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A new, $10-million yacht that sank as it was being launched Sunday in Anacortes, Washington, has been pulled upright while the Coast Guard investigates what went wrong.
After an attempt to deliver the yacht to its owner went awry, first responders were forced to hack at the luxury vessel with a fire axe to rescue one of the ship builders inside — according to local media reports.
The crew of six survived without injury. They are all associated with local Northern Marine Industries, the local company that built the non-seaworthy vessel.
One man was trapped on board for awhile, though. Crewmember Scott Ray, a Navy veteran, had to break a porthole to rescue the man, who ended up with a few scrapes.
An incident management team from the U.S. Coast Guard is investigating to determine how the yacht capsized.
The yacht’s 120 gallons of diesel did not leak — yet. Salvage efforts are underway to thwart environmental contamination.
Things went south quickly after the 9 p.m. launch for the yacht and its crew, according to Anacortes police captain Lou D’Amelio. The boat started to roll on its side in shallow water. The crew rushed into the engine room to modify ballast. Obviously, that tactic failed.
As the ship persisted to roll, the engine room flooded, explains the Valley Herald. That’s when the crew decided to abandon ship.
Agencies/Canadajournal
