The 85.95 metre superyacht Ecstasea has been involved in an incident in Simpson Bay Lagoon, Sint Maarten. It is said that the Ecstasea itself has little damage, but the almost new bridge house was completely destroyed as it was dragged by an open tailgate.
It is estimated that a combination of adverse wind and current conditions caused the superyacht to veer right and collide with the control booth of the Simpson Bay Bridge, right after it entered the bay on Sunday, December 15.
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In fact, during the 3:00pm bridge opening, an open observation platform on the bow of Ecstasea tore through the structure, forcing almost all the booth to come away and fall into the water.
There were no reports of anyone harmed during the incident as the bridge operator managed to jump out of the booth soon enough.
Port personnel have already carried out an assessment and a report will be further produced by the local coast guard and police to provide clarity on the situation. Adding tot his, visitors are still being welcomed to enter the bay.
Simpson Bay Lagoon Corporation project manager Bertrand Peters further added that explained that:
The impact took out the booth but the controls and gear were all intact so the bridge remains fully operational and opening times will not be affected.
Further to this, on July 24, the superyacht Blue Magic hit a pier at the port of Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy, after losing control. Before the yacht hit the pier, it first collided with a sailing yacht, which was eventually crushed between the dock and the Magic’s bow.
Italian authorities conducted an initial assessment, which showed that an error in the yacht’s electronic propulsion control system, was probably the cause of the incident.
