Greek judicial authorities have jailed the captain and first officer of the 53.8-metre Mariotti charter yacht Persefoni I ahead of a trial on charges of arson following a forest fire on the Greek island of Hydra (28 June). Eleven other crew members have been freed on bail and with restrictions.
The incident, which destroyed the island's only pine forest, is believed to have been caused by fireworks allegedly launched from the superyacht last Friday (21 June).
On 30 June, charter guest and Kazakh multimillionaire Daniyar Abulgazin released a statement "categorically deny[ing] any wrongdoing".
It read: "We strictly followed the fire safety rules established on the yacht. Neither I nor my guests asked the crew or other third parties to undertake any actions that could lead to a fire. Before our departure from Greece, representatives of the country's authorities spoke with us [and] did not make any claims to me or my guests in connection with this incident."
An investigation carried out at the behest of the prosecutor, by the officers of the Department for the Prevention of Arson Crimes (DAEE) reportedly discovered traces of firecrackers as well as two water bottles in the bay of Agios Nikolaos, where Persefoni I had been anchored.
The crew were arrested by arson unit investigators in the fire brigade when they docked near Athens on Saturday (22 June) and were led to the Saronikos Port Authority in Piraeus. A witness report collected by the Hydra Port Authority from the captain of a nearby yacht testified that the blaze was started by fireworks originating from the suspects' vessel on Friday evening.
The flames were brought under control in the early hours of Saturday morning on the island of Hydra, which lies south of Athens. With no road access to the beach, firefighters fought the flames from the sea while helicopters dropped water from above. According to the country’s minister of climate crisis and civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias, six aeroplanes and two teams of firefighters were on the scene.
According to news outlet ANA, fireworks are banned during high-temperature days. Legislation for arson and ecological destruction has recently been toughened in Greece.
Designed inside and out by Luca Dini, Persefoni I was built in steel and aluminium by Mariotti Yachts and delivered in 2012. She underwent a comprehensive refit in 2023 and accommodates up to 12 guests in six cabins, with further space for 13 crew.
BOAT International will update the story as it unfolds.