Torbay Harbour superyacht fire: Wreck salvage operation

The remains of a superyacht have been salvaged from a harbour after it caught fire and sank in May.

Police declared a major incident after the 85ft (26m) vessel Rendevous caught alight and broke free from its mooring at Princess Pier in Torquay, Devon.

A nearby beach and roads were evacuated and closed for a number of hours.

A major clean-up operation followed, led by the Harbourmaster's Authority, to retrieve nine tonnes of diesel out of the vessel.

The hull was pictured being hoisted from the bed of the harbour on Wednesday.

Michelle Brown, who owns a watersports business there, said she watched the "pretty amazing" operation carried out by contractors.

"They were really worried it was going to snap," she said.

"They brought two big barges in and one had a big crane sat on top of it... they had divers down all day positioning the strops underneath the wreck."

Ms Brown explained that the hull was lifted up "inch by inch" until it was above the surface and then all the water and residue diesel had to be carefully pumped out which "took hours".

It was then light enough to be lifted onto a barge where is remained on Thursday lunchtime, she said.

She added that the boat's owner was "gutted and absolutely distraught" at the incident.

Torbay Council said on its website the lift was due to be completed on Thursday.

It added that Princess Pier remained closed and once the salvage operation has been safely completed, repairs to the pier will begin, before it can reopen to the public.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has been contacted for comment.

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