Owner of stranded megayacht refusing to pay for rescue

Neither the owner of the megayacht stranded off Carchuna beach in Motril (Granada province) since Wednesday, nor the insurance company want to take responsibility for rescuing the vessel, according to sources from Marina Motril, the company that manages Motril’s harbour which took responsibility for the rescue plan.

The vessel became stranded as the family on board, a French man, his Ukrainian wife, her two brothers and the family's pets, were sailing from Marbella to Aguadulce in Almeria province. An apparent fault in the engine room meant the boat would no longer respond to the skipper's orders and it veered off course. Rescuers spent Wednesday afternoon bringing the family safely to shore.

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Family rescued after spending five hours trapped on a megayacht off Motril's Carchuna beach

A team of divers has since inspected the damage to the yacht and a further assessment is due to take place of the state of the boat and the seabed around the vessel, to check for environmental damage.

With the report resulting from the inspections, a rescue plan was to be presented to the Capitanía Marítima for approval. The boat would then be towed as soon as possible, once it was deemed to be watertight. However, after the owner refused to take responsibility for the rescue, the responsibility for removing it will now fall to Spain's Ministry of Public Works.

It is not yet known whether the boat will be towed by water or will have to be removed by land, or how long the operation will take. The yacht, valued at approximately 450,000 euros, is 22-metres long, weighs 67 tonnes and consists of three decks. Scrapping a boat of this type is estimated at more than 10,000 euros.