Lightning can strike twice – but once is enough
IN July of 2017 luxury catamaran Best Revenge 5 was destroyed by fire while on its pontoon in Falmouth, Massachusetts, USA. Built for charter in the Caribbean, the luxurious yacht was designed by Alliaura Privilege to accommodate four couples. Two crew members on board at the time discovered the fire in the aft port side of the vessel but were unable to contain it. The skipper was woken by the smell of smoke. He identified the location of the fire and alerted the only other crew member asleep on board. Both exited the burning boat. The crew member alerted the owner of an adjacent boat, who called the fire brigade, and then returned to attempt to extinguish the fire with on-board fire extinguishers and then a garden hose. These were ineffective.
Local firefighters who responded finally extinguished it but not before Best Revenge 5 was totally destroyed. Damage to the catamaran, a vessel docked next to it and marina infrastructure totalled an estimated US $2million including clean-up and environmental costs.
The US National Transportation Safety Board issued a fire investigation report and determined that the probable cause of the fire was an electrical fault in an accommodation space on the vessel. They concluded “The only potential ignition sources identified within the area of origin were the shore power pedestal, electrical conductors and components in the lavatory, aft-port stateroom closet, and area above the aft port lavatory-shower area. The only fuels identified were the fiberglass hull, insulation, and ordinary combustibles within the area of origin”. The fire responders concluded the fire had started inside the 65 foot vessel.
The extent of the
