Antipodean, a 36 metre superyacht has been boarded by thieves while she lay at anchor off Kranget Island, near Madang, in Papua New Guinea.
The 3 man gang armed with long bushknives stole dive equipment, watches, mobile phones, laptops, and cash.
The yacht belongs to billionaire boss of Australia’s Channel Seven TV Station Kerry Stokes who was not on board when the incident occurred but he and his family have stayed in Madang to continue their scuba diving holiday off the east coast of Papua New Guinea
Antipodean, designed by Jon Bannenberg and built by Oceanfast in 1987, arrived from Cairns on Wednesday, and was anchored off Kranget Island, near Madang, last week.
Former Madang Governor and now owner of the Madang Resort Hotel, Sir Peter Barter told local newspapers “In the early hours the yacht was boarded by armed pirates and robbed. They were confronted and challenged by the crew of Antipodean themselves from Papua New Guinea
The thieves left in their own boat after the confrontation and there were no reports of injuries.