Mehmet Karabeyoglu disappointed with failings of 'Yogi' report
Proteksan MD Mehmet Karabeyoglu, has spoken with SuperyachtNews.com about a BEAmer report that he feels contains inaccuracies and a lack of conclusions.…
Following the publication of BEAmer’s report into the sinking of M/Y Yogi, its findings have been poorly received by the superyacht industry, and discredited by some for its failure to identify a probable cause for the water ingress that caused the 60.2m superyacht to sink.
Mehmet Karabeyoglu, managing director of Yogi’s builder, Proteksan Turquoise, is among those who is disappointed with the lack of clarity offered by the report and he spoke to SuperyachtNews.com to offer his own evaluation of the conclusions [or lack thereof] drawn.
“The report fails to add any constructive value [to the situation] because it focuses on criticising general rules and design issues that the whole world builds to. They sent us an original report, which we have in writing, that listed the speed of the vessel [at the time of the incident] as 17 knots, at 60 per cent full load. We informed them that the yacht was only capable of doing 17 knots at 100 per cent load. Instead of increasing the load, they reduced the speed to match the load. They’ve modified it unilaterally in favour of the crew.
“We all know that the boat’s average speed was 16 knots. We know the time they left the Dardanelles to the exact second, and the distance they travelled, so the speed could not have been 14 knots; it was 16 knots. But now they bring it down to 14 knots to bring it in line with the spec values, rather than the actual values. This speed incident alone tells me as an engineer and a yacht builder that they are not serious, and that they have based their conclusions on hearsay. It is an extremely strange situation because the boat is at the bottom of the sea but at no point in the report do they say where the water came in from.
“We could have made a mistake because we are only human, but on this project we were 100 per cent accurate, and ABS (American Bureau of Shipping – the class society responsible for surveying Yogi) checked over and over again. Our paper trail is also flawless.
“And whilst it is important to talk about flag or stability issues, everything that is written is academic. At no point does the report state how water got into the beach club, why the door between the beach club and the secondary beach club was open, and how on earth water got into the lower steering compartment. These are the key points and they haven't been answered.
“We know that the stern door was intact because the captain himself said so, but even if you were to completely remove the stern door there are seven further watertight compartments [to prevent water ingress]. there is no investigation into how they were breached."
“There is also no answer as to why the crew failed to utilise the three bilge pumps on board, despite the fact that they had power. Just because water comes in doesn't mean the boat should sink.
“It could easily be the case that one of the three aft doors wasn’t properly closed, and in fact, the captain’s exact words to my late partner were that one of the doors ‘blew open’. If the door does open you can allow about half a metre of water in the beach club bilge pump, without it affecting the vessel. Now, I can’t say whether it happened or not because I wasn’t there, but it hasn’t even been considered in the report.
“Although the speed of the vessel didn’t sink the boat, for me, the biggest problem was the inaccuracy of the speed they’ve published. The engine has clearly overheated and yet it is a very significant naval architectural or operational fact that they have omitted to address. Instead they have simply adjusted the values of the load.
“There is also no mention of the captain saying he had lost control of the steering, or how the cushions were floating around the main deck, which we have photographic evidence for. It is fairly obvious that the water got in to the same place the cushions came out of.
“As far as I’m concerned the report is not serious enough – their failure to address the issues of speed and where the water came in from is enough to prove that the report lacks any value whatsoever.”
Mehmet Karabeyoglu, managing director of Yogi’s builder, Proteksan Turquoise, is among those who is disappointed with the lack of clarity offered by the report and he spoke to SuperyachtNews.com to offer his own evaluation of the conclusions [or lack thereof] drawn.
“The report fails to add any constructive value [to the situation] because it focuses on criticising general rules and design issues that the whole world builds to. They sent us an original report, which we have in writing, that listed the speed of the vessel [at the time of the incident] as 17 knots, at 60 per cent full load. We informed them that the yacht was only capable of doing 17 knots at 100 per cent load. Instead of increasing the load, they reduced the speed to match the load. They’ve modified it unilaterally in favour of the crew.
“We all know that the boat’s average speed was 16 knots. We know the time they left the Dardanelles to the exact second, and the distance they travelled, so the speed could not have been 14 knots; it was 16 knots. But now they bring it down to 14 knots to bring it in line with the spec values, rather than the actual values. This speed incident alone tells me as an engineer and a yacht builder that they are not serious, and that they have based their conclusions on hearsay. It is an extremely strange situation because the boat is at the bottom of the sea but at no point in the report do they say where the water came in from.
“We could have made a mistake because we are only human, but on this project we were 100 per cent accurate, and ABS (American Bureau of Shipping – the class society responsible for surveying Yogi) checked over and over again. Our paper trail is also flawless.
“And whilst it is important to talk about flag or stability issues, everything that is written is academic. At no point does the report state how water got into the beach club, why the door between the beach club and the secondary beach club was open, and how on earth water got into the lower steering compartment. These are the key points and they haven't been answered.
“We know that the stern door was intact because the captain himself said so, but even if you were to completely remove the stern door there are seven further watertight compartments [to prevent water ingress]. there is no investigation into how they were breached."
“There is also no answer as to why the crew failed to utilise the three bilge pumps on board, despite the fact that they had power. Just because water comes in doesn't mean the boat should sink.
Whilst the methodology of the report has disappointed Mehmet Karabeyoglu, it is a case of business as usual at the Proteksan Turquoise shipyard.
“The stability test was not requested, as the report has said, and you can see this because it was removed from the warranty list. If you are so worried about stability why would you leave port in the middle of the night? These [assertions] are extremely weak and should not be in the report. The yacht was built to LY2, and later accepted by the French flag. “The yacht did not sink because of lack of stability but because of
water ingress. It seems extremely daft to discuss stability when you see
images of the yacht standing upright after six hours or more of water
ingress. “It could easily be the case that one of the three aft doors wasn’t properly closed, and in fact, the captain’s exact words to my late partner were that one of the doors ‘blew open’. If the door does open you can allow about half a metre of water in the beach club bilge pump, without it affecting the vessel. Now, I can’t say whether it happened or not because I wasn’t there, but it hasn’t even been considered in the report.
“Although the speed of the vessel didn’t sink the boat, for me, the biggest problem was the inaccuracy of the speed they’ve published. The engine has clearly overheated and yet it is a very significant naval architectural or operational fact that they have omitted to address. Instead they have simply adjusted the values of the load.
“There is also no mention of the captain saying he had lost control of the steering, or how the cushions were floating around the main deck, which we have photographic evidence for. It is fairly obvious that the water got in to the same place the cushions came out of.
“As far as I’m concerned the report is not serious enough – their failure to address the issues of speed and where the water came in from is enough to prove that the report lacks any value whatsoever.”
Profile links
Proteksan Turquoise Yachts Inc.
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