A Ukrainian crewmember aboard the superyacht Lady Anastasia in Spain partially flooded the yacht while she was at the dock in Spain over the weekend. He did so because he wanted to exact revenge on the yacht’s Russian owner for the attacks on Ukraine.
Officers from Spain’s national civil police force arrested Taras Ostapchuk, an engineer working aboard for 10 years. The arrest took place on Saturday in Port Adriano marina in Mallorca, where the 156’6” (47.73-meter) Lady Anastasia sat docked. According to the Ultima Hora newspaper, Ostapchuk told police that he became enraged after seeing footage of Russian forces invading Ukraine. He also did not resist arrest.
In court, the Ukrainian crewmember expanded on why he became so angry. “The owner of this ship is a criminal who makes a living selling weapons, and now they kill Ukrainians,” the paper says he told the judge. Furthermore, the newspaper’s sister publication, the Majorca Daily Bulletin, quotes him as saying, “I watched the news about the war. There was a video of a helicopter attack on a building in Kyiv. The armaments used are produced by the yacht owner’s company. They were attacking innocents.”
While aboard Lady Anastasia, Ostapchuck says he opened various valves in the engine room. He further instructed other crewmembers not to interfere. The Ukrainian crewmember told the judge he accepted full responsibility and had no regrets, too. The national police later released him.
Lady Anastasia, from the now-defunct Sensation Yachts in 2001, sustained significant damage in her engine room. However, the damage is not beyond repair.
As for Ostapchuck, he informed Ultima Hora yesterday that he intended to fly to Ukraine today to join the fight. He says a missile hit an apartment building similar to one where he lived in the country.
In related news, SeafarerHelp is working with Ukrainian and Russian crewmembers who need help for themselves and/or their families. It’s a free, confidential helpline available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Plus, a new Facebook group, Yachties United for Ukraine, is striving to connect those who wish to volunteer in helping Ukrainian refugees. At press time, it had 400 members.
SeafarerHelp seafarerhelp.org
Yachties United for Ukraine facebook.com/groups/486350649615023
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