The dramatic footage of Steve Jobs’ $140 million Venus superyacht colliding with the $250 million superyacht Lady Moura off the coast of Italy has gone viral after the incident happened last month. The video was captured by Lady Moura’s owner, Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas, who can be heard shouting desperately to grab the attention of the crew of the 78.2-meter Feadship superyacht Venus. A representative of Salinas has now released a statement explaining the event that led to the collision of the two superyachts.
The statement reads: “Lady Moura anchored in the Bay of Naples at a depth of 40 meters with seven shackles of chain deployed, which is the minimum required for safe anchoring under the given conditions. Several hours later, Venus arrived at the anchorage and seemingly misjudged the length of the chain that Lady Moura had in the water.”
The statement continues: “Subsequently, a violent squall with winds of 50-55 knots from an unexpected direction – different from the prevailing forecasts – caused the impact. Despite numerous efforts by Lady Moura’s crew to alert the Venus’s crew by blowing the whistle and hailing on the radio, it appears that the bridge of the Venus was unmanned. Neither vessel dragged anchor.” The statement concluded by stating that both vessels sustained minimal and cosmetic damages and the situation was “amicably and professionally” resolved.
“I’d like to know what the captain and crew were doing that they didn’t see a yacht the size of mine in front of them. The good thing is that nothing more than a scratch happened, but it’s a big scratch that’s going to cost a lot to fix ha ha ha,” Salinas wrote in the caption of the collision video that was published on social media last week. The video and photos from the incident support Salinas’ claim that Venus’s bridge was unmanned, although both vessels were at anchor. A “source close to the matter” previously confirmed that Lady Moura “was on a chain double the length expected in the depth of water they were in,” according to a report by Boat International.
Superyacht Venus was built at Feadship for Apple founder Steve Jobs. Reportedly, the yacht’s sleek, razor-like design was penned by Jobs himself, along with famous designer Philippe Starck. However, he never got the chance to see the vessel completed before his untimely death in 2011. Venus was delivered to Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, in 2012 and has been owned by her ever since. Lady Moura was launched in 1990 for $200 million, and it was the ninth-largest private yacht back then. It was acquired by Ricardo Salinas in 2021.
