On Saturday 20th August the Port Authority of Crotone VTS (Vessel Traffic Services) received a distress call from the 39.4 metre motor yacht MY SAGA that she was taking water ingress at her stern while on passage from Gallipoli to Milazzo. Immediately VTS advised Guardia Costiera (Italian Coast Guard) who dispatched CP 321 and a Romanian Patrol Craft on behalf of FRONTEX.
The first four passengers and a crew member were immediately rescued by the Romanian patrol boat and then transferred to CP 321 and taken to the port of Catanzaro Marina, while the shipping company contacted a towing company from Crotone to attempt recovery. of the yacht.
CP 323 sistership of CP 321 here moored at Siracusa, Sicily back to 27th April, 2019.
At dawn the 1992 built tugboat ALESSANDRO SECONDO from Crotone arrived and started towing the MY SAGA towards Crotone, the only port where the yacht could have entered, taking on board four other crew members, including the captain, all Italian Nationals. But the situation got worse due to the weather conditions and the constant inclination of the yacht.
With both weather conditions and water ingress it seemed impossible to tow her to Crotone and the only possibility turned out to be stranding. 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.
Images below are of the sistership of ALESSANDRO SECONDO – RICCARDO entering Grand Harbour, Malta back to 23rd May, 2009.
MY SAGA was built in 2007 in Italy by Cantieri San Marco as the YUKO under the Monaco Yachting & Technologies brand. With steel hull and aluminium superstructure she was homeported at George Town (CYM Flag).She can accommodate up to 12 guests in 6 staterooms, with 8 crew members in this case all Italians. She had 2 Caterpillar Diesel Electric Engines with top speed of 12.5 knots.
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Cover image is courtesy of Guardia Costiera. Watermarked Photos are by Capt. Lawrence Dalli otherwise stated. NO PHOTOS can be used or manipulated without our permission. © All rights reserved. Malta Ship Photos & Action Photos – www.maltashipphotos.com
Published – Sunday 21st August, 2022
