Megayacht Alucia berthed at Dunedin for less than 14 hours
yesterday, arriving from Lyttelton at 9am and departing for
Bluff at 10.45pm. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Mystery surrounds a fleeting visit to Dunedin by arguably
the world's most sophisticated sub-sea exploration vessel
yesterday.
Alucia, believed to be owned by American billionaire
investor Ray Dalio, berthed at the T/U sheds in Dunedin
between 9am and 10.45pm.
The 56m megayacht had reportedly travelled from Lyttelton and
departed Dunedin for Bluff.
It was the only ship in the world to carry three deep-diving
manned submersibles and was once used by film-maker James
Cameron to discover the remains of Titanic.
Alucia was also used on a special expedition to film
giant squid.
A French-built submarine support ship, Alucia was
reportedly sold to Dalio in May 2011 for $38 million.
It had been completely rebuilt and included a helicopter pad,
submersible hangar, decompression chamber, mixed-gas dive
support, powerful sonar and a luxury interior - able to
accommodate 16 guests.
Mr Dalio founded hedge fund company Bridgewater Associates
and last year was named in Time magazine's list of the 100
most influential people in the world.
According to Forbes magazine, he was the 44th richest person
in North America and the 88th richest person in the world,
with a net worth of $US10 billion as of March 2012.
His aim in buying Alucia was to provide the boat to
scientists and film crews for oceanographic research.
It was unclear yesterday whether Alucia's visit to
Dunedin was merely a pit stop for crew, or if it was berthed
in the city for business.
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