July 6, 2010
Slipping away with relatively little fanfare as compared to how she got there in the first place, the 158-foot S/Y Legacy departed Key West Harbor on June 9 under her own power. She is now at Bradford Grand Bahama shipyard for repairs.
The Perini Navi-built Legacy was shipwrecked on a bed of seagrass off Key West thanks to Hurricane Wilma in October 2005. Due to environmental constraints as well as some legal concerns, yacht owner Peter Halmos had to remove Legacy along the path she went in to minimize further damage to the sea bed.
Having removed Legacy after several attempts and several years of efforts, yacht and owner remained near Key West as Halmos then was entrenched in a legal battle with his insurers for repairs and salvage costs, among other things.
Earlier this year, Halmos filed a lawsuit against the insurance companies, notably ACE Insurance Company and Strickland Marine Insurance, requesting a jury trial that was scheduled to begin this month.
But in April, the judge ordered both parties in the civil suit to draw up settlement papers prior to going to trial. These documents were classified as confidential, so the terms may not be known to anyone except those involved.In a recent interview, Halmos said he instructed the insurance companies to increase his coverage to replacement value prior to the storm, but that was never completed, and the insurance companies were only willing to pay out vessel value.
Legacy cost about $15 million to build in 1995, but Halmos contends she would cost more than twice that to build today. In addition, Halmos has been trying to collect on a claim from 2001 when another vessel broadsided Legacy while at anchor, causing what he estimated as $4 million in damages.
What will happen to Legacy now is unclear. Neither yard officials nor Halmos would comment for this story. Whatever the outcome, S/Y Legacy has finally, albeit quietly, moved on.
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