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Burton-Taylor yacht seized in Colombo
View(s):‘M.Y. Kalizma’, the yacht gifted by actor Richard Burton to his wife and actress Elizabeth Taylor in 1967, has been seized in the Colombo Port by an insurance company that spent nearly US$ 100,000 to pay the crew who had been abandoned by the vessel owner since September last year.
Action was filed by the insurance company Assuranceforeningen SKULD (Gjensidig) of Norway in the Admiralty Court of Sri Lanka to recover the money from V M Marine Ltd, the owner of Kalizma, which is registered in the Cayman Islands. Under international law, the company is authorised to seize the vessel for non payment of crew wages.
The affidavit was filed in the Admiralty Court by S R Sproule de Saram, who holds the power of attorney for the Norwegian insurance company. V M Marine Ltd had entered into a contract of insurance with the company to provide financial security for the vessel. Ten crew members were not paid wages ranging from US$ 3,200 to US$ 21,000. These were settled by the insurance company under the terms of its agreement.
But, the vessel’s owner has not indemnified or paid the insurance company the money due to it. The amount being claimed is US$ 99,620 and a further 4,800 sterling pounds together with interest and costs.
It is not known why Kalizma docked in Colombo last year. The crew members are still here and are due to leave next week. The 50-metre vessel has a luxurious vintage interior and navigation system. According to published articles, it was built in 1906 in a Scottish shipyard and originally launched as ‘Minona’. It is said to be older than the RMS Titanic.
It was originally designed to be a private yacht and was commissioned to serve during World Wars I and II as a support boat for the Royal Navy. According to one article, Kalizma left for Colombo from the Seychelles in March last year. Its captain was quoted as saying that this temporary departure was “due to the fact that Seychelles does not have a dry dock to accommodate a vessel of the size and weight of the ‘Kalizma’.”
It was due to return to Seychelles in November 2017, but this did not happen. Instead, the crew were abandoned.