www.the-triton.com
/tritonnews
March 2013 Network on March 6 & 20 in Ft. Lauderdale. See page C2-3
A12 Some crew will do anything See what 80 of them did in St. Maarten last month. A3
Networking fun We hosted two events last month.
A8-9
Going the way of Nascar David takes exception to so much advertising. A19
Rogue waves hit Sanremo Cars damaged, crew hurt in four-hour series of waves. B1
Italian police search yachts for duty-free fuel violations Foreign-flagged yachts caught up in investigations over illegal use of the Italian libretto di controllo By Lucy Chabot Reed
Yacht crew on more than 100 megayachts in the Yacht & Brokerage Show in Miami Beach, including M/Y Big City, were at their show best in midFebruary, despite some inclement weather and power problems. See photos on page A12 and read some of the news on pages A13 and A11. PHOTO/TOM SERIO Find even more online, www.the-triton.com.
In late January, one day after rogue waves pounded Portosole marina in Sanremo, about 30 agents from the Guardia di Finanza armed with search warrants boarded and searched at least six yachts in Sanremo. The officials targeted foreignflagged vessels and asked for fuel tax-related documents, including charter contracts, oil record books and bunkering agreements. Apparently, according to several captains whose yachts were searched, the officers were trying to identify foreign vessels that have bought dutyfree fuel in the past five years. Commercially registered vessels are permitted to buy duty-free fuel with a valid charter agreement, according to Italian law 504. Last year, however, some customs officers argued that non-EU-flagged vessels that do not have an Italian fiscal agent cannot pay VAT on the charter
because they aren’t registered in the Italian fiscal system and therefore are not entitled to duty-free fuel. “This is a hallucination of some custom officers,” said Silvio Rossi, owner of the Savona, Italy-based fuel bunkering company Rossmare. “Law 504 does not state that allegation. “Unfortunately, the technical government that succeeded the Berlusconi government in late 2011, while imposing VAT on charters in Italian waters, did not gave the right direction to the administration offices in order to avoid confusion, especially toward the foreign operators in the yachting industry.” Italian law on duty free fuel has not changed, he said. It’s just unclear. “Italian law 504/95 says that all the vessels sailing in EU waters, except private pleasure boats, are exempt from paying duty on fuel,” Rossi said. “The difference between a private pleasure
See SEARCH, page A4
Captains: Lots of cash, youth contribute to crew drug use Drug use among yacht crew is a complex subject. It begins with safety and liability issues and stretches to include personal freedom and crew dynamics. Preventing drugs from becoming an issue on board is doable, agreed the captains invited to have this From the Bridge conversation at The Lucy Chabot Reed Triton’s monthly captains lunch, but it’s not a given. Even masterfully announcing the zero-tolerance approach won’t prevent drug use among crew. While it will facilitate their dismissal from one yacht, it doesn’t wipe it out of an industry in which lives are at stake.
So how prevalent is it, and how do yacht captains deal with it? “Anyone who thinks they [crew] aren’t doing drugs is deluding themselves,” one captain said. “It’s prevalent in our society and it’s prevalent with crew who have disposable income.” “That’s the root of all evil in yachting: the cash to do what they want to do,” said another. As always, individual comments are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in a photograph on page A16. “Crew come back to the boat with $800 shoes, $1,200 boots,” a captain said. “Every time they go out, they’re confronted with ‘do I do this or don’t I?’”
“I hope the majority of crew are saying no,” said another captain. His colleagues didn’t think so. And every place crew gather – especially any place with an afterhours club scene such as Miami’s South Beach – drugs show up and crew get tempted. “It’s anywhere like-minded crew congregate,” a captain said. “It just takes one bad apple. They can’t say no. Sooner or later, they get caught up in it.” “It’s just rampant,” another said. “It’s going to implode in yachting very soon.” OK, hold it. Seriously? All around us, we see these magnificent vessels being managed and run by professionals,
See BRIDGE, page A15
TRITON SURVEY
Are drugs used by the captain/crew on your vessel?
Never–80.9% Sometimes –14.0% Often –5.1%
– Story, C1