Russian ‘Captain Calamity’ who stole £200k yacht jailed
A LONE sailor who was rescued at sea off the Hebrides has been jailed for two years after being found guilty of fraud.
Russian Evgeny Dorofeev, claimed he was going on a short fishing trip, with his wife as crew, when he rented a yacht in Norway.
But a Norwegian court heard evidence that he had rented the £200,000 boat on the false pretence that he would remain within the country’s waters. Instead, it found he intended to sail off to start a new life – either in the Canaries, or to organise boat trips for rich Russian oligarchs in the Black Sea.
The would-be businessman’s plans took a calamitous turn when the boat ran aground on rocks in treacherous seas near Skerryvore Lighthouse, off the isle of Tiree, in the early hours of February 16.
His Mayday call prompted a full-scale emergency services response.
With waves of up to 33ft and 70mph gales, efforts by Islay RNLI lifeboat crew, to get a tow rope on the 39ft yacht were thwarted. But the 638ft pipe-laying vessel Deep Energy, answering a Coastguard call for help, evacuated the stranded sailor.
Dorofeev was airlifted by the Coastguard and placed straight into police custody, before an Edinburgh court agreed to the Norwegian authorities’ extradition request.
It is understood Dorofeev had only qualified as an inshore skipper the month before his rescue and was not qualified to sail in open seas or at night.
Now Bergen District Court has issued a written judgement saying judges had found ‘beyond any reasonable doubt’ that Dorofeev had committed a serious fraud.
The 36-year-old, who denied the fraud charge, claimed he had mistakenly navigated off course.
Mobile jammers – devices that can block signals, including those from any tracking device hidden the boat – were found on board, but Dorofeev denied that they were there to hide his movements.
It stated that Dorofeev claimed he needed jammers in connection with his work at a weapons factory to prevent leaks, but added: ‘The Court attaches no trust in this.’
The court ruled that the accused had
‘Sailing for new life in Canaries or Black Sea’
rented the vessel on false pretences, noting he had told two witnesses he was heading off for a new life in the Canaries, or that boat rental to oligarchs in the Black Sea had been mentioned as an ‘opportunity’.
Even before his rescue, Dorofeev’s plans had hit a major hitch when he was expelled from the UK after cruising into Kirkwall, in Orkney, without a visa.
The court had heard that border officials searched the boat and found stencils of the word ‘Dora’ and Russian registration papers. They believed Dorofeev planned to change the boat’s name before falsely lodging it on the Russian shipping register.
Dorofeev has been ordered to pay more than £200,000 in compensation to the owner of the boat, which was badly damaged when it ran aground.
Dorofeev’s solicitor disputed claims he had stolen the boat and an appeal is to be made against the fraud conviction.