The floating palace that ‘won’t go away’

Fears mount over fate of the arrested superyacht with a rich past

● Concerns are mounting over the fate of an arrested 71m superyacht that has not budged from its berth for several months at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.

The Enigma XK, a former patrol vessel converted a decade ago into an award-winning expedition yacht running offering R5, 7m -a-week charters, is berthed outside the five-star Cape Grace Hotel.

Maritime sources have raised concerns that the floating playground is at risk of becoming a derelict eyesore.

Andre Wan, an heir to the Wan family dynasty with business interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), seven years ago told the publication La Tribune Afrique: “The Enigma boat belongs to us.” Though available for charter, it was also intended for private use, he said.

However, efforts this week to confirm ownership of the vessel drew a blank.

V&A stakeholders would only confirm it was undergoing maintenance. “The vessel has been around for some time,” said V&A spokesperson Donald Kau. “They ran expedition chartering to Antarctica for a while and have been here under maintenance in our dry docks on and off.”

He said an owner representative was making rental payments but further client information was confidential.

However, independent maritime sources this week said that the skipper and crew seen aboard had changed over the years, creating confusion around ownership. The vessel no longer had an official agent, creating communication difficulties and concerns around financial accountability. Vessel management was linked to a Kinshasa-based company which did not appear to have a physical presence in South Africa; and in 2022 the vessel was arrested by the sheriff during a civil dispute in the Cape Town high court over unpaid crew fees. Cape Town east sheriff Xolile Ngesi confirmed the vessel is still under arrest.

The Sunday Times could not reach any vessel owner representative this week. Enigma XK appeared deserted on Thursday. Security guards said crew were not always present. A speedboat tender, outboard engines and what appeared to be jet skis, were visible or partly visible on the aft deck, mostly covered. Electronic equipment all appeared to be in place on the vessel’s impressive flybridge.

According to charter listings, the onboard luxuries include a cinema, gym, helipad, Jacuzzi, dive compressor and even a V8 Wrangler Jeep. Enigma XK was converted at considerable expense from a patrol vessel by Richards Shipyard in 2014.

In 2016, the vessel representative Lionel Parides denied there were any mechanical defects. Parides, no longer involved with the vessel, this week said he believed the Wan family still owned the vessel, but could not confirm as much.

Benjamin Fetas, who previously worked on Enigma XK and was one of the applicants in the high court litigation that culminated in the vessel’s arrest, confirmed there was a “positive outcome for the plaintiff” in the case but could not comment further as he was bound by a confidentiality agreement after leaving the yacht.

The V&A has had superyacht problems before, notably the 67m Blue Shadow that was briefly attached by the sheriff of the Cape Town high court in a civil case involving Equatorial Guinea vice-president Teodoro “Teddy” Obiang and a South African businessman who was unlawfully imprisoned in that country for 18 months.

Another superyacht, Summit One, shipped to South Africa from Malaysia for an extensive refit, ended up in a commercial dispute before being abandoned in Cape Town harbour for 20 years before being sold on auction.

A source with knowledge of Enigma XK’s long Cape Town history said port stakeholders considered the vessel a high risk: “Ideally they want it gone. There are issues with engine problems. There seems to be a trickle of payment and then it stops. That has caused the boat to become quite problematic.”

Another well-placed maritime source said Enigma XK suffered engine and or fire damage and appeared unable to reach her home port.

Berths at the V&A are in high demand due to an influx of superyachts over the past year due to the deteriorating security situation in the Red Sea. Many skippers have chosen to reroute away from the Suez Canal and around the Cape.

However, some stakeholders say the V&A needs to ensure its superyacht clients play by the rules. Attaching a rogue vessel had potentially serious cost implications, particularly in cases where it lacked a reputable agent to act as guarantor.

“That’s when you find yourselves high and dry,” said one source. “I think that if there isn’t pressure put on this boat they [the V&A] will sit with a beautiful vessel that will become a derelict vessel,” he said.