A British engineer died on a luxury superyacht in the Caribbean after being electrocuted while repairing a fault, an inquest has heard.
Roy Temme, from Southampton, was one of the 17-strong crew of the 62.5 metre-long Baton Rouge in February 2024 when it was moored in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua.
He embarked on the repair of the ventilation damper in an enclosed compartment of the vessel.
An inquest held at Winchester Coroner's Court heard the 47-year-old father-of-two could only work for 10 minutes at a time in the overpressure duct compartment because of the temperatures ranging between 50C and 55C – which required him to take ventilation breaks.
Coroner Jason Pegg told the hearing that a report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) found that Mr Temme had not isolated the electricity for the repair and the electric breaker was found to be still on.
He added that no permit had been sought to carry out the electrical repairs on the yacht, which had no guests on board at the time.
Mr Pegg said that Mr Temme was “hot and sweaty” while repairing and this would have aided the electricity to flow through his body.
The coroner added that Mr Temme was found by the chief officer, who himself received an electric shock from him.
A statement read to the inquest from Mr Temme’s widow Natasha said: “He’s an amazing father, amazing husband, always cheerful, great sense of humour.
“Roy was a strong man, family man, sober habits, courteous and always willing to help.”
The coroner added: “The evidence would suggest that when Roy embarked on that task which involved the electric circuits on the ship, there was no making safe of the electrical system by Roy or anyone else.”
He said that a post-mortem report found that Mr Temme, who had previously served in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, had suffered cardiac arrest caused by the electric shock which also caused burns to his body.
This then led to hypoxia – oxygen deficiency – which caused Mr Temme’s death.
Recording a conclusion of misadventure, Mr Pegg said that he would not be producing a prevention of future deaths report as the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) had stated that “procedures had been reviewed and existing ones have been reinforced”.
Luxury superyacht Baton Rouge, which costs £358,000 a week to charter, boasts five decks and seven cabins and offers accommodation for up to 12 guests and features a beach club and gym on board.
Made in 2010, it is currently on sale for €59,950,000 (£51,143,045) and also comes equipped with two £20,000 Yamaha Waverunner jet skis.
