Crotone. It was the only port where the ship could have entered. The tug took the four other crew members, including the captain, on board because the situation got worse due to the weather conditions and the constant inclination of the yacht.
Despite the effort, however, the water invaded the hull, so it was necessary to give up the unit that sank in a very short time. The maritime personnel of the MY SAGA who were on board the tug, were transferred to the Cp 321 patrol boat to be taken to Catanzaro Marina.
An investigation will be launched to ascertain the reasons for the sinking.
