Expedition Motor Yacht — Emergency Equipment Replacement

Project Overview: Emergency Galley Equipment Replacement

This project was an emergency equipment replacement for a 58-metre expedition motor yacht that suffered a galley fire during a charter week in the Eastern Mediterranean. The fire — caused by a fault in the extract ventilation system above the cooking range — damaged three items of equipment: the cooking range itself, the combi oven positioned adjacent to it and the extract canopy. The incident occurred on a Tuesday during an active charter; the vessel was berthed in Bodrum, Turkey.

The captain contacted us within two hours of the incident being extinguished. By Friday of the same week, temporary cooking equipment was aboard and operational. The permanent replacement equipment was installed three weeks later.

Emergency Response: Hours 0–48

Our immediate response focused on establishing what temporary cooking capability could be provided to the vessel within 24 to 48 hours. Our logistics network identified two options: a temporary professional induction cooking suite available from a catering equipment hire company in Istanbul (four-zone professional induction, 48 hours delivery), and temporary microwave and convection oven capability from a local supplier in Bodrum (same-day availability).

We advised the captain to accept both: the local microwave/convection units went aboard within 12 hours to give the chef immediate capability for the remaining charter days; the Istanbul induction suite arrived the following day and was set up in the galley using a temporary electrical supply connection made by the vessel's engineer. Within 36 hours of the incident, the chef was operating a viable if temporary cooking platform.

Permanent Replacement Specification

Simultaneously, we began the permanent replacement specification and procurement process. The fire investigation identified the extract ventilation fault as the root cause, and the permanent replacement specification included a comprehensive upgrade to the ventilation system as well as the equipment replacement.

Equipment replaced:

• Cooking range — the fire damage provided an opportunity to replace the existing gas range with a new six-zone induction cooking suite. The owner accepted the electrical upgrade cost as worthwhile given the improved fire safety profile of an all-electric cooking platform
• Combi oven — Rational iCombi Pro 10-grid replacing the existing legacy combi oven (a different manufacturer), which had been showing declining performance before the fire. The fire damage provided the impetus to switch to the Rational
• Extract canopy — replacement marine-grade stainless canopy with upgraded fire suppression system to prevent recurrence of the root cause

Insurance Claim Management

We worked directly with the vessel's insurance broker and the insurance assessor throughout the claim process — providing itemised equipment valuations, replacement cost estimates and documentation of the pre-fire equipment condition to support the insurance claim. The insurance settlement covered the full replacement cost of the damaged equipment, including the upgrade to the induction cooking platform, on the basis that the replacement was the best available contemporary equivalent of the damaged installation.

Project Outcome

The permanent equipment was installed during a three-week period in a Bodrum yard, completing on schedule before the vessel's next charter booking. The charter was not cancelled — the temporary cooking capability allowed the active charter to be completed, and the vessel's subsequent charters were unaffected. The new induction cooking platform performed without issue in the first post-installation season, and the captain subsequently reported it as an improvement over the gas installation that preceded the fire.