The super-yacht Phocea and its captain were arrested for breaking the Immigration and Customs Act of Vanuatu. The coast guard boat stopped the yacht a few miles off the coast of the South Pacific Ocean’s island for regular check. On board of the yacht were found fake passports of Vanuatu and weapons. The police reported that two government ministers were on board of the super-yacht Phocea before the arriving of the customs officials. The preliminary information shows that the yacht was used for drug and weapons traffic, as the investigations in such direction continue. The captian of the yacht Richard Malaise, together with a woman will be due in a court together and may be jailed for up to two years. The super-yacht is one of the largest sailing yachts of the world and managed by Sete Yachts. The preliminary information reveals that the yacht was used for charter and the owner and manager are not engaged with the process in any case.
The super-yacht Phocea (IMO: 8942797) is one of the largest sailing yachts of the world. The yacht has length of 75.00 m, beam of 9.58 m and summer draft of 6.24 m. The yacht has gross tonnage of 547.00 GRT and capacity for 12 passengers. The super-yacht Phocea was built in 1976 by Toulon Naval Dockyard and was fully refit at Lurssen Yards in 1999. The yacht has main engine MTU with output power of 1,056 hp and cruising speed of 12.0 knots.