In July 2024, the yacht Lovebug sank in Chesapeake Bay, without any casualties. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, the probable cause of Lovebug sinking was unnoticed flooding through the garage door, left partially open.
On July 27 of last year, the 122-footer (38-meter) was cruising at low speed in Chesapeake Bay when she began listing heavily to starboard. The captain issued a MAYDAY, with two other vessels responding. Upon arriving on the scene in the West River, south of Annapolis, they discovered Lovebug aground and severely listing. The Lovebug sinking occurred in about 12 feet (3.7 meters) of water. All five people aboard escaped with their assistance. Her captain indicated that he headed to shallow water before everyone had to abandon the yacht.
NTSB investigators spoke with the captain, the three crewmembers, and one of the owners, all of whom were aboard that day. The captain informed investigators that when he realized the megayacht was listing, he checked bridge indicators. Nothing was awry, though, and no alarms sounded, either. However, the listing worsened quickly, and shortly thereafter the yacht lost power. The captain therefore reduced speed from about 7 to 10 knots to about 4 knots. Because the listing rapidly became dangerous, he ordered everyone to abandon the yacht, and they jumped into the water. “From the time the vessel started listing until the owner and crew were in the water, less than 4 minutes had elapsed,” the NTSB report states. Lovebug was at about a 45- to 50-degree angle to starboard and stuck in the mud, further noticeably down aft.
Salvage began on August 13, delayed partially due to a tropical storm. During preparations, divers noticed the tender-garage door was partially open. Furthermore, they discovered the watertight engine-room door was open. They temporarily sealed it to permit pumping water out of Lovebug. Salvors then removed the seal and closed the door before fully raising her, ultimately towing her to a yard in New Jersey on September 1.
The Lovebug sinking investigators say the captain told them he saw the tender garage was closed before departing the dock. Both NTSB investigators and a surveyor inspected the superyacht’s hull at the yard for damage. They found no noticeable hull breach or other source of water intrusion either inside or outside the yacht. The yacht had passed classification-society inspection the month prior as well.
Due to the lack of other possible ingress points, the NTSB concludes that the Lovebug sinking likely resulted from the partly open garage door. A non-watertight compartment according to her stability booklet, the area filling with water would have pushed her stern lower. Subsequently, water reaching the open engine-room door would have allowed flooding of the engine room. Taken together, these would have detrimentally impacted the yacht’s stability. Any external force such as wind or waves, even minor, then would have likely caused her to list.
The estimated damage to Lovebug, since repaired, was $8 million, according to the report.
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