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Suepr yacht sold in auction

The "Indian Empress" has been sold for €43.5 million in a court-ordered auction following a long running dispute which saw the yacht detained in Malta earlier in 2018- She was auctioned under the authority of Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti. Bids for the vessel began at €25 million at the auction, which took place on June 28 at the law courts in Valletta. The long running dispute dated back to September 2017 when the alleged owner of the "Indian Empress", Vijay Mallya, had abandoned the yacht. It was alleged that more than 40 crew on board have not been paid since this point and are owed more than $1 million in unpaid wages.

Debts continued to mount

The impounded "Indian Empress"’ debts continued to mount after a court ordered it to pay €234,129 in backdated salaries to 15 of its crewmembers, just a month after it was condemned to pay over €600,000 to a fuel supplier and €92,000 to its senior staff. The court order was one in a series of claims over the vessel which was impounded in Malta in March due to an ongoing wage dispute with its crew. Some of the senior crew, who have not left the vessel since it was abandoned, by its owner are owed up to $92,000 in unpaid wages dating back to September 2017. The yacht, bought by Indian multimillionaire Vijay Mallya from a Qatari sheikh for a reported $113 million in 2006, has been using a berth at Manoel Island marina for years, replacing Mallya’s previous 55-metre yacht "Indian Princess". The "Indian Empress" has been impounded in a “maritime lien” which gives the crew claim over the vessel to the value of the unpaid wages. Mallya fled to the UK on March 2, leaving over €1 billion in unpaid loans from 17 banks. The 60-year-old left India just hours before the State Bank of India started proceedings to seize his passport to prevent him from leaving the country. In a judgment handed down earlier this week, Mr Justice Toni Abela ruled that the court was satisfied that the amount was due and upheld the vessel’s arrest, ordering the owner to pay up.

Seized yacht to be auctioned in Valletta

The "Indian Empress", belonging to a former Indian politician, co-owner of the Formula One Force India team, was to be auctioned by the courts of Malta on May 22, 2018. The vessel, owned by multimillionaire Vijay Vittal Mallya, has been held under court order in Malta after being targeted by a maritime lien over a million-dollar wage bill. In April, the yacht's owner had been ordered by a civil court to settle an outstanding bill in favour of local marine repairs and services company Melita Power Diesel Limited after the latter had to summary proceedings to claim the debt. Mr. Mallya was also ordered to pay 25,829 and 42,502 Dollar relative to services rendered to the vessel to Agence Maritime Tropezienne and Luise Associates Riviera & Co. Srl, respectively. The yacht had been arrested by 1st Hall Civil Court at Valletta, on Nov 15, 2017, due to unpaid credits. The vessel remained stationary and under arrest at the Grand Harbour Marina, Valletta.