ANTIGUANICE YACHTING INSIDER NEWSLETTER

Caribarena news reported on December 17, 2012 as follows:

Antigua St. John's - A yacht caught fire shortly after 1pm on Sunday just off Parham Harbour.

Reports reaching Caribarena suggest that the vessel was anchored just over 150 feet away from shore and was unreachable to land-based firefighters. The blaze was therefore referred to the coast guard for assistance.

Police spokesperson Inspector William Holder said to the best of his knowledge there were no casualties in the incident.

By around 3pm the vessel appeared to have been completely gutted.

Caribarena understands that no coast guard vessel with firefighting capabilities was able to respond to the Parham incident, owing to prior engagements elsewhere.

“The boat ... took four hours to burn out and the debris sank. Basically it burned on the ocean,” eyewitnesses told Caribarena.

The total value of the loss has not been ascertained.

Attempts to reach coast guard officials for a comment on the matter were unsuccessful.