The

motor yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

''Titanic'' is a 1,900-tonne yacht that was formerly the Japanese Government's research/fishing vessel and later ''Kelso''. In March 2010, she developed a leak while sailing in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Her rescue by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

was co-ordinated from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Description

Originally built in 1971, ''Titanic'' is a former research/fishing boat. She is long, with a beam of and a depth of . She is powered by four Niigata 6MQG31EZ

diesel engines The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the die ...

. As of April 2010, the vessel was being reconfigured to accept 4 HS Turbochargers 4800 series turbochargers. She displaces 1,900 tonnes. Her

IMO Number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications: * the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or, * the IMO company and registered owner identification number is u ...

is 7338561.

History

The ship was built in 1971 by Hayashikane Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd,

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

as ''Toko Maru''. Commissioned by the Japanese government as a fisheries inspection vessel, it supported the Japanese fishing fleet operating in international waters. After 25 years of service, deterioration of the hull, engines and other facilities led to the ship being decommissioned. It was replaced with a new, larger ''Toko Maru'', capable of supporting Japanese fishing at greater distances and rougher seas in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. In 1996, she was sold to Premier Fishing,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and renamed ''Kelso''. In 2009, she was sold to Bill Schlagel of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

who intended to convert her into a luxury motor yacht, and renamed her ''Titanic''. On 16 August 2009, ''Titanic'' visited

St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

where it was discovered that she was not displaying her name. The vessel's name was not on shipping registers either. It was established that the vessel was ''

bona fide In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which is ...

''. She departed the next day. On 31 March 2010, ''Titanic'' developed a leak while on a voyage from

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

where she was to undergo a refit. Crew member Mark Corbett used the yacht's satellite phone to call his friend Alex Evans's mobile phone. Evans received the call while in a DIY shop in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He took down details including the position of the ship, which was southeast of St Croix, (at ), writing the details on a till receipt. Evans then went to the local

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

lifeboat station and telephoned the Coastguard at

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has been used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was ...

and asked to be put through to the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) at Falmouth from where the rescue was co-ordinated at a distance of over . The MRCC contacted the

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

who relayed a message to colleagues at

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. A French aircraft was sent to search for ''Titanic''. A

helicopter was despatched from CGAS Borinquem, Puerto Rico. The helicopter landed a salvage pump on board the yacht, which was later taken under tow by . The tow was later taken over by the tug ''Mitchel''. The yacht was taken to Frederiksted,

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

; none of the crew were injured.

References

External links

Shipspotting.com
Photos of ''Titanic''s call at Saint Helena in 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Titanic 1971 ships Merchant ships of Japan Research vessels of Japan Merchant ships of Panama Merchant ships of Belize Merchant ships of Saint Kitts and Nevis Maritime incidents in 2010 Ships built in Japan