Crew of M/Y 'Commitment' caught in legal dispute
The Crew Report was alerted to media reports concerning the crew of 40m motoryacht 'Commitment', who have caught in the middle of a legal battle in a shipyard in Italy.…
The Crew Report was alerted to media reports concerning the crew of 40m motoryacht Commitment, who have been caught in the middle of a legal battle in a shipyard in Italy.
The crewmembers have since been charged for trespassing in the shipyard by the local Carabinieri and have not been able to step off the yacht. The Crew Report spoke to the captain of M/Y Commitment, Captain Giampiero D’Amato, to find out more about the situation. “We have been on board M/Y Commitment since 6 September, 2013,” explains Captain D’Amato. “I am sorry about the situation that has arisen between my charter company and the boatyard, but the yard is charging us for trespassing, which has no logic at all. The situation is complicated but it is an unacceptable abuse of power by the yard.”
“The yard has managed to convince the Carabinieri to uphold things that are not written in the judicial authorisation,” continues Captain D’Amato. “I do not understand how this is possible – especially the charge of trespassing – when we are on an English-flagged vessel which we have not got off since they warned us that we would be charged with trespassing.”
The situation has yet to be resolved, and The Crew Report will keep readers informed of any other developments, but the story already raises serious questions about a superyacht crew’s roles and responsibilities when a yacht is impounded and awaiting a judge’s decision and highlights issues about the fate of crew in legal disputes that do not necessarily involve them.
Motoryacht Commitment. Image courtesy of CharterWorld.com
A source informed us that the yacht has allegedly been arrested whilst a payment dispute between the yard and owner is sorted out. “The boatyard has tried to insist that the commercial yacht is taken out of the water and put into the yard,” says the source. “To prevent this, as there is nothing in judicial writing to order this to happen, the crew have remained aboard the English-flagged vessel.”The crewmembers have since been charged for trespassing in the shipyard by the local Carabinieri and have not been able to step off the yacht. The Crew Report spoke to the captain of M/Y Commitment, Captain Giampiero D’Amato, to find out more about the situation. “We have been on board M/Y Commitment since 6 September, 2013,” explains Captain D’Amato. “I am sorry about the situation that has arisen between my charter company and the boatyard, but the yard is charging us for trespassing, which has no logic at all. The situation is complicated but it is an unacceptable abuse of power by the yard.”
The story already raises serious questions about a superyacht crew’s roles and responsibilities when a yacht is impounded and awaiting a judge’s decision.
The situation has yet to be resolved, and The Crew Report will keep readers informed of any other developments, but the story already raises serious questions about a superyacht crew’s roles and responsibilities when a yacht is impounded and awaiting a judge’s decision and highlights issues about the fate of crew in legal disputes that do not necessarily involve them.
Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.
