Salvage efforts are underway for the 49-metre Benetti motorsailer Blue Gold, which has been shipwrecked in Vanuatu since March 2015. The yacht was a victim of Cyclone Pam, a Category 5 storm which, when combined with a minor collision by navy patrol boat Tukoro, grounded Blue Gold on a reef near Havannah Harbour.
Nearly a decade later and the Benetti yacht remains in relatively good shape, with the hull intact and all the portholes sealed to prevent further interior water damage. Mr. Derek French is the yacht's current owner, as confirmed by the Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority (VMSA), who has also instructed the naturalised Ni-Vanuatu to remove the vessel with the "support of the community" within two years.
In the months since, French has employed local villagers to dig a channel from under Blue Gold, which is now nine metres further away from the shore since his acquisition. There have been three failed recovery attempts so far, including a plan that used local coconut tree logs as rollers – which were promptly crushed under the superyacht's 370 gross tonnes. However, the baby and mother keel have seen been unburied, marking a significant step forward in her recovery efforts.
Blue Gold's grounding occurred under the ownership of Dragoon Ltd., a local company which operated in Vanuatu from 2011 to 2014. The director attempted to remove the grounded yacht before the company dissolved, but was unsuccessful and subsequently moved overseas. Ownership of the yacht then passed to Devine Ltd., headed by Brett Devine, though he ultimately failed to comply with the "specific conditions for the vessel's removal".
It was at this point that Blue Gold fell into the hands of French, who has been directing the current salvage efforts under the assistance of Ocean Logistics Ltd. and VMSA.
Sean Meagher, who operated as Blue Gold's captain from 2008 to 2011, told BOAT International that he expects the yacht to be fully operational if refloated successfully. "Blue Gold is a tank. She was outfitted at Royal Dutch Marine shipyard, where they build submarines and military crafts," he explained. "When the yacht first went aground, I checked in on her. She was in way better condition than I expected. But she needs a shipyard."
He continued: "Hopefully they'll take her to New Zealand, because that's where you get the best work done, though I think Fiji will have the closest yards. You're going to have to rip everything out, but she has good bones. And it sounds like [French] is doing everything right."
The last of the Benetti motorsailers, Blue Gold was delivered in 1992 (then White Gull) for an American businessman. She was designed inside and out by Paolo Scanu, with naval architecture by Laurent Giles and Fratelli Benetti.
BOAT International will update the story as it develops.