http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?articleId=26675
A luxury yacht is currently up in flames at sea, off the coast of Virgin Gorda.

Information regarding the burning vessel is still sketchy at this moment, and BVI Platinum News has not yet confirmed if anyone was injured.

More details would be provided as soon as it becomes available.

Wow! That looks horrible. Hope nobody was onboard!

Hope everyone is safe!
Future dive site?
G

Met the passengers and crew of "Limitless" on Scrub Island happy to report that everyone is safe, and the crew was reported to have done an excellent job. Had to abandon ship, and board their tender in 5-6 foot seas

We are moored off Spanish Town and watched it burn from about 4pm to 5pm, fully engulfed. USCG identified it has a 99' motor yacht. Appears it was anchored in one spot, but now is adrift headed southwest (currently wind is 20-25K NE)towards Scrub or Camanoe, still burning.

Limitless - 99' Hargrave built in 2005. Was probably worth $4~$5M. Glad to hear the crew and passengers are safe.

http://www.charterbrochure.com/limitless

She was docked next to us at Bitterend a couple weeks ago,, chatted with the captain,,,, so sad to hear,,,,

So very glad to hear everyone on board is safe!
Curious, how does the USCG put out this fire? Or do they let it burn out?

It finally sank about 6:40pm somewhere off of Beef Island, about 3 hours after it first started.

USCG is not involved in the BVI of course, not that they could have put it out either. No way to put out something like that once it gets going.

Sorry, when USCG was mentioned above I assumed they were involved.
So, what is supposed to happen when a boat catches fire? I'm just curious. Does the boat just drift until it sinks?
When I first heard "off Virgin Gorda" I was thinking what if this is in the North Sound - how do other boats/marinas protect themselves?
Is the owner responsible for raising the remnants off the ocean floor?

All boats have a built in, hidden system that will extinguish the fire. It's called the waterline.

The US Coast Guard does get involved with incidents in BVI waters..there is a joint deal between the two countries I believe..In this case..unless it was a threat to other boats or land there is little to be done. I doubt they will try to raise her..she may make an interesting dive spot..the options are "Limitless"..

HaHaHaHa <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> Good one to start my morning!

But so glad to hear all are ok.

Wow you guys are on it this morning!!

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Here is a link to some footage... quite impressive. glad everyone is safe!

http://www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/30m-hargrave-da-bubba-catches-fire-in-bvi-s/

First line of defense obviously is the crew who are really supposed to all be STCW certified which has a basic firefighting course or whatever the flagged vessel's countries version is but a kitchen or engine fire can get out of control pretty quickly,

As far as I know the only way to put out a boat fire (other than Bruce's waterline method) is with an actual fire boat that draws water from the sea but I don't think that even the USVI have one, last year the USCG had to tow this out of the harbor to let it burn http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/108881473-story the firetrucks on land could not reach it even though it was so close to shore. I would imagine even a fire boat wouldn't be much help unless it was right in the vicinity.

We need coordinates! I suspect the five shops will have it pinpointed shortly!
G

http://www.the-triton.com/2017/03/motoryacht-limitless-a-100-foot-hargrave-catches-fire/

So sad and I'm glad no one was hurt.

Sounds like the crew did an excellent job of saving everyone..congratulations.

Wow - what an account of what happened! Big kudos to the entire crew for their work on getting everyone off safely!

I am hoping they are getting help now..they probably lost all their passports and $$$ and will need BVI Gov assistance and then help from their own countries. I'll buy em all a round of drinks if I see them..

Anyone have any idea how the wreck gets cleaned up? A boat that size is likely holding hundreds of gallons of fuel. Probably no immediate danger of it getting released but give it some time in salt water and something will corrode and she'll start leaking. I suppose the wreck itself is no danger to anything. But that much fuel being released could be a real problem.

The solution is dilution. Doubt there will be any clean up or recovery.

At 6pm (local time) there were still flames clearly visible from our patio. I'm guessing the fuel mostly burned up.

When the fire started to Captain dropped the anchor to stop the boat from drifting. VISAR went out to assist but all personel were accounted for. The police have a boat which can assist but the fire was too big to contain. all crew and passengers safe at Scrub Island. such a shame , lovely vessel

They had plans to remove that fuel, not sure if it happened. Tanks are all contained so it can be done.

When I took basic firefighting, they taught us that a galley fire was worth fighting up to three minutes if there was progress; an engine room-zero. Pull the chemical drop, seal the door and get out. The likelihood of saving a yacht on fire is very low. Getting the people to safety is the main goal.

The chance of fuel burning from a fully enclosed marine fuel tank is virtually zero. The environment is more than capable of handling that volume of fuel oil on its own. If the diesel ever makes it to the surface most will simply evaporate.

If you are ever near a boat fire. The moment plastic or fiberglass is starting to burn the fight for the boat is over. You must leave with zero delay for a long list of reason. The fumes are always toxic and evacuation upwind is the key.

Once a pleasure vessel reaches the point where the fiberglass and plastics are burning there is little chance of saving anything. The combination of burning plastic fueled by the oxygen in the wind will burn the vessel to the water line.

Any talk of "clean up" is PR, locals hunting for contracts or lawsuit damages, or simply nonsense talk. The diesel came from the earth and the earth will take it back.

Yes a skilled diver can go down with suction hose from a pump and move the fuel along with large amounts of salt water. Once you have that contaminated fuel in drums located in the VI. What would come of those many gallons of contaminated water and fuel oil? The fuel is best left where it is. Sometimes towing/dragging the wreck to deeper water can be a plus.