UPDATE: State Police Investigate Yacht Fire; Owner ID'd

BRANFORD, CT - The Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosive Investigation Unit is investigating the fire aboard the 70-foot yacht ‘Blue Seas’ last week in Long Island Sound just off the Branford coast to "see what happened out there," Detective Sgt. Paul G. Makuc said.

In flames a few miles off Branford Point last Thursday afternoon, the eight people on board abandoned ship and were rescued by civilian boaters and the U.S. Coast Guard. The Branford Fire Department’s marine units, fire boats, rushed to the scene and were soon joined by Guilford Fire Department marine units.

Firefighters fought the inferno at sea but, as Branford fire chief Tom Mahoney told Patch, it became too dangerous: "Despite our best efforts," it was too well-involved, too dangerous" for boarding to reach the seat of the fire.

Within a couple of hours, the vessel had sunk, albeit was not completely submerged and has been declared by state and federal officials as a marine hazard; boaters are cautioned to steer clear.

Owner of yacht 'Blue Seas'

After several days of investigating, Patch was able to confirm the owner of the yacht is listed as a limited liability corporation called Camp Vercellone.

An officer of the corporation is Pasquale “Pat” Camputaro Jr., who with his brother Joseph Camputaro, runs American Industries. Both live in Griswold. The company is a “significant material manufacturer and contractor” in the state, it notes on its website, with a focus, it says, on “municipal and state highway construction and paving projects” including, it says, the paving of Connecticut roads and highways “including I-95, I-395 I-84, I-91 Rte. 2, Rte 9, and Rte 6.”

According to the state comptroller, since 2011, the state has paid American Industries more than $232 million for road construction, paving and grading among myriad other related projects, a list of which can be found on the business’ website.

According to Yachting World, the price for a 70-foot yacht ranges from $500,000 to $4 million or more. A yacht of this size generally requires a crew including a captain, according to a Business Insider report.

Connecticut State Police fire and explosive unit is investigating

Patch has spoken to the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to determine which state or federal agency was investigating the fire and other related questions and details. Early Wednesday, Patch reported that there were then more questions than answers.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. JG Sarah Dupre said Wednesday morning that while initially the investigation into the fire was not in their domain as it was in state waters and not commercial, a question about just who was piloting Camputaro’s yacht would decide who’d be in charge of finding out the cause.

Dupre said the vessel, while registered as a private craft, was being used recreationally and she said it needs to be clear who was driving the yacht.

“Was the individual operating the boat hired? Was it a hired captain? Or a friend? Anyone can ask and (the craft owner can allow) them to drive your boat. That’s the portion that is under investigation. Was he for hire? There’s still conversations going on about who takes the lead. We’d handle commercial, so if the captain was for hire we’d do (the investigation.) But nothing is clear at the moment still.”

When asked by Patch why it’s not clear who was piloting the yacht and if the owner is providing that information, Dupre said that, "the owner has been cooperative, but it’s just we have to make sure the information is accurate.”

She said that the luxury vessel’s original name, which appears on its official documentation, was ‘Marengo,’ but “the owner changed to Blue Seas.”

When asked for identifying numbers from the vessel, like it's registration, hull or VIN numbers, Dupre said she'd determine which of those she could provide and get back to Patch. She did not.

But by late Wednesday, DEEP spokesperson Will Healey did and was able to fill in a lot of the blanks.

He said the company that will be salvaging the 70-foot yacht, JDZ Marine LLC, was “retained by the boat owners” and identified the owner as Camp Vercellone LLC.

Healy also said that it was determined that the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosive Investigation Unit would investigate the fire.

Makuc, who is leading the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosive Investigation Unit investigation, said they were contacted by DEEP to investigate. Initiated just a couple of days ago, he said CSP fire investigators have spoken to some “witnesses to see what happened out there.” Investigators have been gathering statements,he said, including from who were on board, but he said that investigators have not been able to contact all those on the craft as some are from out-of-state and have since returned to their home states.

Makuc said that CSP fire investigators have been able to determine who was piloting the yacht but have not yet “made contact.”

Fire and explosive investigators will not be able to determine the cause of the fire for perhaps weeks, hampered by a number of factors including that the 70-foot boat sank to the bottom of the Sound and that it’s very likely that “We have lost important components and debris since it’s underwater.” Makuc said that investigators will have to wait until the vessel is raised, put on a barge and then towed ashore to examine the craft and even then, “much may be lost.”

“It’s tough. If this were a building for example, we’d be able to examine the entire scene, all the pieces, but in a case like this, we’re at a slight disadvantage because it’s underwater,” Makuc told Patch.

“This was a very dangerous situation so it’s very fortunate that everyone escaped, were able to get into the water and get rescued so quickly,” he said. “So many different scenarios could have played out, so we’re just grateful there were no injuries.”

Environmental and marine safety concerns

In response to Patch questions, Healy said that two days after the fire and scuttling of the luxury vessel, DEEP’s Emergency Response Unit as well as its police force known as EnCon were at the site. Healey said the agency helped ACV Enviro, an environmental services provider out of Bridgeport with “placement of a containment boom around the sunken vessel.”

He also noted late Tuesday that the DEEP emergency response team encountered “a significant sheen present in the waters surrounding the vessel and fuel bubbling up in the containment area.”

Healey said a “strong smell of diesel fuel was noted approximately 1/8 mile from the boat.” And noted that the DEEP Emergency Response Unit staff were back on the site Monday to check on the boom.

By late Wednesday, again in response to questions, added that the ship's fuel tank is 1,550 gallons and, he said, “We believe based on best available information that it may still contain 500 to 700 gallons of diesel fuel.”

Healey said the containment boom will only capture “free phase” product, meaning “any elements of the product that do not mix with or dissolve in water.”

When the yacht is "in the process of being lifted off the bottom, more extensive booming will be taking place and if any recoverable product occurs we will have environmental contractors on scene to contain and remove that fuel,” Healey said.

Raising of the 70-foot yacht

A Coast Guard “salvage operation,” meaning getting the large craft out from the bottom of the Sound, was supposed to happen this week.

“The boat was expected to be raised this week, though weather conditions may impact those plans,” Healey said Tuesday. “In the meantime, boaters are urged to avoid the area surrounding the boat.”

USCG Lt. Dupre said that raising the yacht is a “priority.”

It’s not clear yet when that will happen, though Dupre said it will likely be next week. In the meantime, the boat’s bow remains visible.

Mariners beware, the USCG and the state’s boating agency, says. According to data provided by the Coast Guard, the location of the large wreck is "approximately" located at 41°-10.262N 072°-48.72W.

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