The prosecutor’s office of the Italian city of Catanzaro began an investigation into the 40-meter superyacht that sank on August 20 in Squillache Bay under the flag of the Cayman Islands, believing that it belonged to a Russian oligarch, Rai News reports.

The real name of the $50 million superyacht, which sailed from Gallipoli to Milazzo, was supposed to be Life Saga and may have belonged to Russian tycoon Gennady Ayvazyan, according to sources and specialist newspapers.

Ayvazyan is one of the world’s largest coal traders, his fortune is estimated at 500 million dollars.

On the night of August 19-20, the operation room of the Crotone port administration received an emergency call from the captain of the yacht, who reported that the vessel had begun to take on water.

The Romanian patrol boat of the European border agency Frontex and the CP 321 patrol boat from Crotone were sent to this area.

How the superyacht, which allegedly belonged to Ayvazyan, sank

The first four passengers and a crew member were taken aboard a Romanian patrol boat, then transferred to sloops and taken to the port of Marina Catanzaro, while the shipping company contacted a towing company in Crotone to try to rescue the unit.

At dawn on 20 August, the tug Alessandro Secondo of Crotone began towing the Saga to Crotone, the only port where the vessel could call, at the same time taking on board four other crew members, including the captain.

However, due to the weather conditions and the yacht’s constant heeling, the situation worsened and, despite efforts, water entered the hull, forcing the operation to be abandoned.

Then “Saga of Life” sank in a very short time. The ship’s crew was then transferred to the patrol boat CP 321 to take it to Catanzaro Marina.