| Corsica. Land's End holed in 4 places; salvage could commence tomorrow |
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| Thursday, 11 August 2005 | |
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Marian Martin The operation to refloat the 49 metre yacht Land's End, which went aground off Corsica on Tuesday - see Previous article - could begin tomorrow morning, according to the French maritime authorities. Talks between the owner, insurers and salvage experts have been taking place over the last two days, with a view to finalising arrangements to effect temporay repairs to the yacht's hull, which is breached in four places, then pump her out and attempt to refloat her. The fact that 25 people were taken off the stricken yacht, by the Gendarmerie and SNSM, plus various media reports, claiming that the yacht had 13 passengers on board have given rise to speculation over the status of the yacht's insurance. Land's End normally has a crew of 10 and is certified for a maximum of 12 passengers and there is an implied warranty of legality in marine insurance contracts.The wording of the clause, in the 1906 Act covering this aspect, is very broad and refers not only to the "adventure" being a lawful adventure, but also to the adventure being carried out in a lawful manner. This can be (and has been, in the past) interpreted as meaning that any breach of a regulation may be interpreted as a breach of warranty, even if the breach did not contribute to loss. It is clear that there were 25 people on the yacht, at the time of the grounding, but BYM has not yet been able to ascertain whether reports that 13 of those were passengers are correct. Laurent Perignon, Director of Marketing of Camper & Nicholsons International in Monaco, told BYM "I can confirm that the yacht was booked for 12 guests, if there was a 13th person on board it was illegally." M. Perignon added "It is important to make it clear that C&N was the agent for this charter. C&N is not the agent for the yacht." The Land's End is owned by a British Virgin Islands company. Photo: alabordache.com The story as it unfolded: Holed megayacht threatens Corsican beach August 10 Tug standing by stricken megayacht August 10 Captain in second megayacht sinking August 10 Land's End holed in four places August 11 Land's End salvage contract signed August 12 Land's End sinks completely August 12 Captain Jones charged August 12 French naval divers to assess sunken megayacht August 13 Land's End tanks to be pumped out August 15 Land's End Captain was Designated Person Ashore says Gaspard Yachts View pictures of the Land's End |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 August 2005 ) |
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