‘Cursed’ superyacht to be auctioned after 20 years

The ‘cursed’ superyacht Bella T, previously known as Summit One, is to be auctioned after being neglected for 20 years, moored in the Port of Cape Town, South Africa.

Bella T Yacht | On Auction SA from lee shackleton on Vimeo.

The 43-metre (141-foot) motor yacht was built in 1977 and was originally named LAC III. The yacht was built for late American industrialist Roy Carver, and was designed by naval architects Arthur de Fever and Doug Sharp and constructed by Bilbao-based Maritima de Axpe.

Carver became frustrated with delays to the build and commissioned a new yacht, based on the same design, with Feadship De Vries in the Netherlands. LAC II was completed in 1975, 18 months earlier than the original yacht LAC III.

Carver died just six years after LAC II was finished. LAC III was sold to the Sultan of Sabah in Malaysia, and then resold to a series of different owners. LAC III was purchased by an American, Earl Romans, in 1999 and renamed Summit One. The yacht was taken to South Africa for a major refit by Farocean Marine in 2001, which included an overall lengthening by 5-metres (16-foot).

However, yet another legal dispute soon fired up between Farocean and Romans, with the refitter accusing the owner of defaulting on multiple payments. The semi-completed refit was abandoned in 2003, and the yacht has been in Cape Town ever since.

After years of legal dispute, Bella T was ordered to a judicial auction by the Western Cape High Court. The auction valuation documents state that the superyacht has been constructed to ‘high standards’ and is in ‘very good condition’, according to a report by the Maritime Bureau of Africa, despite being abandoned for two decades and only semi-completed.

The auction is set to be held by vessel-sales specialists Solution Strategists, and consists of four containers of original fittings and engines as well as the superyacht structure.

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Source: Marine Industry News