'Extremely qualified' chief engineer onboard a £50million superyacht died when he failed to isolate the power during repairs, inquest told

Daily Mail​

22-06-2025

An 'extremely qualified' chief engineer onboard a £50 million superyacht died from electrocution after failing to isolate the power during repairs, an inquest heard.
'Dedicated' Roy Temme was working in a 'hot and sweaty' tiny compartment on the luxury 62.5 metre superyacht when he was fatally electrocuted.
The 47-year-old experienced 230 volts of electricity jolting through his body after failing to take the necessary precautions when working with live wires, an inquest into his death heard.
A colleague who found Mr Temme slumped in the enclosed compartment also experienced a mild electric shock when they touched his body.
Jason Pegg, acting senior coroner for Hampshire described the father-of-two as an 'extremely qualified' chief engineer, having served in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary before moving to a private yacht.
It was heard that Mr Temme, from Southampton, loved his job on the luxurious Baton Rouge superyacht, which was docked in Falmouth Harbour in the Caribbean island of Antigua at the time of his death.
The superyacht, which even has its own beach club onboard and a deck pool complete with jets, has just been put on the market for €60 million (£51 million).
Accommodating up to twelve guests, it can be chartered at a weekly cost of $500,000, the equivalent of £368,250.
Winchester Coroner's Court heard that Mr Temme told the ship's captain he would carry out necessary repair work on the overpressure duct compartment.
The pair had agreed on a maximum of 10 minutes inside the duct at any one time before taking a rehydration break, due to its high temperatures of 55 degrees celsius.
He began the work shortly after 7.30am on February 23, 2024, keeping in constant communication with the yacht's chief officer via a radio.
It wasn't until around an hour later, when he entered the duct for the third time to continue his work, that he was electrocuted.
Alarms were activated onboard whilst the second engineer and the chief officer rushed to the duct where they found Mr Temme slumped over.
The chief officer tried to move him but suffered a minor electric shock himself, making it clear that Mr Temme was still touching the live wires.
Emergency services were called and the engineer was taken to a hospital on Antigua where he was tragically later pronounced dead.
During a post-mortem it was found that Mr Temme had full thickness burns on his hands which showed where the 230 volts of electricity had entered his body.
The medical cause of death was given as hypoxia and partial burns.
The inquest was told he had failed to take the additional precautions recommended for work where the electricity cannot be turned off.
Recording a conclusion of death by misadventure, the coroner said the conditions in the duct were 'oppressive' and had resulted in an 'unintended consequence'.
As a result of the tragic incident, Mr Pegg told the inquest that procedures on yachts chartered by Nigel Burgess Ltd had been changed and existing ones reinforced.
Mr Temme's wife, Nataliya Temme, raised concerns during the hearing that Nigel Burgess Ltd, the yacht's operator, had acted 'unprofessionally' and 'lied to her about the cause of her husband's death'.
She alleged that during an initial phone call about the incident she had been 'lied to', adding: 'They did not bother to ask if I was alone or not, my daughter was in the car.
'They said he was doing his usual rounds and he collapsed on deck, I found out the real cause from the media.
'It was evidently unprofessional, I was disrespected... how they behaved is not acceptable.'
However, Mr Pegg said this was not within the remit of the inquest as it did not concern how Mr Temme had died.
Mr Pegg, who described Mr Temme as a 'much loved husband and father', said that his devastated wife would remember him as a 'strong man, a family man, a very dedicated man, someone who was cheerful with a great sense of humour'.
Addressing Ms Temme directly, he added: 'To you, the children, wider family and friends you have my genuine and sincere condolences.
'(Mr Temme) is desperately missed I am sure'.