The September yacht shows in both Cannes and Monaco are going to be short of one exhibit after a yacht that was due to appear in both was engulfed in a fire.
The 43.7-metre yacht Aria SF caught fire off the Spanish island of Formentera while on her maiden voyage
Built by Italian builder ISA the 432 gt superyacht had left the shipyard in July this year and was the first hull in the ISA GT 45 series
The yacht had been due to make her world debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September, followed by an appearance at Monaco Yacht Show.
Social media channels circulated images showing the yacht ablaze, with large plumes of black smoke rising into the sky.
Reports say the yacht was burning for at least three hours.
Local news outlets reported that the yacht made a distress call at 5pm local time and that boats were sent out to assist the stricken vessel.
A total of nine guests and seven crew were all successfully evacuated, with no injuries reported
It was not possible to extinguish the flames and the yacht has all but been destroyed and is likely to become a constructive loss. The cause of the fire is not yet known, and investigations are ongoing.