$34.7 million luxury yacht runs aground off Sentosa; MPA investigating
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The yacht, named Australia, is reportedly owned by mining magnate and former Australian Member of Parliament Clive Palmer.
PHOTO: ST READER
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SINGAPORE - A foreign-registered luxury yacht ran aground near Sentosa on Monday afternoon.
The yacht, named Australia, is said to be owned by mining magnate and former Australian Member of Parliament Clive Palmer, reported various Australian media outlets.
It is not known if he was on board when the incident happened.
The 56m-long vessel is worth about A$40 million (S$34.7 million) and has luxury features such as a jacuzzi, bars and a VIP suite.
A Straits Times reader who resides in Sentosa said he realised the yacht was stuck and listing when he was looking out to sea at about 5.30pm.
The resident, who declined to give his name, said there are a lot of rocks in the channel the yacht was in, and some are visible only at low tide.
Mr Quek Wee Teck, 45, director of yacht charter company Wanderlust Adventures, said this is the second time in October that he has seen such an incident in the area.
Foreign-registered luxury yacht Australia ran aground off Buran Channel, near Sentosa. on Oct 16.
PHOTO: ST READER
A Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) spokesman said the Maritime Safety Control Centre, which is operated by the authority, was notified of the incident at about 4.30pm on Monday.
No pollution was reported and there was no injury to the crew of the Malta-flagged yacht, which ran aground off Buran Channel, near Sentosa.
“The yacht has since been refloated and will be anchoring to facilitate an assessment of damage,” said the spokesman.
“There was no disruption to port operations as a result of the grounding. MPA will be investigating the incident.”
