Life and death on a superyacht: 'If something goes wrong, they can just raise the anchor and leave'
Crewing can seem a glamour-filled job. But at least three young Brits have lost their lives, as Rupert Neate reports
Sat 26 May 2018 17.00 AEST Last modified on Wed 30 May 2018 22.54 AEST
If Dirk Zimmerman?s boss fancies a fresh tomato salad, the 35-year-old German hangs up his chef?s apron, dons a headset and takes to the skies. Zimmerman, who has been working on superyachts for more than a decade, has lost count of the number of times he?s been sent out on a ship?s helicopter or seaplane to source food, from courgettes in Oman to truffles in Argentina or vine tomatoes from a nearby Pacific atoll.
?It might shock you to know how much money some people spend privately,? he says as he prepares sushi in the professional-grade kitchen on the 60-metre St David, moored in Monaco. ?But to be able to take a helicopter and fly two hours somewhere to get the boss?s preferences makes his day.?
As the rich become even richer ? 145 more dollar billionaires were minted last year ? orders for new superyachts (longer than 24 metres) have hit a record high. More than 500 are being built in shipyards around the world, and with many requiring at least 100 staff, superyachts now employ more than 37,000 people. Britain?s seafaring history has made it the biggest source of employees; crewing on a superyacht is so popular among young adventurers that Southampton Solent University now offers degree-level training at its Warsash Superyacht Academy. Every spring, dozens of young Brits decamp to Antibes on the C?te d?Azur, the unofficial centre for superyacht crew recruitment, where you can wander along the docks looking for opportunities.
While it is a dream job for some, other deckhands and chefs have horror stories of working punishing hours. Accidents, injuries and deaths are also commonplace, with union leaders believing working on superyachts to be more dangerous than life on oil rigs; over the past few years at least three young Brits have died while serving their billionaire bosses. Because many superyachts continually float around the world (this is marketed to some as a way to avoid being registered in any country and hence to avoid paying tax), their crews may not be afforded the same legal protections as those on land. Families complain about a lack of assistance and sympathy from owners and those in charge of the vessel. None of the owners attended the three British men?s funerals.
Michael Hanlon, 22, left Cumbria for his dream job as a deckhand and watersports instructor on 62-metre superyacht Faith, owned by the Canadian fashion billionaire Lawrence Stroll, in March 2013. Less than a month later, and before he?d had a chance to spend any of his first $3,500 (?2,600) monthly pay cheque, he was dead.
Michael, known as Milo to his friends and family, had returned exhausted from a night out to the vessel docked in Antibes on the French Riviera. He had done two shifts back to back, working night and day, then gone to local bars to celebrate sailing across the Atlantic. Faith had been locked up for the night, and Michael climbed to its top in an attempt to get inside via an unofficial emergency entrance. An inquest found he fell from the top deck, hit his head on the quay and drowned. His body was recovered the next day.
Jacob Nichol, who died last year, aged 24; he fell while cleaning a superyacht. Photograph: SWNS.com
Jacob Nichol, from Cornwall, died last summer, aged 24, two years after he suffered severe brain injuries after falling from superyacht Kibo, while cleaning it as it was docked in a Majorcan port. Jacob, the yacht?s third assistant engineer, had been hanging in a harness when he fell and fractured his skull. His sister, Jenade Moon, said he had never been asked to clean the boat before: his job focused on engine maintenance. The owner of the ?90m yacht, Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut ? until last month owner of Waterstones, and friend of Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich ? was not on board at the time.
After 10 days in a coma in a hospital in Palma, Jacob was repatriated to Shropshire, where he needed constant care. In September an inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death. ?Our beautiful Jacob has sadly passed away,? his family said. ?A young, bright, intelligent, kind soul has left us after an excruciating two years.?
In 2010, Robin Black received a call from the captain of the ?15m sailing superyacht Burrasca, on which Black?s son Will was bosun, or officer in charge of crew and equipment. At the time, it was moored at the Monaco yacht show in Port Hercules, the annual beauty parade held in the industry?s global hub. The captain told Black that Will, 28, hadn?t been seen since the night before, when the rib he was piloting (a small boat used to ferry passengers to and from the yacht) collided with another boat. He thought Will may have been knocked overboard.
The captain said: ?Don?t worry, we threw some flowers over the side and gave his belongings to the police'
By the time Robin, Will?s mother Judith and his sister Rosanna, now 37, arrived in Monaco to join the search, the yacht had left. ?The captain said: ?Don?t worry, we threw some flowers over the side and gave his belongings to the police,?? Rosanna says, fighting back tears as she describes ?the worst days of our lives?. ?I couldn?t comprehend that the boat had gone before Will was found and before we got there,? she says. ?How could they just leave a family to deal with the death of one of their crew, and the police and paperwork and everything? I can?t believe that if something goes wrong ? if someone dies ? they can just raise the anchor and leave.?
The family don?t know who owns Burrasca, though he is thought to have been a Russian billionaire (owners do not have to declare themselves). He was not on board at the time of the accident. The yacht did not request divers to look for Will?s body, leaving the captain of another superyacht, who was a friend, to pay for search and recovery divers. But they were unable to find Will, who had not been wearing a life vest.
Will Black with his family
Will Black, who died aged 28, with his family; his body has not been found. Photograph: courtesy Rosanna Black
Will?s life was not insured. ?But it?s not about money,? Rosanna says, ?it?s about respect for another life.? She says that the owner didn?t and doesn?t seem to have cared. A spokesman for the yacht?s management did not respond to the Guardian?s requests for comment.
If something goes wrong on a superyacht, it can be incredibly difficult for crew and their families to understand which laws and rights apply. Vessels are often operating in international waters, their day-to-day operations run by management companies on behalf of often unidentifiable owners; their yachts are registered via offshore companies in places such as Panama or the British Virgin Islands.
To add to the confusion, superyachts can be registered with another country and fly their flag, even if the yacht is not based there. At the time of Will?s death, Burrasca was registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. There was no British inquest, and local authorities recorded this report of the accident: ?Mr William Black was on tender duty between the mothership at anchor and the shore. The anchorage was very crowded. Returning to the mothership, the tender hit an unattended vessel that was anchored in the bay. The tender was found drifting with no one on board? Mr Black?s body was not found.?
Will, who had always wanted a life of adventure, had worked his way up from a deckhand on smaller boats to an officer on Burrasca. He?d recently begun his role as bosun on the 55.7-metre yacht and Rosanna says he was passionate about his job. ?Will had found his calling. He worked hard, but he played hard, too, and always came back with the most amazing stories,? she says as she shows me photos of Will on a night out with 50 Cent and Jamiroquai. ?We still get letters from some of the families he worked for. They send cards for Uncle Whale, as he was called,? she says. ?He had a huge personality and everyone loved him.?
Despite the circumstances of his death, Rosanna says she would not discourage others from joining the superyachting world. ?I would just tell them to make sure they?re always on top of safety, and to find out who the owner is before they join.?
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