Superyacht brokerage: Yacht deal failure results in order to pay $525,000

Here is an interesting story published by The Vancouver Sun:
Yacht deal failure results in order to pay $525,000, seller of vessel was not given opportunity to complete 10-day sea trial

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

"David Ritchie, one of the founders of Vancouver-based Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers, has been ordered to pay $525,000 for breach of an agreement involving a $100-million yacht he bought two years ago.

The problem arose because the seller of the yacht -- who planned to build three such vessels and sell two -- wanted to take the brand-new vessel on a Mediterranean cruise to check it out before having the others built.

But after the delivery of the yacht, called the Apoise, in late April 2006, Ritchie refused to allow the seller to exercise his cruise rights.

As a result, the seller, Warren E. Halle, began legal action in B.C. Supreme Court for damages for breach of agreement.

Ritchie, who paid 65 million Euros -- about $96 million Cdn -- for the yacht, filed a counterclaim to Halle's action, alleging deficiencies in the yacht's quality.
He was disappointed on delivery of the 67-metre vessel that the loose furniture provided with the Apoise was not of superior quality and did not meet the specifications.

He also alleged there were deficiencies in the wheelhouse doors and the helicopter pad, which had to be fixed at additional expense.

In a judgment released Monday, Justice Bruce Butler dismissed the counterclaim while awarding Halle $525,000 for Ritchie's breach of obligation to provide cruise rights.
Halle, who initially wanted a "superyacht," developed a plan to have three yachts built over five years in Germany by Lürssen, one of the most prestigious builders of superyachts.
He planned to sell the first two and use the profit to reduce his cost of acquiring the third.

Ritchie bought the first yacht, with the agreement that Halle wanted a 10-day sea trial -- the judgment calls it a test drive -- in the Mediterranean during the summer of 2006 so he could determine whether he needed to make refinements to the plans for the next two vessels.

Ritchie was among three brothers who founded Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers in Kelowna 50 years ago.
The company, which went public in 1998, now is the world's largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, with more than 100 offices around the world.

Last year, the company auctioned more than $3 billion US worth of goods, including $600 million over the Internet."
© The Vancouver Sun 2008

The 67m superyacht Apoise built by Lurssen shipyard in 2006 was for sale with Moran Yachts for euros 65,000,000