Azimut Yacht Destroyed by Fire in Biograd

A twenty meter Azimut flybridge yacht titled m/y Do This with seven persons onboard went on fire in front of the Kumanat district in Biograd, Croatia at about 09:45 hours of Sunday 27 June. Do This was reportedly cruising in the area at about twenty knots, when the yacht suddenly slowed down to eleven knots, and smoke started coming from the engine room.  At this stage the captain stopped the yacht and upon inspecting the engine room found it fuming.  Seeing this the captain tried to extinguish the fire, and after various tries with no success called a may-day, and abandoned ship helped by two nearby Slovenian and Austrian yachts. Later on at about 11:00 hours the fire was extinguished by a fire fighting boat which arrived from Zadar, although the yacht was totalled and burned to the waterline.  No one was injured or intoxicated in the yacht fire, with this making a lot of news because former Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz Christian Strache and his family where onboard the yacht.  The yacht or what remained of it was salvaged by Zadar company Emergensea, who then took the wreck to Lamjana shipyard on the island of Ugljan. 

M/y Do This is an Azimut 68 Plus designed by Stefano Righini, which debuted in the Genoa boat show in the fall of 1999.  This was a motor yacht which re-invented and dominated the twenty meter segment thanks to its futuristic modern looks, and well appointed four double guest cabins, and one crew cabin layout.  A commercial success from its debut, the Azimut 68 Plus evolved into the 68 Evolution in 2005, with a new stern and hull windows design and then produced up to 2008, selling a total of over 150 units.