Indian Empress

History
Name: Indian Empress
Owner: Vijay Mallya
Operator: Indian Empress Ltd
Port of registry: Douglas, Isle of Man
Ordered: 2000
Builder: Oceanco
Yard number: 950
Christened: M/Y Al Mirqab, M/Y Indian Empress
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Commercial LY2
Displacement: 2271 t
Length: 95 m
Beam: 14.6 m
Height: 22 m
Draught: 4.6 m
Decks: 5
Installed power: 3 x 6720 kW
Propulsion: 3 x MTU 20 V 1163
Speed: 24 kts
Capacity: 76 persons
Crew: 30 persons

Indian Empress is one of the largest private yachts in the world at 95 metres (311 feet 8 inches) in length. Launched in 2000 as Al Mirqab, she was finished at the Oceanco yard in the Netherlands to the design of the A Group after having had her hull assembled in Durban, South Africa.

Cruising in the Andaman Sea near Phuket (Thailand)
Docked in the harbor of Valletta, October 2011.(Malta)

Indian Empress is powered by three 10,000-hp MTU 20-cylinder engines with speeds available of up to 24 knots.

Previous ownership

The yacht was initially owned by the Qatari Royal Family. The Indian citizen Vijay Mallya bought this yacht in 2006 for an undisclosed sum of money.

Ship fate by Court orders

During 2017 the owner was suspected of involvement in financial crime, which also included non payment of the ship bills and crew salaries. As the Indian Empress at the time was moored in Valletta, the yacht was held under court order in Malta, and on June 28 2018 auctioned off by the courts.[1][2]

The winning bidder, Credityacht Ltd, a company registered in Malta, had seven days to deposit the moneies. By the seventh day after the auction the buyer had failed to pay the purchasing price of €43.5 million.[3]

Credityacht Ltd. requested a 15 day extension to the July 5th payment deadline. The union for maritime workers, Nautilus International, accepted, but several creditors declined the request.[4]

The Maltese court set a new date to re-auction the yacht after the buyer failed to pay. The auction was to be held on September 19th, 2018. Serious bidders were required to deposit €1 million 48 hours in advance to take part in the auction. Credityacht Ltd., who were representing an Iranian bidder, was banned from the auction.[5]

The yacht was rumoured to have been sold one day before the re-auction, which was due to take place on September 19th. A buyer offered €35 million in a private sale. The bid was made on behalf of the client by Sea Beauty Yachting Limited. The court had to make a decision whether to grant the private sale or not. If the court allowed it, the potential buyer had to pay the difference in sale price. It is believed that more than 40 crew members have not been paid since September 2017. The crew members were rumoured to be owed between $6250 and $92000 each in unpaid wages however, the total amount was thought to be upwards of $1 million.[6]

In September 2018 the Maltese court approved the $35 million bid from Sea Beauty Yachting Limited and the Empress was sold to her new owners.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Court declares Mallya..."
  2. ↑ "Mallya's yacht impounded".
  3. ↑ "Buyer of Indian Empress has yet to pay winning bid".
  4. ↑ "The 95m superyacht Indian Empress still awaits a new owner".
  5. ↑ "Malta court sets date to re-auction abandoned 95m superyacht Indian Empress".
  6. ↑ "€35M offered for abandoned 95m superyacht Indian Empress in private sale".
  7. ↑ "Abandoned 95m superyacht Indian Empress sold for €35M".
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