A yacht loaded with more than 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel sent up a spectacular plume of smoke as it burned in a Spanish port on Friday, according to local videos and news outlets.
Footage shows the pleasure craft blazing orange and black for on the soft blue Mediterranean waters in Valencia, before three platoons of firefighters extinguished the flames after 12 hours. Initial reports identified the vessel as the Pesa, and stated it flew a French flag, though they did not identify its owner.
Press accounts cited unnamed fire department sources who blamed the conflagration on a battery failure that ignited the luxury ship’s fiberglass hull. However, miraculously, they asserted the yacht’s huge fuel tanks appeared untouched—and said they planned to recover the diesel despite the submersion of the boat’s stern. Port authorities reportedly denied any contamination of the northern marina where the Pesa was docked, or any damage to nearby berths, despite the emergency installation of an anti-contamination barrier in the water.
ADVERTISEMENT
Yacht charter sites describe the Pesa as a three-year-old Italian-built craft capable of hosting up to eight passengers, plus three crewmembers. A webpage advertising opportunities to rent the boat lists a rate of €70,000—roughly $76,135—per week.
“Pesa’s impressive leisure and entertainment fit-out (paddleboards, sea-bobs and top-of-the-range jet-ski as well as towable toys and snorkeling, wakeboard and water-ski equipment) makes her the ideal charter yacht to enjoy an activity-packed vacation with family and friends,” the site reads. “Her luxurious interior is designed exclusively to reflect the refined tastes of her owners.”
The operators of the page did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
