International Boat Industry News: Superyacht owner shot dead

One of superyachting’s best known and most respected owners has become a victim of the Mumbai massacre.

By IBI Magazine/Michael Howorth. The only Briton to date confirmed to have died in the terror attacks, Andreas Liveras, 73, was CEO of Liveras Yachts based in Monaco.

Over the years his company has become a specialist in the operation of large charter yachts carrying more than 12 guests. Yachts Liveras has owned include Lauren L, Princess Sophia, Princess Tanya, Rosenkavalier, Alysia, Annaliesse and Altair, among others.

Just before his murder he telephoned the BBC in London from a locked room in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel and gave a vivid account of events as they were unfolding. He described how the terrorists were firing automatic rifles and using bombs. “The hotel is shaking every time a bomb goes off,” he said. “Everybody is just living on their nerves.”

An assistant working for Liveras was one of the other hostages picked out for execution but he managed to escape, despite suffering gunshot wounds. He was reported in The Times as being treated for serious injuries in hospital in Bombay last night. Earlier he had called Liveras’s family in England to alert them about his own plight without knowing his boss’ fate.

The Times also reports that Liveras might have escaped death had he been carrying his Cypriot passport, but he never took it with him. Hours earlier the terrorists separated British and American passport holders from others in the hostage group.

Liveras emigrated from Cyprus to London in 1963 where he worked at a small bakery as a delivery driver. He eventually bought the company and turned it into one of the largest independent manufacturers of frozen gateaux in Europe. He sold out to Express Dairies in 1985 for a multi-million pound sum believed to be in eight figures.

Having described himself as too restless for a quiet retirement he turned his interest in yacht ownership into a hugely successful chartering enterprise.

He was a qualified fixed wing pilot and often took the controls of his own aircraft. His commitment to onboard detail was legendary: he knew every one of his yacht crew personally and always sought to provide the most luxurious charter yachts to be found anywhere in the world.

Liveras is survived by three daughters and a son who all live in England.