The superyacht Venus, designed by late Apple founder Steve Jobs and now owned by his partner Laurene Powell Jobs, collided with a superyacht owned by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego in the Mediterranean.
The collision happened back on July 22nd off the coast of Naples, Italy, but Pliego only posted the footage on Wednesday, August 7th.
It's a tough watch for superyacht fans as it appears Pleigo's vessel, the 105 meter (344 feet) Lady Moura is anchored, as Venus approaches off her port side and bumps her hard near midships. The 78 meter (256 foot) Venus is easily identifiable due to its unique minimalist design and narrow hull shape.
In the video, you can hear the cameraman, presumably Pliego, yelling for someone on the Venus to pay attention to avoid the collision.
Pliego is currently on holiday in the Mediterranean and posted the video directly to X (Twitter). He is the founder and chairmen of Group Salinas, a large conglomerate in telecommunications and media and Mexico's third richest man with an estimated net worth of $13.6 billion USD.
“I’d like to know what the captain and crew were doing that they didn’t see a yacht the size of mine in front of them,” said Pliego in his X post. “The good thing is that nothing more than a scratch happened, but it’s a big scratch that’s going to cost a lot to fix.”
Pliego also added he was sharing the video “so you can see that there is no shortage of idiots in the world and understand how important it is to have a responsible and attentive captain in command.”
Despite the vitriol, Pliego also added a little humour by encouraging his followers to visit his retail stores and “buy Apple products to help [Powell Jobs] pay for their little joke.”
Jobs was well-known for his involvement in the design of Venus, which took several years to develop but sadly wasn't completed before his passing from pancreatic cancer in 2011. The vessel was launched the year following his death by the Feadship shipyard at a total cost of about €105 million ($133 million USD).
"Venus comes from the philosophy of minimum," said designer Philippe Starck of her aesthetic approach. "The elegance of the minimum, approaching dematerialization."
Lady Moura was launched in 1990 from the Blohn & Voss shipyard in Germany. It sold most recently in 2021 for an estimated $125 million USD.
In a statement to Business Insider, a representative from Emerson Collective, the family office of Powell Jobs, confirmed that Venus had collided with Lady Moura. The spokesperson said that only crew were onboard the yacht and that both boats were anchored when a sudden change of wind led to the collision.
Various sources also claimed that neither boat dragged anchor and that the sudden increase in wind, as strong as 55 knots, forced the two vessels into one another.
Following the collision, both vessels were able to continue. Pliego said in his statement on X that his family would be continuing their Mediterranean vacation despite the damage.
AIS tracking indicates that Lady Moura made its way to Mykonos on August 7th while Venus has continued into the Ligurian Sea.
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