"Cursed" Super Yacht Bella T Going to Auction
Published: Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:00 am
By: Annastasia Artzer
The Bella T, built for American millionaire Roy Carver in 1976, arrived in Cape Town, South Africa in 2001 and never left. Now, 20 years later, she's on her way to court-ordered auction.
This 148.6 ft (or 45.3m) superyacht was designed by world-renowned naval architects Arthur de Feer and Doug Sharp. It was commissioned by Roy Carver, a millionaire and philanthropist who made his fortune retreading tires. The yacht was originally named LAC III, after Carver's mother, but never made it into Carver's possession. Famously quoted as saying that he "didn't worry about money as much as he did time," Carver had a new yacht based on the same design built by Feadship De Vries in the Netherlands. This ship, LAC II, was completed 18 months ahead of the original.
Carver died six years after the completion of LAC II at 71 years old in Marbella, Spain. LAC II is now known as Valeria and is for sale by TWW Yachts at €15,000,000 ($17,195,550 USD).
LAC III was sold after its completion to the Sultan of Sabag in Malaysia, and at that time, renamed Puteri Sabah II. In 1999, the superyacht was sold to Earl Romans, an American, and moved from Malaysia to South Africa to go through extensive repairs and refitting by local shipbuilders Farocean Marine. This refit also included lengthening the ship by 5 meters (16.4 ft). The superyacht's name was changed to Summit One.
This refit became problematic soon after starting. Farocean, who had already begun work on Summit One, alleged that Romans had missed necessary payments. The following legal dispute ended up in the South African Supree Court of Appeal, and resulted in Romans agreeing to pay the outstanding balance. However, he defaulted again soon after, and was taken back to court. This back and forth continued until the case, and the ship, were docked for good in 2003.
Now renamed the Bella T (perhaps as a nod to the new length), the LAC III was sold several times between 2003 and 2008, and all new owners ran until financial or legal issues trying to finish the project. The final owner, Europa Shipping Capital, is currently the respondent in the impending public auction. The Bella T was assigned for public auction in November of 2021 by the Western Cape High Court, and the auction is set to take place on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022.
The auction includes the ship, four shipping containers holding various parts, the engine components, fittings, propellers, and miscellaneous other workings. The estimated cost to make the ship seaworthy and complete the refit is roughly $2.5 million USD—but that feels like a conservative estimate.
Even after 20 years of neglect, the Maritime Bureau of Africa found the Bella T to be in "very good condition," citing that the engine room, bilges, and interior are serviceable.
For more information about the upcoming auction, visit www.solutionstrat.com
tags: Antique & Classic Boats, Beyond the Great Lakes, Boating News
