Three boats moored in a boatyard at the northern end of Portsmouth Harbour are likely to be written off as a result of damage received when one of them exploded
A 40ft Trader motoryacht was among three boats severely damaged by a boat fire on Sunday following an explosion aboard a yacht moored at the Portsmouth Marine Engineering (PME) owned boatyard in Fareham Creek. Two fire appliances and 15 firefighters were called to the scene at around 10.30am and battled to bring the blaze under control.
The explosion aboard the 37ft yacht Intrepid threw debris more than 50 metres, but two people aboard were helped out unharmed. Flames spread rapidly to neighbouring boats, destroying the interior and one side of the cabin of the Trader.
“The boats will likely be written off”, said Martin Psaila, manager of the yard, “The damage done to them is worth at least £20,000”.
An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the explosion, but a gas bottle or a faulty pressure cooker is suspected.
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