Šolta yacht wreck raised from 60 metres
In June a sailing yacht sank between Brač and Šolta after a collision with a fast passenger catamaran, and four people died. At the end of September divers and a floating crane raised the sunken yacht from about 60 metres for prosecutors and surveyors.
Rescue NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH
On 14 June 2026, in Splitska vrata, the channel between Brač and Šolta, a French-flagged Beneteau Oceanis 56.1 collided with the fast catamaran Krilo Eclipse and sank within minutes. Four Czech nationals lost their lives and four people were rescued.
On the afternoon of 27 September 2026 the Split salvage company Krka sub maris raised the wreck. Divers had passed lifting slings under the hull at a depth of about 60 metres before a heavy crane on a pontoon brought her slowly up. According to YACHT the lift took two to three hours, hampered by wash from passing ships, and around nine tonnes of water were pumped out.
The wreck is now in Split's north harbour, where the county prosecutor, the police and appointed surveyors are examining the helm station, rudder and instruments to establish how the collision happened. There are no findings yet.
Reports disagree on which end took the worst damage, one describing the stern as almost completely crushed, others the bow. Responsibility for the collision is open, and we make no comment on it.
What happened
- 14 June: collision with a fast catamaran, the yacht sinks within minutes
- Late September: divers rig lifting slings under the hull at 60 metres
- A pontoon crane lifts the wreck to the surface in two to three hours
- About nine tonnes of water are pumped out and she is taken to Split
- Prosecutor and surveyors examine the helm, rudder and instruments
The bills a case like this leaves behind
Five kinds of cost, and the question worth putting to your own insurer.
Damage to the boat
Is this kind of event a named peril in my policy, and does sinking follow from it?
Salvage and wreck removal
Up to what amount is wreck removal covered when an authority orders it?
What this means for owners
A lift from 60 metres with divers and a floating crane is expensive, and in many countries an authority can order it whatever the owner thinks. Ask your insurer whether wreck removal is paid on top of the hull sum or eats into it, and up to what limit. Ask also whether a collision is a named peril in your hull wording at all.
Our view as NAMMERT, not part of the news. Your own policy wording decides.
Where this comes from
- Source: morski.hr: Olupina jedrilice izvučena sa 60 m dubine
- Source: YACHT: Schiffsunglück in Kroatien, Wrack vor Šolta gehoben
The text is our own; the sources supplied the facts and figures, not the wording.
