Superyacht captain and 1st officer in jail awaiting trial for firework blaze

The captain and first officer of Persefoni I have been jailed ahead of a trial on charges of arson. This relates to the devastating incident last Friday night when – allegedly – fireworks from a superyacht caused a fire on the Greek island of Hydra.

Both appeared in court in Piraeus on Wednesday and, along with the entire crew of the yacht, deny any wrongdoing.

Eleven other crew members were freed on bail and with restrictions, reports Reuters. The Greek crew was arrested at a marina near Athens and charged with starting the blaze.

The yacht operator, Salaminia Yachting Limited, told the Athens News Agency that it: “retains absolute confidence in the integrity and sincerity of the crew members.”

A prosecutor has also ordered an internal probe into the actions of authorities that allowed the yacht’s guests to travel outside the country before the official investigation was concluded. Charges for abetting arson have been laid against eight of the passengers, police sources told Reuters.

Witnesses have testified that they saw smoke and flames after hearing 15 to 20 loud sounds, similar to firework explosions, at 22:00 on Friday, according to court documents. A witness seemingly said that he had seen a rubber boat sailing towards the yacht, as the fire spread quickly and a fire-extinguisher at the yacht’s stern.

Fire started on beach, not from yacht’s fireworks, says local media

A local media source posits that ‘unscrupulous individuals . . . set fire to the beach, throwing fireworks’ and says ‘they tried to put it out and, when they failed, they called the fire brigade and left.’ Protothema reports that fire department officials found traces of firecrackers – an element which, according to the researchers, demonstrates that the fire was not from flares or fireworks as was initially assumed. The findings came to light after an investigation carried out on the coast by officers of the Directorate for Combating Arson Crimes (DAEE).

Whatever the outcome, it feels highly debatable whether a superyacht crew would even light fireworks onboard. There are many reasons why it would be irresponsible, not least because of fire hazards, restricted space, stability issues, environmental concerns and legal restrictions.

Image courtesy of Volunteer Fire Station of Hydra via Facebook.