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The best photos of Sailing Yacht A

The  boundary pushing  Sailing Yacht A   is a natural head turner. Delivered in 2017 by German yard Nobiskrug , Sailing Yacht A measures a total of 142.81 metres and is classed as a "sail-assisted motor yacht". BOAT rounds up the best photos of  Sailing Yacht A  from around the world.

Sailing Yacht A in Sicily

Here, Sailing Yacht A is pictured off the coast of south Sicily, where she was  spotted in summer 2020. 

Sailing Yacht A in Brela, Croatia

Sailing Yacht A  was built for Russian yacht owner Andrey Melnichenko and has garnered much attention for her unique form, sheer size and well-known owner.

Sailing Yacht A on the French Riviera

Here, Sailing Yacht A is pictured arriving in the French Riviera earlier in the 2020 summer season. The yacht was photographed by Julien Hubert.

Sailing Yacht A Sets Sail

This is the first known image of Sailing Yacht A with all three of her sails hoisted. Captured in the West Mediterranean, this exclusive image was shot by Carl Groll in May 2017 for TheYachtPhoto.com

Underwater lighting illuminates Sailing Yacht A's hull

Pictured in January 2017, shortly before her delivery, Sailing Yacht A is seen here illuminating the waters around the Nobiskrug yard with her underwater lighting. This stunning photo also shows her light-up nameplate, which matches the style of the nameplate on Melnichenko's Motor Yacht A .

Sailing Yacht A Beginning Sea Trials

This image of Sailing Yacht A was shot  in 2015 as the yacht began sea trials. While Sailing Yacht A 's owner Andrey Melnichenko calls her a "sail-assisted motor yacht", she is regarded by many to be the world's largest sailing yacht . 

Sailing Yacht A's Bridge

This photo of Sailing Yacht A gives a close-up view of the yacht's bridge and wingstation, perched atop the superstructure. This photo illustrates just how big this yacht really is. Sailing Yacht A has the tallest carbon masts in the world .

Aft view of Sailing Yacht A

This photo of  Sailing Yacht A  gives a view of a parts of the yacht that was previously unseen — the aft deck. Much like Andrey Melnichenko's Motor Yacht A , the yacht looks as though there isn't much outdoor space, but seen from behind in this video of Motor Yacht A , the preconceived notion changes. The same can be said for her sailing counterpart. You can see that there are layers of decks that enjoy outdoor space, and the top deck is glassed in, giving a view to the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that might be enjoyed on Sailing Yacht A .

Drone video footage of Sailing Yacht A

One of the best photos of Sailing Yacht A to arise when she went out on sea trials was this shot taken from a drone video. From this angle, we get a great view of the foredeck of Sailing Yacht A and the outdoor living spaces here, which hadn't been seen before.

Masts stepped on Sailing Yacht A

It was big news when the masts were stepped on Sailing Yacht A and we got to see what this formidable vessel would look like for the first time. It also made for one of the best photos of Sailing Yacht A to finally see the giant masts get stepped atop the giant yacht. Dykstra Naval Architects designed the rig on the three-masted yacht, while Philippe Starck , who also designed Steve Jobs' Venus , worked on the yacht's design.

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Monroe Co. woman charged with murder in boat club crash that 'took those babies from us'

Monroe — Distraught relatives of two young siblings killed by an alleged drunken driver at a birthday party at a boat club lashed out at the suspect Tuesday in a Monroe County courtroom, accusing her of taking "those babies from us," while the woman's attorney suggested she suffered from a seizure that contributed to Saturday's crash.

Marshella Chidester, 66, showed little emotion as the aunt of the two children who were killed, Lana Phillips, 8, and Zayn Phillips, 4, addressed the court before Chidester's bond was set.

“She chose to drink and those were my grandbabies. She made the choice to get in that car, and she chose to drink and drive, and she took those babies from us,” grandmother Kathy Phillips said.

Chidester, a former commodore of the Swan Boat Club in Berlin Township where the crash took place, was formally charged in Monroe's 1st District Court with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating under the influence of alcohol causing death and four counts of operating under the influence of alcohol causing serious injury. She faces up to life in prison if she is convicted.

At her arraignment, Chidester limped into the courtroom with her right arm in a splint.

In an unusual move during the arraignment, District Judge Christian Horkey allowed relatives of the crash victims to address the court in person and via Zoom before setting bail at $1.5 million for Chidester. Some blared out comments via Zoom.

Bill Colovos, Chidester's attorney, said his client believes she had a seizure at the wheel Saturday and said she does not remember entering the parking lot of the boat club or anything that happened leading up to the crash. He said she was invited to the birthday party by the person hosting it.

"She was meeting her husband at the birthday party at the boat club … and all of a sudden, she said 'I blacked out, I remember nothing,'" Colovos said Tuesday evening.

Colovos said Chidester has a history of epileptic-type seizures in her legs that result in paralysis, including one last fall in which she blacked out. Chidester has since been treated for seizures, Colovos said, and has not had any since she was put on medication last year until Saturday.

Colovos said Chidester was barred by her doctor from driving for six months. The attorney said in court Tuesday that she was put on medication in November, which would have made her ineligible to drive until next month. Colovos told The Detroit News in a follow-up conversation that treatments began Oct. 1, when the original blackout episode occurred.

Colovos didn't specify a name for her condition in court but told The News Tuesday evening that Chidester was treated for neuropathy — a condition in which the peripheral nerves to the feet are damaged, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association. After the diagnosis, Chidester's doctor put her on medication and didn't allow her to drive until the end of March, Colovos said.

The biggest cause of neuropathy is diabetes, according to the APMA. Other causes include alcoholism, arthritis, heredity and advanced age, according to the medical group's website.

Monroe County Prosecutor Jeffrey Yorkey said there was no evidence Chidester had a seizure the day of the crash.

A “very long investigation,” including a breath test, indicated she was significantly over the legal limit of 0.08. He did not say what Chidester's blood alcohol content was but said she admitted to drinking. 

Yorkey requested that Horkey, the judge, set Chidester’s bond at $1.5 million, noting that friends and family told investigators she has a “very severe substance abuse issue.”

Colovos said they do not have the results back from the blood alcohol test yet, and the preliminary breath test Chidester took on the scene is not admissible in court because it's often inaccurate.

Colovos also said earlier Tuesday that Chidester had no record and was retired, living a “peaceful life.”

“In 60 years on this earth, she’s never had any traffic involvement. She’s never had any law enforcement involvement,” Colovos said. “It’s horrible what happened, absolutely horrible … but some things we don’t have control over.”

Someone on the Zoom feed interjected as the attorney was speaking in court and said, “She shouldn’t have been drinking.”

Raquel Smouthers, Lana and Zayn's aunt, also said Tuesday that even if Chidester was on medication or had medical issues, she should not have been driving.

“Nobody should ever have to go to a birthday party thinking they’re going to die,” Smouthers said.

She added that the two deceased children couldn't have an open-casket funeral because of the injuries they suffered.

"I cannot close my eyes at night without seeing them babies and what they look like," Smouthers said between sobs.

Lana and Zayn's older brother and mother were in critical condition after the crash, according to a GoFundMe set up by the children's aunt, Diane Harrington. Their mother, Mariah Dodds, filed a lawsuit Monday against Chidester and the bar police said she was drinking at before the crash.

Chidester crashed into the Swan Boat Club in the 6000 block of Brancheau in Berlin Township at about 3 p.m. Saturday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Her vehicle landed 25 feet into the building, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough said.

“The scene was described by first responders as extremely chaotic, with high levels of emotions of those directly involved and those who witnessed this horrific incident,” Goodnough said at a Saturday night press conference.

The party was being held for a 3-year-old at the club, said Detroit attorney Jon Markos, who is representing Dodds.

The boat club was closed Sunday, according to its website and Facebook page, and is usually closed Monday and Tuesday.

"Our deepest sympathy goes out to this family and everyone else that was involved," said the boat club's post. "That family has asked us to post their go fund me to help with the funeral arrangements for the two children."

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Luxury yachts and other myths: How Republican lawmakers echo Russian propaganda

Two senior Republican lawmakers, the chairs of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees, say their colleagues are echoing Russian state propaganda against Ukraine.

Researchers who study disinformation say Reps. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, are merely acknowledging what has been clear for some time: Russian propaganda aimed at undermining U.S. and European support for Ukraine has steadily seeped into America’s political conversation over the past decade, taking on a life of its own.

McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Puck News he thinks “Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”

Turner, chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told CNN that anti-Ukraine messages from Russia are “being uttered on the House floor.”

For the past decade, since Russia’s first military incursion into Ukraine in 2014, Moscow has spread propaganda and disinformation in a bid to undercut U.S. and European military support for Ukraine, according to U.S. and Western officials.

Some of the arguments, distortions and falsehoods spread by Russia have taken root, mostly among right-wing pro-Trump outlets and Republican politicians, researchers say, including that Ukraine’s government is too corrupt to benefit from Western aid and that the Biden family has alleged corrupt ties to Ukraine.

Russia, in keeping with traditional propaganda techniques, seeks to make its case and tarnish Ukraine through a mixture of outright falsehoods, half-truths, inferences or simply amplifying and promoting arguments already being made by American or European commentators and politicians, researchers say.

The propaganda is sometimes spread covertly, through fake online accounts, or openly by Russian officials and state media. As a result, the origin of some allegations or criticisms is often opaque, especially when a certain accusation or perception has gained wide acceptance, leaving no clear fingerprints.

Early in the war, a false story boosted by Russian propaganda — that the U.S. had helped Ukraine build biological weapons labs — gained traction on right-wing social media and was touted by then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Russia also is conducting a parallel propaganda campaign in Europe. Belgium’s prime minister said Thursday that his government is investigating alleged Russian bribes to members of the European Parliament as part of Moscow’s campaign to undermine support for Ukraine. Czech law enforcement officials last month alleged that a former pro-Russian member of Ukraine’s parliament, Viktor Medvedchuk, was behind a Prague-based Russian propaganda network designed to promote opposition to aiding Ukraine.

Here are some examples of Republican lawmakers using arguments often promoted by Russian propaganda:

Buying yachts

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with members of Congress behind closed doors in December to appeal for more U.S. help for his country’s troops, some lawmakers raised questions about Ukraine allegedly buying yachts with American aid money.

Zelenskyy made clear that was not the case, according to Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a strong supporter of arming Ukraine. “I think the notion of corruption came up because some have said we can’t do it, because people will buy yachts with the money,” Tillis told CNN. “[Zelenskyy] disabused people of those notions.”

Where did the yacht rumor come from?

Pro-Russian actors and websites promoted a narrative alleging Zelenskyy bought two superyachts with U.S. aid dollars. One Russia-based propaganda site, DC Weekly , published a story last November that included photos of two luxury yachts, called Lucky Me and My Legacy , which it alleged were bought for $75 million.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a vocal opponent of military aid to Ukraine, in November retweeted a post about the alleged yacht purchase from the Strategic Culture Foundation, a Russian-based propaganda outlet directed by Russia’s intelligence services, according to the Treasury Department. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the organization, accusing it of spreading disinformation and interfering in U.S. elections.

Another outspoken critic of aid to Ukraine, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, also made a similar claim.

In a December interview with former President Donald Trump’s White House adviser Steve Bannon, Vance claimed that members of Congress wanted to cut Social Security benefits to provide more aid to Ukraine, and that money would allegedly be used for Zelenskyy’s ministers to “buy a bigger yacht.”

“There are people who would cut Social Security, throw our grandparents into poverty. Why? So that one of Zelenskyy’s ministers can buy a bigger yacht?” Vance said. “Kiss my ass, Steve. It’s not happening.”

The tale of Zelenskyy’s luxury yacht, however, turned out to be totally false . The yachts cited in the DC Weekly article remain up for sale , the owners told The Associated Press.

Two academics at Clemson University, disinformation researchers Darren Linvill and Patrick Warren, found that DC Weekly ran numerous stories copied from other sites that were rewritten by artificial intelligence engines. The articles had bylines with fake names along with headshots copied from other online sites. DC Weekly appeared to be a Russian effort to launder false information through a seemingly legitimate news site as part of an attempt to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine, according to the researchers .

Asked by reporters about Vance’s comments, Tillis said: “I think it’s bullshit. ...If you’re talking about giving money to Ukrainian ministers — total and unmitigated bullshit.”

Greene’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Vance’s spokesperson said the senator was making a rhetorical point about how he opposed sending U.S. assistance to what he sees as a corrupt country, but was not asserting the yacht stories online were accurate.

Vance’s office referred NBC News to an earlier response to the BBC on the same topic:

“For years, everyone in the West recognized that Ukraine was one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Somehow everyone forgot that just as we started sending them billions of dollars in foreign aid.”

Enabling ‘corruption’

Russian state media for years has painted Ukraine as deeply corrupt, and has argued that the U.S. and its allies are wasting money and military hardware by assisting such an allegedly corrupt government.

“This is absolutely a line that they have pushed, and then once it appears in the Western ecosystem, other [Russian] media picks it up and it gets recycled back,” said Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

This line of argument has gained traction partly because Ukraine does face a genuine corruption problem.

Russia’s effort to focus attention on corruption in Ukraine reflects a long-established propaganda method of using facts or partial truths to anchor a broader assertion or accusation, sometimes making a leap in logic, Schafer and other researchers said. Russia’s message amounts to: Ukraine is corrupt, therefore U.S. and Western aid will be stolen and wasted.

Schafer said it was ironic for Russia, a country mired in corruption and kleptocracy, to be leveling accusations about corruption.

Republican Rep. Mary Miller has said she strongly opposes more assistance for Ukraine because it amounts to sending cash to “corrupt oligarchs.”

“With Zelensky coming to DC this week to ask for more money, I will continue to vote AGAINST sending your tax $$ to corrupt oligarchs in Ukraine for a proxy war that could have ended in ‘22,” Miller wrote in a post on X in December.

The Illinois lawmaker also echoed another assertion that often appears in Russian media, that the Biden administration allegedly undermined efforts by Russia to avoid war with Ukraine.

 “A peace deal was on the table that [Ukraine] and [Russia] were both ready to sign, but Biden said NO,” she wrote.

There was in fact no proposed peace agreement that Russia and Ukraine were prepared to sign before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to U.S. and European officials. As Russian troops massed on the border of Ukraine, Western governments urged Russia not to invade and warned there would be economic and diplomatic consequences.

Reuters has reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a possible deal to avert a war that had been discussed with Kyiv by Russia’s envoy to Ukraine. The Kremlin said the report was inaccurate and has said Russia tried for years to arrive at an understanding with Ukraine.

As for corruption in Ukraine, Zelenskyy has vowed to tackle the problem, sacking senior officials in some recent cases. But some civil society groups have criticized his approach and Ukrainians say corruption is the country’s second-most serious problem, after the Russian invasion, according to a poll conducted last year.

In an annual survey, Transparency International said Ukraine made progress toward addressing the issue and now ranks 104th out of 180 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index , climbing 12 places up from its previous ranking.

Ukraine is not alone among countries that receive U.S. and other foreign aid but struggle with corruption. Supporters of assisting Ukraine argue it would undermine America’s influence in the world and its humanitarian efforts if Washington withheld foreign aid from every country where there were reports of corruption.

Miller’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Biden family and Ukraine

Republicans have repeatedly alleged that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter have corrupt ties to Ukraine, and that they sought $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma to protect the firm from an investigation by Ukraine’s prosecutor general.

There is no credible evidence for the allegations. A key source for the accusations against the Bidens is a former FBI informant, Alexander Smirnov, who was arrested in February on federal charges of fabricating the bribery claims. Smirnov says he was fed information by Russian intelligence.

Republicans had heavily promoted Smirnov’s allegations against the Bidens, seeing them as crucial to a planned impeachment effort against the president that has since fizzled .

“In my estimation, that is probably the clearest example of Russian propaganda working its way into the American political system,” said Emerson Brooking, a resident senior fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council.

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona cited the false bribery allegations in expressing his opposition to providing assistance to Ukraine.

“In exchange for … bribe money from Ukraine, Joe Biden has dished out over $100 billion in taxpayer money to fund the war in Ukraine. I will not assist this corruption by sending more money to the authoritarian Ukrainian regime,” Gosar said in a statement in October.

Gosar’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Dan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. 

Syedah Asghar is a Capitol Hill researcher for NBC News and is based in Washington, D.C.

A $50 million private island that's a 10-minute boat ride off the coast of Florida just hit the market. Take a look.

• A 7-acre private island off Florida's coast is on sale for $50 million.
• Black's Island has a private resort with 26 waterfront bungalows.
• The owner is open to selling the entire island or some of the bungalows, starting at $1.5 million.

If owning a private island is a personal dream for you, you're in luck — a 7-acre private island located just 3 miles off the coast of Florida just hit the market and could be all yours for $50 million.

Black's Island is located in Saint Joseph Bay and just south of Port St. Joe on Florida's panhandle. The island was named for Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy, who is known as the wealthiest pirate in history.

The island hosts its own private resort, complete with 26 waterfront bungalows as well as common areas like a clubhouse, cabana, and pool, according to the sale listing. The structures are connected via an elevated boardwalk that runs along the center of the island.

Related stories

Black's Island currently hosts short-term rentals with the help of a management company and full-time staff on the island, which is accessible via a 10-minute boat ride from the mainland, or by seaplane and helicopter.

From the dock on the mainland, the Panama City Beach International Airport is an hour-and-twenty-minute drive away. A smaller airport for those flying in on a private jet is only 25 minutes away.

"You're only 3 miles off the mainland, and you seriously feel like you're in the islands," Lori Bembry Weldon, one of the listing brokers at Jon Kohler & Associates, told Business Insider, adding, "It's really super cool. There's just nothing like it on the coast of Florida that's available."

If you can't quite swing the $50 million price tag, you may still have a chance to get a slice of the island life .

In addition to listing the entire island for sale, the owner has also listed several of the individual bungalows . Weldon said the owner, Atlanta developer Scott Seymour, is open to selling the entire island or just some of the bungalows — so it will ultimately depend on what potential buyers are interested in.

In this scenario, Weldon said the setup would be similar to a condo homeowners' association. The bungalows, which start at $1.5 million, would be purchased under a 99-year lease, and there would be a $25,000-a-year HOA fee to cover taxes, insurance, repairs, and utilities, including upkeep for all the common areas.

Weldon also said in the case of individual bungalow sales, pre-approved title insurance and lenders have already been set up, so potential buyers would not have to worry about getting insurance — an increasing problem in Florida .

The bungalows, which were first built in 2009, were remodeled when Seymour bought the island in 2018. Weldon said that in addition to renting out the bungalows, he also frequently spends time on the island.

Seymour is also currently building a $20 million hotel on the mainland where anyone who purchases a bungalow will be able to park. The hotel is also set to be named after the infamous pirate and will be called The Bellamy.

Watch: Inside the most expensive neighborhoods of Singapore, home to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew

• Main content

Former boat association building collapses into Staten Island’s Lemon Creek (photos)

• Updated: Apr. 25, 2024, 5:41 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 25, 2024, 3:41 p.m.

• Shaina McLawrence | [email protected]

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The former Princess Bay Boatmens Association building faces a possible demolition after part of the structure collapsed into Lemon Creek in Prince’s Bay on Thursday.

The scene unfolded around 11:30 a.m. at 175 Johnston Terrace, prompting a response from the FDNY and several other city agencies.

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Driver in suspected DUI crash that killed 2 children may have left Monroe County tavern earlier

BERLIN TWP. — Police investigated and a community mourned Sunday, the morning after a car crashed into a boat club building where a birthday party was being held, killing two young siblings — ages 5 and 8 — and injuring more than a dozen other people.

A 66-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was driving the vehicle that crashed and was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated causing death, a 15-year felony, and taken to the Monroe County Jail, authorities said. More criminal charges are expected, police said.

In addition, authorities said Verna’s Tavern in Newport, where the driver of the car may have been just before the crash, had been shut down and was under investigation. The bar was back in operation late Sunday morning when a Free Press reporter and a photographer stopped by.

The Swan Boat Club — where the party was being held at 6332 Brancheau Road, about 30 minutes southwest of Detroit — posted on Facebook it would be closed Sunday, the result of the "terrible accident" with many injuries and much damage.

Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough’s voice quivered as he spoke to news media.

He appeared to hold back tears as he read a statement that described the scene after the car went through a wall at about 3 p.m. Saturday. It was, he said, "extremely chaotic and with high level of emotions of those directly involved and those who witnessed this horrific incident."

Goodnough said 15 people, including adults, were injured.

The vehicle, he said, slammed into the north wall, moving fast enough to go about 25 feet into the building until it stopped. A doorbell cam video posted online shows what appears to be an SUV speeding toward the boat club, go out of view blocked by a stand of trees, and then a cloud of dust suddenly coming from offscreen. People can then be seen rushing out of the building.

Multiple agencies scrambled to reach the scene and try to provide aid.

During the news conference, those listening let out an audible ― and heartbreaking — gasp as the sheriff identified the dead children as brother and sister. The 5-year-old boy and his 8-year-old sister never had a chance to even get medical treatment. First responders pronounced them dead at the scene.

A GoFundMe fundraiser for the family, linked on the boat club's website , says the children's mother and older brother were also injured and remain hospitalized in critical condition.

The sheriff said that nine people, three of them children, were driven by ambulances and airlifted by two medical helicopters to area hospitals. As of late Saturday, they were facing serious, life-threatening injuries. Several other people, the sheriff added, were rushed away by nonemergency vehicles.

At the end of the news conference, the sheriff, in response to a reporter’s question, confirmed that the suspect may have been at Verna’s Tavern in Newport.

"We went in, we shut the business down," Goodnough added when pressed whether the tavern would be facing police scrutiny. "We are in the process of executing a search warrant for information as to the business conducted at that day."

A sign for the eatery describes it as "Home of the ½-pound Verna Burger" and a place for "good times & great friends since 1938."

After the crash, Goodnough said, investigators were working at the scene to process evidence, identify victims, interview witnesses and reunite family members separated in the sudden chaos of the deadly and tragic crash.

In a sad twist, the area where the tragedy unfolded has long been a place to enjoy life.

The boat club, which was started in the 1940s as a place for boating enthusiasts on Swan Creek to meet to play cards, have a beer and kickback, mostly during the hot summer months, has faced its share good and bad times over the years. It is just off Lake Erie.

The club, in its early years thrived, its website suggested .

The club history boasted of hosting "great regattas," "snow mobile races" and "famous chicken dinners," which it still offers. At one time, the club noted, its membership included Michigan’s Gov. G. Mennen (Soapy) Williams.

In the '70s, the website said its membership dropped to less than 50 members. But since then, the club — which now also offers dockage for more than 125 member boats up to 40 feet long — said its numbers have rebounded and was “sound and prosperous with a card-carrying membership of over 250!"

Names of the crash victims were not released.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].

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BP defeated thousands of suits by sick Gulf spill cleanup workers. But not one by a boat captain

John Maas poses for a portrait Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Sparta, Tenn.(AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected. (AP video by Gerald Herbert and Kristin M. Hall)

Thousands of workers who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick — and despite a massive court settlement, many haven’t been helped. (Source: Federal Court Records) (AP Animation: Donavon Brutus)

John Maas poses for a portrait Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Sparta, Tenn. Thousands of people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Maas. Attorneys familiar with the issue say he’s the only one who has received a settlement after suing. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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Legal documents related to a lawsuit between John Maas and BP are shown Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Sparta, Tenn. Thousands of people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Maas. Attorneys familiar with the issue say he’s the only one who has received a settlement after suing. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

John Maas looks through legal documents Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Sparta, Tenn. Thousands of people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Maas. Attorneys familiar with the issue say he’s the only one who has received a settlement after suing. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

FILE - The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE - A plane drops chemicals to help disperse oil from a leaking pipeline that resulted from last week’s explosion and collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana, April 27, 2010. When the deadly explosion destroyed the rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. These workers were exposed to crude oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

FILE - Oil makes a pattern in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, La., May 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

John Maas spent years buying and outfitting a 17-foot aluminum boat called the Superskiff 1 so he could take customers fishing for sea trout and flounder in the Gulf of Mexico.

But before the Mississippi captain could make his first charter trip in 2010, the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blew up 120 miles (193 kilometers) to the south, killing 11 people and sending many millions of gallons of oil into the sea.

As for many along the Gulf coast, the disaster changed Maas’ life. Fishing stopped when oil contaminated the water, so he used his boat to help clean up the spill. It was nasty work under oppressive, humid heat in oily water and around the chemical dispersant Corexit deployed in massive quantities to break up oil.

Maas said the Corexit smelled like burning brake fluid and caused his eyes to water and skin to burn. “You were coughing and things like that. It’s like tear gas almost,” he said in an interview.

Four years later, he was diagnosed with chemically induced asthma. Today, the former Marine — who never smoked and always stayed fit, running with his dog on the beach and keeping up with fishermen 15 years younger — gets winded just walking around his deck at home.

BP paid criminal penalties for the disaster and would eventually spend billions of dollars to settle claims for economic damage and environmental devastation. But after more than a decade of litigation following the largest offshore U.S. oil spill, Maas may well be the only person to receive a BP settlement for his injuries through an individual lawsuit. Thousands of similar cases have been thrown out without ever going to a jury.

Maas succeeded where more than 99% failed by being smart, sometimes pig-headed and, in the end, lucky. His saga illustrates how extremely hard it is for workers who claim they were sickened by the spill to receive meaningful compensation.

Maas worked with four different law firms and even carried the case on his own for months, writing motions longhand on white legal pads and sending them via U.S. mail.

Finally, 12 years after the spill, BP agreed to pay Maas $110,000, according to a confidential copy provided to The Associated Press. The company denied liability for his illness. BP declined to comment for this story, citing ongoing litigation.

“I know this is going to shorten my life tremendously,” the 61-year-old Maas said of his illness. “And I know I’m going to have continued issues related to the spill.”

BOAT CAPTAIN’S LONG ROAD

At every turn, Maas narrowly avoided the fate that befell others.

He first signed up with The Nations Law Firm, based in Houston, but dropped them in 2016 when legal fees shrank his $1,300 check from a class-action settlement between BP and cleanup workers’ attorneys.

After two unhappy years with a second law firm that couldn’t file his federal lawsuit due to paperwork problems, Maas hired a Miami-based law firm, which filed one in Louisiana in 2020.

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Almost immediately, they butted heads. Maas says the firm sent him a declaration that his eyes were splashed with contaminated water while he picked up tar balls.

“This was a scripted thing for the dudes who walked down the beach in the (protective) suits with a little shovel, and a broom, and a bag,” he said. “I was a master boat captain.”

Maas didn’t like the mistake. He also wanted his case heard in Tennessee, where he had moved. This time, the law firm dumped Maas.

A plane drops chemicals to help disperse oil from a leaking pipeline that resulted from last week’s explosion and collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana, April 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

NEARING A WIN

Maas next pressed his case against BP on his own for nine months and got it moved to Tennessee.

“I think most people would be very hesitant on writing their own motions to court, which I was, but I’m dumb enough not to even be embarrassed by spelling things wrong and and not having it set up right,” he said.

In late 2020, Maas secured the services of Tennessee attorney Ken Burger. Initially reluctant, Burger decided to get involved after examining spill worker injury suits.

“The more I looked at it, the madder I got,” he recalled. “My frame of mind was, I don’t give a damn if I don’t get a dollar out of this. They’re (BP) going to answer my questions.”

As with hundreds of similar suits, BP tried to get Maas’ thrown out by arguing he couldn’t prove the exact level and duration of his exposures to oil and Corexit.

But Maas had two things going for him.

First was expert testimony from Corexit researcher Dr. Veena Antony, a professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Alabama, who told the court she believes there’s no safe level of the oil dispersant one could inhale. Maas and his deckhand had testified they were “crop dusted” with Corexit, taking in lungsful.

John Maas poses for a portrait Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Sparta, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

The second advantage was that the federal judge in Tennessee who heard his case was less conservative than those in Gulf states when it came to proving a connection between toxic chemical exposure and illness.

“Mr. Maas does not have to establish he was exposed to a specific dose of Corexit” for his case to continue, U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. said in 2021, noting Maas’ doctor testified the boat captain was exposed daily for a long period.

After the judge ordered mediation, BP settled.

BP never admitted wrongdoing, and Maas’ attorney carefully frames the outcome: Unlike cases “from New Orleans to Pensacola to Galveston to Tampa ... we were able to resolve Captain Maas’ case in a manner agreeable to the parties.”

Since Maas’ case, the lawyer said many spill workers have asked him to take theirs, but he refused. “I don’t think any of these cases are winnable,” he said.

And his Corexit expert witness says she’s loath to testify in any more contentious cleanup suits.

“As a physician, I feel terrible for these people,” Antony said. “But ... I’m not a lawyer. I wish I was in some ways; I would fight for them.”

Oil makes a pattern in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, La., May 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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