Prestige Yacht Struck Rocks and Sinks in Mercury Bay

A fifteen meter Prestige sport yacht with two person onboard struck rocks near Motukorure Island, and then sank to the near about of Mercury Bay, to the East of Auckland, in New Zealand at around 15:45 hours of Wednesday fourth October.  The yacht sank fairly quickly in about twenty meters of water, with the two passengers coming out unscathed from the sinking.  Regional Council Officers inspected the scene before the sport yacht fully sank in deep water.  The yacht was reported as being a new purchase by the current owner, and was carrying 1300 litres of fuel.  A salvage operation is being organized by the owner, although this is taken some time for it to get going, with the risk of fuel pollution to the area increasing by the hour.

The Prestige yacht in this sinking is a ten year old 500S.  Designed by Garroni with naval architecture by JandJ, the Prestige 500S was released in the fall of 2010 and produced till 2017. The 500 S offered an interior with three double cabins, and is powered by twin Volvo 435hp with IPS pod drives for speeds up to 34 knots.  The 500S was a replacement to the 50S/510S model, and was replaced by the Prestige 520S in 2018.