motor yacht minx accident

Investigation report into collision between motor yachts Minx and Vision published by MAIB

MAIB has published a report on the investigation into collision between motor yachts Minx and Vision.

In the evening on 25 May 2019, the Gibraltar registered motor yacht Vision collided with the UK registered motor yacht Minx, which was anchored at Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes, France. Minx’s crewman was on the foredeck and there was nothing he could have done to prevent being fatally struck by Vision’s bow. The accident happened because Vision’s skipper underestimated the risk associated with attempting a fast, close pass by the anchored Minx, a manoeuvre intended to provide an opportunity for the guests to wave goodbye, as the charterer had asked. Vision’s skipper had also consumed cannabis, which is likely to have impaired his judgement.

Safety Issues – it is vital for the safe operation of a commercial motor yacht, that the skipper prioritised the safety of the crew, passengers and the vessel

– Vision’s surface-drive propulsion system was complex to operate and there were insufficient margins for error in the skipper’s plan to allow for any misjudgement, loss of control or failure

– the use of recreational drugs, even in a ‘tolerant’ individual can impair decision-making and responses, which are vital for the safe operation of vessels

– the accident took place in an anchorage with a 5-knot speed limit applicable to all vessels; however, Vision was proceeding at over six times that limit. Speed limits exist for a reason and it was unsafe to proceed at high speed in the anchorage

Recommendation A safety recommendation (2021/101) has been made to the Royal Yachting Association and the Professional Yachting Association to promulgate the safety lessons from this accident to owners and operators of commercial motor yachts.

Download the report on the collision between motor yachts Minx and Vision: 2021-01-Vision-Minx-Report

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• Maritime and shipping
• Maritime accidents and serious incidents

Minx and Vision report published

Fatal collision between 2 motor yachts in Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes, France.

Our accident investigation report into a collision between the motor yacht Vision and the anchored motor yacht Minx resulting in the loss of 1 life on 25 May 2019, is now published.

The report, available via this link, contains details of what happened, actions taken and recommendations made.

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British crew member dies in Cannes superyacht collision

A 29-year-old British crew member died on Saturday (May 27) following a yacht collision near Cannes.

The British man was a crew member working on board the 26.82 metre Princess Minx , which was anchored off the island of Saint Marguerite.

He was fatally injured on Saturday (May 27) when Minx was in collision with the 27.96 metre Pershing Vision , which was performing “manoeuvres” at the time of impact, according to the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean.

A rescue boat and medical crew, comprising a doctor, nurse and firefighter, were shortly dispatched and made “all attempts at resuscitation”, a statement from the Prefecture said. Despite their efforts however, the British crew member suffered a cardiac arrest and died at the scene.

The 17 passengers on board Minx and Vision at the time of the incident were then evacuated to Port Canto. An investigation into the incident has since been launched by the maritime prosecutor's office of Marseille.

Designed by Bernard Olesinski, the 26.82 metre Princess yacht Minx was delivered in 2015 and reaches a top speed of 29 knots.

Delivered in 2013, the 27.96 metre Pershing yacht Vision can accommodate a total of eight guests and can reach a top speed of 41 knots.

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Accident report - MYs Minx and Vision, near Cannes

28 January 2021

Accident Investigation Report 1/2021

On 25 May 2019 at 8:52pm, the Gibraltar registered motor yacht Vision collided with the UK registered motor yacht Minx, which was anchored near Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes, France. 

Minx’s crewman was on the foredeck and there was nothing he could have done to prevent being fatally struck by Vision’s bow. The accident happened because Vision’s skipper underestimated the risk associated with attempting a fast, close pass by the anchored Minx, a manoeuvre intended to provide an opportunity for the guests to wave goodbye, as the charterer had asked. Vision’s skipper had also consumed cannabis, which is likely to have impaired his judgement.

Following the accident, an investigation was conducted by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) as a means to ascertain the cause and to prevent future accidents.

To read the full accident report here . 

This includes all the details of what happened, actions taken, and recommendations.

Safety issues uncovered in the investigation:

It is vital for the safe operation of a commercial motor yacht, that the skipper prioritised the safety of the crew, passengers and the vessel

Vision’s surface-drive propulsion system was complex to operate and there were insufficient margins for error in the skipper’s plan to allow for any misjudgement, loss of control or failure.

The use of recreational drugs, even in a ‘tolerant’ individual can impair decision-making and responses, which are vital for the safe operation of vessels.

The accident took place in an anchorage with a 5-knot speed limit applicable to all vessels; however, Vision was proceeding at over six times that limit. Speed limits exist for a reason and it was unsafe to proceed at high speed in the anchorage.

Recommendation

A safety recommendation (2021/101) has been made to the Royal Yachting Association and the Professional Yachting Association to promulgate the safety lessons from this accident to owners and operators of commercial motor yachts.

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The Howorths

Drugs Played Major Role in Superyacht Collision that Claimed Life of Crewman

Drugs, taken by the French Captain of a 28 metre Pershing motor yacht, impaired his decision-making and responses that lead to the death of a British deckhand in a high speed collision.

This is just one of the findings of an inquiry conducted by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Board ( MAIB ) as it reports on the fatal collision between 2 motor yachts in Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes, France.

The incident happened at 2100 on 25 May 2019.  It was the last day of the Cannes Film Festival when the Gibraltar registered 28 metre superyacht Vision hit the bow of the 27 metre UK registered Princess motor yacht Minx while making 33 knots in an anchorage where the speed limited is posted at 5 knots.

At the time of the collision  Minx  was anchored north of the island of St Marguerite, near Cannes, France.

Jake Feldwhere, the 29 year old rooky deckhand working on the foredeck of the Princess could do nothing to prevent being fatally struck by  Vision ’s bow. 

The MAIB report states “The accident happened because  Vision ’s skipper underestimated the risk associated with attempting a fast, close pass by the anchored  Minx , a manoeuvre intended to provide an opportunity for the guests to wave goodbye, as the charterer had asked. Vision ’s skipper had also consumed cannabis drugs, which is likely to have impaired his judgement.”

Jake Feldwhere, from Midhurst in West Sussex, had only just completed his basic training course and had recently arrived in the south of France.  He was on the foredeck to raise the anchor and died on his very first trip to sea.

According to a statement from the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean he suffered a cardiac arrest and died despite the efforts of medical staff onboard a rescue boat called to the scene.

An article in the Times newspaper , reveals that the guests on both boats had been partying together, initially in a restaurant ashore while their crews remained on the yachts.  The two groups agreed to continue their party at sea and the yachts were rafted together so they could carry on drinking on the boats.

The crew of  Vision  started preparing to return to Monaco at about 2030 and the guests returned to their boats.

Following the collision, seventeen crew and guests, in a somewhat shocked state, were safely evacuated to a nearby harbour.

Afterwards, both vessels were towed to Port Pierre-Canto and the maritime office of Marseilles launched an investigation.

Following blood tests taken the following day which proved positive for cannabis drugs.  French prosecutors revealed at the time that the captain of  Vision  had been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

A safety recommendation (2021/101) has been made by the MAIB to the Royal Yachting Association and the Professional Yachting Association urging them to promulgate the safety lessons from this accident to owners and operators of commercial motor yachts.

The accident report suggests that the surface-drive propulsion system on board the Pershing was complex to operate and that there were insufficient margins for error in the skipper’s plan to allow for any misjudgement, loss of control or failure.  It highlighted the vital need for the safe operation of a commercial motor yacht, that the skipper prioritised the safety of the crew, passengers and the vessel and clearly states that the use of recreational drugs, even in a ‘tolerant’ individual can impair decision-making and responses, which are vital for the safe operation of vessels

The report concludes saying the accident took place in an anchorage with a 5-knot speed limit applicable to all vessels; however,  Vision  was proceeding at over six times that limit. Speed limits exist for a reason and it was unsafe to proceed at high speed in the anchorage.

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MAIB publishes accident report on collision between two motor yachts

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has this month published an accident report on the collision between the Gibraltar registered motor yacht, Vision, and the UK registered motor yacht, Minx. 

The collision, which occurred on 25 May 2019 in Cannes, France, resulted in the death of Minx’s crewman, who was on the foredeck at the time of the incident. The report revealed that Vision and Minx’s guests had spent that afternoon and evening anchored and drinking and partying together. On departure from the anchorage, Vision’s skipper, at the suggestion of Vision’s charterer, attempted a high-speed close pass of the anchored Minx. The aim of the close pass was to provide an opportunity for the guests to wave goodbye to their friends on-board Minx. However, during the manoeuvre Vision’s skipper lost control of the yacht and it collided with the anchored Minx.

The MAIB has ascertained that the accident between the two motor yachts occurred due to a collection of factors. Firstly, the results of the Vision’s skipper’s blood test indicated that he was under the influence of cannabis at the time of the accident. This was likely to have significantly impaired his decision-making, and his ability to respond and react appropriately. 

The accident took place at Île Sainte-Marguerite, an anchorage with a 5-knot speed limit which is applicable to all vessels. At the time of the accident, Vision was travelling at over six times that limit. The MAIB’s report found that travelling at high speeds was unsafe in such an anchorage. 

Vision’s surface-drive propulsion system was also a factor in the collision, it was deemed complex to operate and there were insufficient margins for error in the skipper’s plan to allow for any misjudgement, loss of control or failure. The report identified that were a series of hydrodynamic effects immediately prior to collision in the system which would have been difficult for the skipper to predict or counter.

The RYA will continue to work with the MAIB to establish and share further learnings from this tragic accident, once there has been an opportunity to assess all contributing factors.

You can find further information about the collision on GOV.UK.

For more information on general boat safety, visit the advice pages of the RYA Safe Boating hub .

By SuperyachtNews 21 Jan 2022

UPDATE: 63m M/Y Utopia IV spotted in Miami following collision

M/y utopia iv has been spotted in miami following an incident involving a collision with a tanker on christmas eve….

Image Credit:@ Diegoluca  on Instagram

The 63 metre Rossinavi motor yacht M/Y Utopia IV has been spotted in Miami following an incident involving a collision with a tanker on Christmas Eve last year. While the superyacht itself remains relatively unscathed considering the impact of the collision, investigations will need to be continued in order to identify the cause of the accident.

It has been confirmed that owners Loren and JR Ridinger were not on board during the accident and that there were no fatalities or serious injuries as a result of the crash.

SuperyachtNews coverage of the collision can be seen below -

63m M/Y Utopia IV collides with tanker in the Bahamas -27/12/2021

Image courtesy of salvage_and_wreckage

M/T Tropic Breeze was struck by the 63 metre Rossinavi superyacht M/Y Utopia IV at 22:03 pm on Christmas Eve just 15 miles off the coast of New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The 49 metre product tanker was travelling on its proper watch when it was ‘rear ended’ by the aluminium hull charter vessel. The collision led to the tanker sinking 2000 feet below sea level, however, all seven crew members were rescued without injury by M/Y Amara who were quick to respond to the distress call.

Several reports online have suggested that crew on-board M/Y Utopia IV did suffer minor injuries, however, no official statements have yet been made.

The tankers cargo onboard included non-persistent materials only - all of which have floated to the waters surface and subsequently have been easily dissipated into the atmosphere, meaning clean up action is only minimal. The 32 year old tanker was found by the authorities to be fully-compliant with all national and international safety and vessel integrity standards just a few weeks before the incident. Due to the depth of the ocean at the location where the incident occurred, it has been decided by authorities that the tanker can not be salvaged safely.

M/Y Utopia IV was originally commissioned by an American client in November 2014. Utopia IV’s unique features include a 70sqm beach club, three spa pools and a helipad. The 11m beam allows for a total interior volume of 986gt, and features a fast-displacement aluminium hull. After the launch, Rossinavi described the vessel as ‘fast and powerful’, with a maximum speed of 33 knots, an average cruising speed of 26 knots, and a range of  about 3,300 nautical miles. The speed upon impact is currently unknown.

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It is just the same question after any collision, even with true professionals involved ...

How in this day and age can this happen!!!! BNWAS and radar and posting a proper lookout on the bridge. Maybe too much reliance on technology and not enough looking out the window with a set of bins! Whether the master likes it or not it is down to him.

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Cannabis, partying and high-speed led to fatal collision, says MAIB

Thursday, January 28th, 2021

Written by: Marine Industry News

The Marine Accident and Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its findings into the fatal collision between Gibraltar registered Vision (pictured above), and UK registered Minx , in Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes. The accident happened in May 2019.

According to the report, Vision and Minx’s guests had spent the afternoon and evening drinking and partying together. On departure from the anchorage, Vision’s skipper attempted a high-speed close pass of the anchored Minx (so the charterer and guests could wave goodbye), travelling at over six time the 5-knot speed limit. He lost control of the yacht and it collided with the anchored Minx .

One of Minx’s crewman, who was on the foredeck, was fatally struck by Vision’s bow, says MAIB’s report. Vision’s skipper underestimated the risk associated with attempting a fast, close pass. This came at the end of hours of partying during which Vision’s skipper consumed cannabis.

The skipper, a French national, had been involved in commercial sail and motor yachting all his working life. He held a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Yachtmaster (Offshore) (Power) Certificate of Competency and had been in charge of Vision for a year. Before that he’d operated a smaller surface-drive propelled motor yacht. However, he was not suitably qualified to take charge of the yacht, as his RYA Yachtmaster certificate had not been commercially endorsed.

On the day after the accident, says MAIB, French authorities took a blood sample, which showed cannabinoid compounds. The French laboratory’s toxicology report stated that ‘since the skipper had not consumed cannabis between the time of the incident and the taking of samples, he was under the influence of cannabis at the time of the incident’.

The accident narrative

Groups from both yachts had dined ashore at a restaurant while the crews remained on board.

During their meal, the guests agreed to continue the party back on board, and Vision’s charterer called the skipper and asked him to raft up with Minx . Vision’s skipper contacted Minx’s skipper and discussed the plan, then let out more anchor chain and manoeuvred the yacht alongside Minx . By about 1830, everyone was back on board and the drinking and partying continued with most of the guests on board Vision .

During the party, Vision’s skipper, encouraged by the guests, did a daring swallow-dive into the sea from the flybridge.

At about 2030, Vision’s crew started preparing to return to Monaco, so the guests were all asked to return to their own yachts; it was still daylight with good visibility, light airs and the sea was calm.

Vision’s skipper went to the flybridge with the charterer and one of the guests; the engines were running, and the mate was raising the anchor. When on the flybridge and in conversation with the skipper, Vision’s charterer asked if there would be an opportunity to pass Minx when departing the anchorage to allow the guests to wave goodbye to their friends on board the anchored yacht.

At about the same time, Minx’s skipper started the engines and the crewman, Jake Feldwhere, went to the foredeck to prepare for lifting the anchor.

After Vision had manoeuvred clear of Minx , it was discovered that a guest’s mobile phone had been left on board. Vision’s skipper then manoeuvred the yacht back close to Minx so the mobile phone could be returned, then Vision started opening away.

Having opened to a distance of 750m from Minx , Vision’s skipper turned the yacht to an easterly heading, moved down from the flybridge to the internal wheelhouse, and accelerated ahead. The skipper’s intention was to conduct a fast slalom-type manoeuvre close down the port side of the anchored Minx .

As its speed increased, Vision started planing and its propellers were creating a ‘rooster tail’ water spray astern. As the distance between the two yachts rapidly decreased, Vision’s mate, who had been stowing fenders, had joined the skipper at the internal steering position. In the final approach, Vision’s skipper made an alteration of course to starboard to head directly towards Minx , intending to then swing almost immediately back to port close by the anchored yacht. During the manoeuvre Vision did not respond to the skipper’s application of port wheel and it collided with Minx’s bow, striking the crewman.

MAIB’s report found that Vision’s surface-drive propulsion system was complex to operate and there were insufficient margins for error in the skipper’s plan to allow for any misjudgement, loss of control or failure.

AIS data shows that Vision’s speed immediately prior to collision was just under 33 knots.

On impact, Minx shuddered violently and heeled to starboard, resulting in most of the crew and guests being thrown to the deck, with several suffering minor injuries.

It was immediately apparent to Minx’s skipper that the crewman was very seriously injured, so he reported the accident to the French authorities.

One of Minx’s crew and three of the guests went to the foredeck to help the injured crewman, but the severity of his injuries meant that there was little they could do to help him.

Vision’s skipper was shocked by what had happened so the mate took control and anchored the yacht.

After the accident, French emergency services and maritime police attended the scene; the injured crewman could not be resuscitated. Later that evening, both yachts proceeded under police escort to marina berths in Cannes.

Read MAIB’s full report online.

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‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Finale: A ‘Seinfeld’ Throwback, Plus Charm, Minus Structure

By Daniel D'Addario

Daniel D'Addario

Chief TV Critic

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SPOILER ALERT:  This article discusses plot points from the series finale of “ Curb Your Enthusiasm .”

Larry David  got the opportunity to revise the controversial ending he’d chosen for his first widely loved TV series, and he stayed pretty close to the formula. But while his previous series ended with its protagonist in prison, his current one is ending with David himself walking free.

The “Seinfeld” finale — which David, who had left the series, returned to write — was pilloried at the time, but if one watches it today, outside the heat of the show’s press-choreographed march to the finish line, it’s not bad. It’s just a bit sloppy. In that, it was already more like a generic episode of “Curb” than a generic episode of “Seinfeld” — and then the “Curb” finale just reiterated the formula. I’ll admit that I was surprised to realize that this “Curb” episode, in the present day, really was just doing the trial formula all over again, and that I was dismayed that the character witnesses, this time, were plucked generally though not exclusively from recent episodes. (“Seinfeld’s” witnesses, like the Soup Nazi, had the weight of having blossomed by popular mandate into TV history; “Curb’s” included Bruce Springsteen, talking about something that happened on last week’s episode; Alexander Vindman was also back, for some reason.)

Jail can’t wake him up, but TV production might: One can read this episode as the response to lessons he learned from the response to the “Seinfeld” finale. And there are, indeed, moments of fun that were missing there — David and Seinfeld, walking out of prison together, remark how much more fun it would have been if Jerry, Elaine and the gang had gotten a similar last-minute reprieve. Ha-ha. And Essman has great moments elsewhere in the finale, before her appearance in the out-of-ideas final scene.

But the finale spoke, in the main, to both the strengths and weaknesses of “Curb” relative to what might — had he been less ambitious in the years after — have been David’s great work. “Seinfeld” was elastic for a network show, but it had its limits. “Curb,” which debuted as a regular series in 2000 after first airing as a special in 1999, is as old as this century, and has moved forward by perpetually pushing limits. It’s done a solid if not always optimally elegant job of tracking the evolving dinner-party trending topics over two decades. The show’s on-the-fly nature — with its wholly improvised conversations built around the loose outline of a plot — effectively invented a category of entertainment, but also means that the show is by its nature a blunt instrument. Larry and his friends are loopily, outrageously funny; they live out loud; they play games of one-upsmanship that are genuinely delightful to watch. But they are rarely sly.

This, as much as the West Coast-vs.-East Coast divide or the profanity allowed by premium cable, is what differentiates “Curb” from “Seinfeld” — on the latter series, (nearly) every episode’s final minutes had a pleasing, Swiss-watch quality, as the disparate storylines clicked neatly into place and the characters came back together once more. “Curb” has made a practice of bringing its episodes in for memorable landings, too, but its endings more frequently come as wild, who’d-have-thunk narrative swings. (This has become truer and truer in recent seasons, the construction of which has grown ever more lackadaisical.) On “Seinfeld,” one admires the logic; on “Curb,” one admires the audacity.

Which also meant that on “Seinfeld,” those who were not bitterly disappointed by the finale could appreciate a certain poetic logic to it. The only poetry to “Curb’s” finale was free verse. (It’s telling that on “Seinfeld’s” finale, we saw all the witnesses and got their stories placed in context; toward the end of “Curb’s” testimony against Larry, a prosecutor played by Greg Kinnear was just listing off things that had happened on a series that was improvisatory to the end.) Larry will be missed. But he may just deserve a break. 

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Russian trolls target U.S. support for Ukraine, Kremlin documents show

When President Biden proposed an additional $24 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine in August, Moscow spin doctors working for the Kremlin were ready to try to undermine public support for the bill, internal Kremlin documents show.

In an ongoing campaign that seeks to influence congressional and other political debates to stoke anti-Ukraine sentiment, Kremlin-linked political strategists and trolls have written thousands of fabricated news articles, social media posts and comments that promote American isolationism, stir fear over the United States’ border security and attempt to amplify U.S. economic and racial tensions, according to a trove of internal Kremlin documents obtained by a European intelligence service and reviewed by The Washington Post.

One of the political strategists, for instance, instructed a troll farm employee working for his firm to write a comment of “no more than 200 characters in the name of a resident of a suburb of a major city.” The strategist suggested that this fictitious American “doesn’t support the military aid that the U.S. is giving Ukraine and considers that the money should be spent defending America’s borders and not Ukraine’s. He sees that Biden’s policies are leading the U.S. toward collapse.”

The documents — numbering more than 100 and dating between May 2022 and August 2023 — were provided to The Post to expose Kremlin propaganda operations aimed at undermining support for Ukraine in the United States, as well as their scale and methods. The files are part of a series of leaks that have allowed a rare glimpse into Moscow’s parallel efforts to weaken support for Ukraine in France and Germany , as well as destabilize Ukraine itself.

Russia has been ramping up its propaganda operations as part of a second front that current and former senior Western officials said has become almost as important for Moscow as the military campaign in Ukraine — especially as congressional approval for further aid has become critical for Kyiv’s ability to continue defending itself.

“It is Russia’s top priority to stop the weapons, so they are throwing things at the wall to see what sticks,” said one Republican staffer on Capitol Hill. “We are seeing a broad-based campaign that has multiple lines of effort, some of which work better than others. The Russians don’t care. They are just trying to seed the environment.” The staffer and other Western officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive assessments.

The campaign has attempted to paint Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as corrupt, emphasized the numbers of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, called for border security to be funded over any aid to Ukraine, and described “white Americans” as the principal losers because of foreign aid, the documents show.

The strategy promotes views from the far-right wing of the Republican Party and calls for some of the messaging to be voiced by American “public opinion leaders and politicians,” one of the documents shows, but it does not name any people who could be enlisted to do that.

Many of the documents contain metadata showing they were written by members of a team working for Ilya Gambashidze, head of the Moscow PR firm Social Design Agency. The United States imposed sanctions on Gambashidze last month for his involvement in “a persistent foreign malign influence campaign” at the Kremlin’s direction, including the creation of websites designed to impersonate legitimate media outlets in Europe, part of a campaign that Western officials have called “Doppelganger.”

Neither Gambashidze nor Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to a request for comment.

The campaign is part of an increasingly sophisticated strategy that has built on nearly 10 years of Kremlin efforts to elevate the voices of populist anti-establishment politicians opposed to the U.S. global role, analysts and former American officials said.

With the far-right wing of the Republican Party essentially blocking passage of any further assistance to Ukraine since August, the Kremlin’s efforts to undermine support for Ukraine may have so far gained more traction in the United States than anywhere else.

“The impact of the Russian program over the last decade … is seen in the U.S. congressional debate over Ukraine aid,” said Clint Watts, the head of Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center. “They have had an impact in a strategic aggregate way.”

“You would never have previously heard … politicians in the U.S. saying Ukraine is not significant enough and we will not support NATO. On a digital platform, your ability to do these things works.”

Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Sunday it was “absolutely true” that some Republican members of Congress were repeating Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine. “We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages — some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor,” Turner said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Watts said Russia “tells audiences 80 percent of what they are already hearing and 20 percent what they want the audiences to hear. They match the demand for information and then add some of their own information, and over time, that’s highly effective.”

Kremlin efforts to interfere in the U.S. political system first became evident in the run-up to the 2016 presidential elections, when the U.S. intelligence community concluded that Russia had deployed a network of trolls — creators of fake social media accounts — to spread disinformation boosting the presidential campaign of Donald Trump and seeking to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, including stories using material hacked from the Clinton campaign. Since then, some social media platforms have sought to tighten scrutiny of hostile state actors, but disinformation campaigns still proliferate.

Plans by Gambashidze’s team refer to using “short-lived” social media accounts aimed at avoiding detection. Social media manipulators have established a technique of using accounts to send out links to material and then deleting their posts or accounts once others have reshared the content. The idea is to obscure the true origin of misleading information and keep the channel open for future influence operations, disinformation researchers said.

Propaganda operatives have used another technique to spread just a web address, rather than the words in a post, to frustrate searches for that material, according to the social media research company Alethea, which called the tactic “writing with invisible ink.” Other obfuscation tricks include redirecting viewers through a series of seemingly random websites until they arrive at a deceptive article.

One of the documents reviewed by The Post called for the use of Trump’s Truth Social platform as the only way to disseminate posts “without censorship,” while “short-lived” accounts would be created for Facebook, Twitter (now known as X) and YouTube.

Pushing content every single day

The Kremlin turned in earnest to undermining American support for Ukraine in January 2023. Sergei Kiriyenko, the Kremlin’s first deputy chief of staff, called in the team of political strategists already working on campaigns to weaken backing for Kyiv in Europe, including Gambashidze, and asked them to expand their efforts, the documents show. The strategists employ dozens of troll farm employees and translators.

The Moscow spin doctors were soon ordered to create media content for Americans that would promote corruption allegations involving the Ukrainian leadership — “the sale and theft of weapons” given to Ukraine, one document shows.

The strategists were told to cultivate an environment in which “Americans are not ready to sacrifice their well-being for the sake of the conflict in Ukraine,” as well as representing Russia’s increasingly close relationship with China as a new threat “created by the U.S.’s own activities.”

When Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a leading opponent of aid to Ukraine, warned of “a dangerous bipartisan consensus that is leading us into war with Russia” and slammed Washington’s initial $40 billion aid package for Kyiv in 2022 as coming “while Americans go without baby formula,” the Russians singled it out for their trolls as an example of the kind of message that should be amplified.

“It’s important to note that for effective work we need to keep fakes to the minimum and realistic information to the max,” one of the proposals by Gambashidze’s team of strategists states. “A constant refrain should be: ‘this is what’s really happening, this is what the official media are not telling you about.’”

A spokesman for Gaetz, Joel Valdez, responded to Kremlin strategists invoking the congressman’s statements by noting that Gaetz had been personally sanctioned by Russia in April 2022. Hundreds of House members were sanctioned at that time.

Social media posts and comments were to be created as well as YouTube videos that would stoke racial and social discord in the United States and amplify the themes of “universal poverty, record inflation, a halt to economic growth … the risk of job losses for white Americans, privileges for colored and degenerate people and invalids,” according to the proposal , the metadata of which shows it was written by a member of Gambashidze’s team.

The posts would promote fears that overspending on foreign policy had been to “the detriment of defending the interests of white people in the U.S.” and the idea that “America will lose, despite Biden’s efforts, that we will be drawn into war and our guys will die in Ukraine.”

The strategists wrote numerous recommendations for articles or social media posts, the documents show. One sought to compare the level of homelessness in America with that of Russia and states that the United States is starting to increasingly resemble a “Third World country.” A recommended social media comment from a fictitious American in response to the article states: “I am overcome with anger when another Ukrainian aid package is distributed right before my eyes into the pockets of American and Ukrainian officials. Indeed, it is hard to understand such gestures of ‘help’ when one’s own homeless sit at the feet of passersby [and] sleep under bridges.”

As the Biden administration prepared once again this spring to try to push supplemental funding for Ukraine through Congress, sites linked by Microsoft and other social media researchers to the Kremlin campaign launched fresh attempts to spread misleading content over immigration and the border with Mexico. In one instance, a site identified by Meta as part of the Doppelganger network posted an article about what it called a wave of illegal immigration that it claimed was “undermining the foundation of national security.”

“You just have to push content every single day,” Watts said. “It is really the availability of that over time that does work, as someone will stumble over it, a politician or celebrity will find it over time just based on the availability of content.”

The drafts proposed by the strategists reflect themes and narratives visible on the Recent Reliable News network and other related outlets — sites that remain online and that the documents show are controlled by the Kremlin officials working with Gambashidze and other strategists. The texts published were different, according to Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center, which reviewed a sample of the comments and articles created by Gambashidze’s team. Microsoft and the social media intelligence company Graphika said it was possible the draft articles were published on Doppelganger sites later taken down and blocked by social media platforms. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, joined social media research companies to first expose the Doppelganger campaign in September 2022.

As the Kremlin spin doctors worked, they closely monitored opinion polling in the United States and a decline in support among Americans, especially Republicans, for Ukraine. They also conducted twice-monthly surveys with a mechanism they called “river sampling” — conducting internet polls through online advertising and social media networks such as Facebook and TikTok. The results, showing small declines in support for Ukraine, seem wholly unreliable but were passed along to the strategists’ Kremlin masters as measures of success.

Fake news articles alleging Zelensky’s corruption pushed out by Russian-linked websites during the congressional debates on assistance for Ukraine in the fall have resonated. One of the most successful claims was disseminated by DC Weekly — a respectable-seeming internet outlet, which disinformation researchers at Clemson University traced back to domains affiliated with a former American police officer, John Mark Dougan, who has reinvented himself as a pro-Russian journalist in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

Through DC Weekly, a fake news story alleging that Zelensky had bought two yachts with American aid money went viral in November. The claim — patently false and denied by Zelensky’s government — was picked up by far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who linked to a story about the rumor on X.

One pro-Ukraine senator, North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis, told CNN that the debate on aid had been halted in part because some politicians said they were concerned about the corruption allegations and the notion that “people will buy yachts with this money.”

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Investigation report into collision between motor yachts Minx and Vision published by MAIB

MAIB has published a report on the investigation into collision between motor yachts Minx and Vision.

In the evening on 25 May 2019, the Gibraltar registered motor yacht Vision collided with the UK registered motor yacht Minx, which was anchored at Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes, France. Minx’s crewman was on the foredeck and there was nothing he could have done to prevent being fatally struck by Vision’s bow. The accident happened because Vision’s skipper underestimated the risk associated with attempting a fast, close pass by the anchored Minx, a manoeuvre intended to provide an opportunity for the guests to wave goodbye, as the charterer had asked. Vision’s skipper had also consumed cannabis, which is likely to have impaired his judgement.

Safety Issues – it is vital for the safe operation of a commercial motor yacht, that the skipper prioritised the safety of the crew, passengers and the vessel

– Vision’s surface-drive propulsion system was complex to operate and there were insufficient margins for error in the skipper’s plan to allow for any misjudgement, loss of control or failure

– the use of recreational drugs, even in a ‘tolerant’ individual can impair decision-making and responses, which are vital for the safe operation of vessels

– the accident took place in an anchorage with a 5-knot speed limit applicable to all vessels; however, Vision was proceeding at over six times that limit. Speed limits exist for a reason and it was unsafe to proceed at high speed in the anchorage

Recommendation A safety recommendation (2021/101) has been made to the Royal Yachting Association and the Professional Yachting Association to promulgate the safety lessons from this accident to owners and operators of commercial motor yachts.

Download the report on the collision between motor yachts Minx and Vision: 2021-01-Vision-Minx-Report

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Revealed: Monaco-based financial consultant who accused Michelle Mone of racism after fatal private yacht crash - as she denies being racist and says she was 'calling out white privilege' because she believed he was '100% white'

• Entrepreneur, 50, allegedly sent racist message to a financial consultant in 2019 after a fatal boat crash
• She reportedly referred to Richard Lynton-Jones's partner as a 'nut case bird' and 'mental loony' on WhatsApp
• Complainant said exchange came weeks after 2019 boat crash that killed crew worker off the coast of France
• House of Lords member's lawyers said she has no 'detailed memory' of exchange after Westminster complaint
• Lady Mone today took to Instagram to repeat her insistence that she had not made a racist comment

By Andrew Young For Mailonline

Published: 13:53 EDT, 3 December 2021 | Updated: 15:51 EDT, 3 December 2021

View comments

The man who accused Michelle Mone of racism can today be named by MailOnline as Monaco-based financial consultant Richard Lynton-Jones, who says she told her he was 'a waste of a man's white skin' in a WhatsApp message nearly three weeks after a fatal boat crash on the French Riviera.

It came as Conservative Peer Mone took to Instagram this afternoon to again deny claims she had racially abused Lynton-Jones who is of Indian heritage following a day of 'drinking and partying' on two superyachts which ended in the death of a deckhand.

In an exchange seen by The Guardian, it was also claimed Lady Mone referred to Mr Lynton-Jones's partner as a 'nut case bird' and 'mental loony'. 

Mr Lynton-Jones is believed to have a mother of Indian heritage and a white father but Lady Mone's lawyers had today told the Guardian it was 'illogical as it is inconceivable that she could or would have made such a comment or made it with the slightest racist intent' because she had no knowledge that the man 'was anything other than white British, as his appearance is 100% white, with a cut-glass English accent'.

They had added that Lady Mone believed vehemently he was '100% white and British' and there was 'no trace whatsoever of non-white colouring or any features' on Mr Lyton-Jones.

This afternoon, Lady Mone said on social media: 'Since when did calling out a man on his actions... his entitled white privilege constitute racism? Quite the opposite - the accusations I have read today against me are full of contradictions.'  

The bust-up happened after Mr Lynton-Jones, 42, was among guests on a superyacht who met up with Lady Mone and her businessman husband Douglas Barrowman who were with friends and relatives on his 88ft yacht called Minx.

MailOnline can reveal that the two groups, totalling 18 people, motored out in their respective boats to enjoy a lunch at a restaurant on an island called Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes, leaving their respective crews on board.

They later rafted their boats together so they could continue the fun day out on the water, hopping on and off each other's boats, before deciding to return to shore in the early evening when it was still daylight after more than five hours of partying.

The French skipper of the second superyacht called Vision which was chartered by British internet gaming millionaire Richard Skelhorn, accidentally ploughed into Mr Barrowman's boat as he was turning round to head for home. An MAIB investigation found the skipper had cannabis in his bloodstream.

British crewman Jake Feldwhere, 27, was on the foredeck of the Minx preparing to lift the anchor when he was struck and killed in the collision on the evening of May 25, 2019, which was the last day of the Cannes film festival.

Lady Mone also addressed the death of Mr Feldwhere in her post today, saying: 'I will set the record straight on this defamation before deciding on any legal action. What I do know is the disgrace this man made of the young boy's life who was lost by the super yacht he was partying on.' 

The 50-year-old ex lingerie tycoon is said to have told her husband's former employee, who now can be named by MailOnline as financial consultant Richard Lynton-Jones (pictured), that he was 'a waste of a man's white skin' in a WhatsApp message nearly three weeks after they had both been on the tragic day out on the French Riviera. In the alleged exchange, seen by The Guardian, it was also claimed she referred to the Mr Lynton-Jones's partner as a 'nut case bird' and 'mental loony

Conservative Peer Michelle Mone took to Instagram this afternoon to again deny claims that she was racist after she allegedly sent a derogatory message to a man of Indian heritage following a day of 'drinking and partying' on two superyachts which ended in the death of a deckhand 

Mr Lynton-Jones is believed to have a mother of Indian heritage and a white father but Lady Mone's lawyers had today told the Guardian it was 'illogical as it is inconceivable that she could or would have made such a comment or made it with the slightest racist intent' because she had no knowledge that the man 'was anything other than white British, as his appearance is 100% white, with a cut-glass English accent'

This afternoon, Lady Moon said on social media: 'Since when did calling out a man on his actions... and his entitled white privilege constitute racism? Quite the opposite - the accusations I have read today against me are full of contradictions'

Crewman Jake Feldwhere (pictured), 27, was on the foredeck of an 88ft-long Minx preparing to lift the anchor when he was struck and killed off the coast of Île Sainte-Marguerite in 2019

The French skipper of the second superyacht called Vision which was chartered by British internet gaming millionaire Richard Skelhorn (pictured), accidentally ploughed into Mr Barrowman's boat as he was turning round to head for home. An MAIB investigation found the skipper had cannabis in his bloodstream

The bust-up between Mr Lynton-Jones and Lady Mone reportedly happened in a group WhatsApp chat on June 13, 2019, after she allegedly questioned how much his partner had suffered psychologically after the accident.

Mr Lynton Jones who is believed to have a mother of Indian heritage and a white father, and works in Monaco as a financial consultant, replied that his partner had been seriously traumatised by the yacht incident, saying: 'I would prefer you back the f**k off'.

According to screenshots seen by The Guardian, Lady Mone is said to have replied: 'OMG what a pile of crap!! You are talking to me, a smart, bright individual who doesn't get taken in by your shit!

'In fact my bullshit detector was on you from day 1. You & your mental loony of a girlfriend have been parting [sic] like mad! … You need to get a grip and have respect for a guy that was killed!!!

'Funny how your mad girlfriend has now deleted all the pictures, don't worry I have screenshots of the dates and times. 48 hours after the guy was killed. Your [sic] a low life, a waste of a mans [sic] white skin so don't give us your lies. Your [sic] a total disgrace.'

The bust-up happened after Mr Lynton-Jones, 42, was among guests on a superyacht who met up with Lady Mone and her businessman husband Douglas Barrowman who were with friends and relatives on his 88ft yacht called Minx

She is said to have added: 'Now you deal with the police enquiries including your nut case bird.'

He is said to have replied: 'A waste of a white mans skin? Did not know you were racist, Michelle.' Fifteen minutes later, Lady Mone allegedly wrote back: 'Your [sic] blocked and take your mental case to the police station.'

Mr Lynton-Jones is said to have made an official complaint in August this year to Martin Jelley, the House of Lords commissioner for standards about the alleged messages, claiming they were 'derogatory and racist' towards him and 'abusive and derogatory' towards his partner's mental health.

But the commissioner declined to investigate because the alleged messages were not sent in the course of Lady Mone's parliamentary duties.  

Her lawyers this week since issued a statement, saying she no longer had access to the relevant messages and had no 'detailed memory of them.' 

A report into the fatal accident which was published by the UK's Marine Accidents Investigation Branch in January this year, revealed details of how the passengers on both superyachts had enjoyed a day out before the tragedy.

The report said that the Vision had left Monaco at noon and 'proceeded to Île Sainte-Marguerite near Cannes, France, anchoring there about an hour later'.

Lawyers for the House of Lords member, pictured with her husband Douglas Barrowman, said she has no 'detailed memory' or 'access' to the messages and denied that she is a racist

Damage to the 88ft-long superyacht Minx in May 2019 following the fatal crash off Monaco

Michelle Mone is pictured last month as she celebrated her 50th birthday

It went on: 'After anchoring, Vision's guests were taken ashore to a restaurant for drinks and a meal. At about the same time, the motor yacht Minx departed its marina berth in Antibes, then proceeded to Villefranche-sur-Mer where the owner and his eight guests, also a group of family and friends, were embarked by tender.

How 'Baroness Bra' made her money

Lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone was born in 1971 and grew up in Glasgow's East End, leaving school with no qualifications aged 15 before finding work as a model.

After running a sales and marketing team for the Labatt's brewing firm, she decided to create a range of support bras after the idea came to her while wearing an uncomfortable bra during a dinner party.

Lady Mone founded MJM International with her then-husband Michael Mone in November 1996, and three years of research, design, and development resulted in the patented Ultimo bra.

In August 1999, a month after having her third child, she launched Ultimo at the Selfridges department store in London, which sold the pre-launch estimate of six weeks of stock within 24 hours.

The business grew rapidly and in 2010 she earned an OBE from the Queen for her contribution to business.

But she sold 80 per cent of Ultimo in 2014, one year after announcing she had left the company following a breakdown in her marriage.

Lady Mone was nicknamed 'Baroness Bra' after being elevated to the House of Lords in 2015, where her official title is Baroness Mone of Mayfair.

To celebrate her 50th birthday last month, she decided to host five parties - one for each decade of her life – with her new husband billionaire tech tycoon Doug Barrowman, 55.

The pair married last November in a glitzy but low-key wedding ceremony at their home on the Isle of Man.

Lady Mone has also had a lucrative public speaking career but called time on this last month, saying she wanted to 'focus on her family and new ventures'.  

'Minx then headed to join Vision at Île Sainte-Marguerite, arriving about 1430. By about 1500, all the guests from both yachts were ashore at the restaurant; both crews remained on board the yachts.

'During their meal, the guests agreed to continue the party back on board, and Vision's charterer called the skipper and asked him to raft up with Minx. Vision's skipper contacted Minx's skipper and discussed the plan, then let out more anchor chain and manoeuvred the yacht alongside Minx.

'By about 1830, everyone was back on board and the drinking and partying continued with most of the guests on board Vision. During the party, Vision's skipper, encouraged by the guests, did a daring swallow-dive into the sea from the flybridge.

'At about 2030, Vision's crew started preparing to return to Monaco, so the guests

were all asked to return to their own yachts; it was still daylight with good visibility, light airs and the sea was calm.'

The report said that the Vision headed off to return to Monaco in daylight. But it was later realised that one of the guests from Minx had left a mobile phone on board Vision, so the vessel turned back so it could be returned.

Once the phone had been returned, the report said the French skipper of Vision motored 750m away before turning round and accelerating as he attempted 'a fast slalom-type manoeuvre close down the port side of the anchored Minx'.

The 78 tonne boat began planing as its speed increased while rapidly approaching the Minx with the propellers of its twin engines creating a 'rooster tail' water spray.

But the boat failed to respond due to its high speed when the 42-year-old French skipper tried to steer to port at the last moment and the Vision collided with Minx's bow, hitting Mr Feldware who was on his first day at sea. He is thought to have died instantly from serious head injuries.

Most of other crew and guests on the Minx were thrown to the deck by the impact and several suffered minor injuries.

French emergency services and maritime police rushed to the crash scene and both of the damaged yachts were escorted by police to marina berths at Cannes later in the evening,

Mr Lynton-Jones is said to have once briefly worked for one of Mr Barrowman's companies, and was also known to Mr Skelhorn who was living in Monaco at the time. 

A representative of Lady Mone initially reportedly told the Guardian this week: 'Baroness Mone is 100% not a racist. Baroness Mone and her husband have built over 15 schools in Africa in the past three years.'

Her lawyers later provided another statement in which they said Lady Mone had 'no access' to the messages and no 'detailed memory of them'.

The statement added: 'She is not prepared to comment on the messages unless and until their authenticity has been confirmed but Baroness Mone, in any event, very strongly denies that she is a racist, a sexist or that she has a lack of respect for those persons genuinely suffering with mental health difficulties.'

It went on to say that it was 'as illogical as it is inconceivable that she could or would have made such a comment or made it with the slightest racist intent' as, at the time, she had no knowledge that the complainant 'was anything other than white British, as his appearance is 100% white, with a cut-glass English accent'.

Her lawyers also questioned the motives of the complainant and cast doubt on the authenticity of the messages, suggesting they were 'written in a manic way, in keeping with someone with coherency issues, rather than from a well-educated and articulate Baroness'.

In separate correspondence, they stated that she believed the complainant had 'no trace whatsoever of non-white colouring or any features' that would suggest he was not '100% white and British'.

Lady Mone who founded her Ultimo bra empire with her former husband was appointed to the House of Lords by David Cameron in 2015, a year after selling an 80% stake in her company.

She later headed a government review on entrepreneurship.

Minx (crash damage, left) is owned by Michelle Mone and her husband Douglas Barrowman

The MAIB report concluded: 'The accident happened because Vision's skipper underestimated the risks associated with the close pass manoeuvre.

'Blood sample tests conducted the day after the accident indicated that Vision's skipper was under the influence of cannabis, which was likely to have impaired his judgement.'

The skipper was found to have a Royal Yachting Association Yachtmaster certificate to operate powered boats, but had not endorsed it by taking a Professional Practices and Responsibility course as required under Small Commercial Vessel rules.

The report added: 'The collision occurred because Vision's skipper attempted an unsafe, close high-speed pass, then lost control immediately after turning directly towards Minx.

'Minx's crewman was on the foredeck and could do nothing to avoid being struck and was killed instantly by the force of the impact.

'As professional seafarers in a commercial environment, motor yacht skippers have a duty of care to the guests, the vessel, their crew and other water users.

'In the motor yacht industry, owners and charterers are on vacation; they will want to relax, be pampered and party, but they might also want to be entertained, perhaps even thrilled, by the experience of being at sea for their leisure.

'In this environment, motor yacht skippers and crew must stay in control of the yacht and not allow themselves to get caught up in the party atmosphere.

The report added: 'Cannabis is a central nervous system depressant, which can significantly impair the execution of tasks.

The superyachts Minx and Vision are pictured anchored together off Cannes before the crash

'The effects of cannabis use can be similar to alcohol, including reduced reaction times, lack of co- ordination and difficulty with complex or skilled tasks requiring divided attention such as driving.'

Mr Feldware from Midhurst, West Sussex, had only arrived in the south of France four weeks before the tragedy, having just completed a basic boat training course.

He posted a smiling selfie from Monaco Port on social media after he arrived, writing: 'Only gone and made it to Monaco. Let the adventure begin!'

Hours before his death, he posted more pictures on Instagram of the Cannes shoreline from Île Sainte-Marguerite, a notorious spot for yacht parties, with the caption: 'Not a bad day to be out on the sea. #Cannes #LoveIt.'

Lady Mone, who sold her lingerie company Ultimo in 2014, was sworn in as a life peer by then Prime Minister David Cameron in the House of Lords in 2015. 

Simon Sloane, a spokesperson for Mr Skelhorn said: 'Our primary concern has, and always will be, for the family and friends of Mr Feldwhere and we would like to, once again, express our sincere sorrow for their loss. 

'Regrettably, the MAIB report into the collision contained a number of factual errors alleging wrong-doing by Vision's owner and the charterer. 

'There was no substance to these allegations, in particular that anyone on board Vision urged the captain to carry out any manoeuvre(s) immediately before the collision. 

'Following a detailed police enquiry performed by maritime gendarme and an ad hoc court appointed surveyor, criminal proceedings have been brought solely against the captain of Vision in France and there were never any grounds for prosecuting the owner, charterer or any other persons on board Vision. 

'This has now been formally recognised by the French Prosecutor who has publicly stated there are no grounds for prosecuting any other party. 

'Unfortunately, the MAIB appears to have been taken in by mischief making by others when they published their report.' 

Share or comment on this article: Tory peer Michelle Mone hits back at claims she racially abused man of Indian heritage

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Mia goth heads to hollywood in a24’s ‘maxxxine’ trailer.

Lights, camera, and bloody murder action in Ti West's horror movie.

By Borys Kit

Senior Film Writer

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Look out Hollywood! Maxine Minx has come to town to be a star, and heaven help those who get in her way. Including, presumably, a mysterious killer who has designs on her.

A24 has finally dropped the trailer for Maxxxine , the final nail in the proverbial coffin of its hit and acclaimed X horror trilogy from filmmaker Ti West .

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Maxxxine , written and directed by West, is set about six years after the events of X and focuses on the lone survivor of that bloody night, aspiring starlet Maxine, played by Goth. Now in grungy mid-1980s Hollywood, Maxine is now Maxine Minx, a full-fledged porn star (and wearing the mileage, by the looks of it in the trailer) whose dreams of being a true actress are within reach.  

As the trailer shows, Minx is auditioning for her break even as a mysterious killer known as The Night Stalker is murdering women in Hollywood. “I can handle myself,” Minx says, and we know she can, but can even she handle this trail of blood that threatens to reveal her sinister path?

“The past ain’t finished with you. It’s going to be knocking on your door,” says a private detective played by Kevin Bacon.

The viewer is treated to a full 1980s experience – slick streets with steam coming out heating vents, neon lit nights – combined with Hollywood touches like Hollywood backlots and sound stages. We also get glimpses of Haley as Minx’s streetwalking friend, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale as a pair of detectives, Elizabeth Debicki as either a producer or director, plus appearances by Moses Sumney, Lily Collins, and Giancarlo Esposito, all as the trailer crescendos to a string of “Maxine” utterances and scenes of violence and carnage.

A24 is releasing the movie July 5. It is rated R and will have a running time of 103 minutes. West produced it along with Jacob Jaffke, Kevin Turen, Harrison Kreiss, and Goth.

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