Port Denison residents annoyed superyacht remains moored at service jetty after becoming grounded in February

A breakthrough has emerged in the bizarre stalemate over a stricken multi-million-dollar superyacht in Dongara, with the owner confirming the unwelcomed mega-vessel will soon be moved.. It has been choppy waters for the 2003-built, 80-tonne Azure II yacht since it arrived from overseas and was moored inside Port Denison boat harbour in January. It’s believed bad weather ripped the yacht, estimated to be worth about $4 million, from its moorings and caused it to become grounded on shallow reef in January, with residents raising concerns other nearby vessels could be damaged if it drifted away. Then a team of fishermen decided to take action before the situation worsened, and were able to remove the 26.5m yacht from the reef on February 2. Since then, the luxury vessel — owned by local farmer John Grove — has remained moored at a service jetty for more than a month. It is understood the owner was unwilling to move his lavish asset until damage caused to it when it was removed from the reef, but was seen working on the vessel on Friday. Mr Grove denied he was in hiding, telling 7 Regional News he was on the boat “every day or every other day”. “If you don’t have anchors which I lost in a storm you cant set sail to sea,” he said. “It’s very difficult and you’re very limited to the spaces you can use (in Port Denison), 25 metres seems to be the limit and this is 1 metre over the limit.” One department has labelled the yacht a biosecurity risk, despite it being cleared by Customs in Broome when Mr Grove brought it into Australia from Asia. But the saga could soon be over, with Mr Grove saying: “I’ve got an anchor provision back on the front again and getting ready to sail shortly up to Geraldton.” The vessel has been left at the service jetty, owned by the Department of Transport, because fishermen cut one of the chains to an anchor to move the superyacht away from the shallow reef. The anchor remains in the ocean, sources say. The Department of Transport has been alerted to the situation and is working with the owner to have the yacht moved to a suitable location. It is understood Mr Grove has told the department he will move his superyacht from the jetty and relocate it to Geraldton on Sunday. Port Denison resident John Fitzhardinge, who founded Dongara Marine with his wife Beth in 1975, said volunteers could not lift the anchor with the winch so they cut the anchor chain. Another resident, who works in the area but did not want to be named, said the whole story was totally bizarre. He said the boat required two anchors to set sail in the open sea. “It’s too big to stay anywhere in Dongara,” he said. “It’s a nuisance being there. The fishermen saved it from crashing into the bay. That would have caused the lobster fishery to close, because of the environmental impacts it would have.” A DoT spokesperson said the boat should not be where it is now and the department was trying to get the owner to move it on. “The Azure II has been on the Department of Transport’s service jetty at Port Denison since February 5. The service jetty at Port Denison is not intended as long-term accommodation for vessels and is used by the commercial fishing industry who require ready access for loading and unloading,” the spokesperson said. “The Department of Transport has powers under the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act, including the possible seizure of a vessel. Should DoT have to remove and dispose of the vessel, DoT will seek to recover all associated costs from the vessel owner. “The Department of Transport is continuing to work with the owner of the vessel to have it moved from the harbour.”