Force Blue
Encyclopedia
Force Blue (formerly Big Roi) is a trawler
Naval trawler
A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...
-expedition
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
style luxury yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
built by Royal Denship
Royal Denship
Royal Denship was a Danish multi-facility conglomerate ship and yacht builder. Presently in administration, the company has created some of the worlds largest super yachts....
in 2002. She is presently the world's 78th-largest superyacht
Design
Built in 2002 by Royal DenshipRoyal Denship
Royal Denship was a Danish multi-facility conglomerate ship and yacht builder. Presently in administration, the company has created some of the worlds largest super yachts....
, she was designed by Ole Steen Knudsen and Tom Fexas as part of Royal Denship's "expedition" series, that included Turmoil and Big Aron. She was commissioned by Roy Speer
Roy Speer
Roy Speer was the financial backing behind the Home Shopping Network. He was the first CEO of the company and saw its revenue from $1.9 million to over $1 billion annually...
, the founder and owner of the Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
.
Briatore
Purchased from Speer by ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
motorsports entrepreneur Flavio Briatore
Flavio Briatore
Flavio Briatore is an Italian businessman. During the 1980s, he was convicted for multiple counts of fraud, receiving two prison sentences, only one of which he served. As a fugitive from Italy, he set up restaurants and then a number of successful Benneton franchises in the Virgin Islands and the...
for £68.2m, she was given a refitted interior designed by Celeste dell`Anna, and given a blue exterior.
Available for hire at a rate of $250,000 per week, in 2009
2009 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2009 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on the 24 May, 2009 at the Circuit de Monaco, in Monaco. The race, which was contested over 78 laps, was the sixth round of the 2009 Formula One season...
at the Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
, she became the location of a meeting between the FIA and FOTA
Formula One Teams Association
The Formula One Teams Association is a group of Formula One teams that was formed at a meeting in Maranello on 29 July 2008. This organisation gives the teams a united voice in their ongoing discussions with the FIA and The Formula One Group regarding the future of Formula One. It is headed by...
to resolve proposed regulation changes for the 2010 Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
season.
Force Blue was seized by Guardia di Finanza (Italian Customs Officers)
Guardia di Finanza
The Guardia di Finanza is a Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. Like the Carabinieri, it is part of the Italian Armed Forces. The Guard is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's...
in May 2010 in La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, near Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. On the authority of a local prosecutor, the state claims that the vessel’s owners, Autumn Sailing Ltd, that there is outstanding Value Added Tax
Value added tax
A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...
owing which should have been paid on the fuel used by the yacht.