South Africa

Farocean Marine

The fate of the partially constructed superyacht <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/4365" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Bella T45.3m (148'7&quot;)Maritima de Axpe1976">Bella T</a>, previously known as Summit One and Lac III, is soon to be decided as the yacht will once again be up for auction this coming March. The auction is set to take place at the Judicial Western Cape High Court in Cape Town, where the vessel has been moored since the early 2000s. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/99/image/large-b960aaccc37ef381319a22272346477c.JPG" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/99">Evidentiary documents attached to the auction describe how the yacht was arrested after it was caught in a legal dispute between owners. The auction includes both the vessel, which is in an incomplete state stripped back to bare steel, and four containers of equipment, which include her engine and mechanical works, as well as her interior fittings which were originally conceived by <a href="https://sya.superyachttimes.com/companies/arthur-de-fever" target="_blank">Arthur de Fever</a>.The auction is set to be held by Solution Strategists and it has been claimed that the applicant in the legal dispute has a claim against the vessel amount to €835,000. Included in the auction documents is a report that states the vessel to be in good condition despite years of neglect.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/101/image/large-c14e6f1b418fcb4718142aef5b76afd4.JPG" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/101">A tumultuous historyThe yacht was originally built for the late Roy Carver in 1977, constructed by <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1171" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Maritima de Axpe (Company)">Maritima de Axpe</a> in Bilbao, Spain to a design by <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/906" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Arthur de Fever (Company)">Arthur De Fever</a> &amp; <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/115" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Douglas Sharp Yacht Design (Company)">Douglas Sharp</a>. However, due to the slow movement of the construction of the vessel, Carver ordered another yacht with the same design from <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/11" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="De Vries Lentsch (Company)">Feadship's De Vries</a> shipyard which was completed in 1975 and named Lac II, launched 18 months ahead of her sistership. Lac II is now known as <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/4366" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Valeria44.2m (145'0&quot;)Feadship1975">Valeria</a>. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/75740/image/large-9eac10c9b7f005da809ee11ec28f267e.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/75740"><a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/4365" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Bella T45.3m (148'7&quot;)Maritima de Axpe1976">Lac III</a> was later sold to the Sultan of Sabah and renamed Puteri Sabah II&nbsp;before passing to another Malaysian owner as Puteri Sipadan. The yacht was on the market in 1999 for the very low price of only $1.1 million. The yacht was eventually sold to an American and taken to South Africa in 2001 for an extensive refit that included lengthening by 5 metres. However, there was a financial dispute with the refit yard, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/4625" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Farocean Marine (Company)">Farocean Marine</a>, and the work was halted in 2003. The yacht had been renamed Summit One by this time, and has remained in an incomplete state since.

Superyacht Bella T to be sold at auction

The neglected superyacht Bella T, previously Summit One, is set to be sold at Judicial auction in SA next March.