A luxury, 100-foot yacht docked in Marina del Rey that had fireworks and 1,000 rounds of ammunition aboard erupted into a fiery inferno before sinking on Wednesday night.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to reports of the blaze at 2201 Basin A shortly after 8:30pm and thankfully, the two passengers that were onboard escaped with only minor injuries. With Mariners Village and the Courtyard Marriott close by, this was quite the spectacle in the harbor, burning brightly against the black night sky and as such it was captured by many on video and posted to social media.
Called The Admiral, the vessel reportedly had large amounts of both fireworks and ammunition of an unknown caliber stored below deck on the starboard side of the vessel. As first responders worked to contain the blaze, which threatened nearby boats and residential structures, fireworks began exploding from the deck of the boat.
According to Boat International, the twin-diesel-engine yacht was built by US shipyard Broward Marine in 1986. It featured four cabins including the master suite, all were equipped with flatscreen televisions, entertainment centers and en suite facilities. It could hold 10 guests with three crew members and was last listed in 2018 for $985,000.
It’s unclear exactly how the fire started, but only two hours after the blaze began, the vessel began sinking into the not terribly deep water of the marina at the end of Bora Bora Way. The boat was declared fully submerged at 11:33pm.
Fire crews set up a boom in the area of water where the boat was docked in an attempt to capture any contaminants leaking from the vessel as it was sinking. According to a Coast Guard spokesperson, an estimated 4,000 gallons of diesel was dumped into the water.
scott.snowden@smdp.com
