Istion Yachting

Charterer in the Ionian Sea beware – Charterer Beware We have been self-chartering at various places around the globe for decades. We also owned a 60-foot catamaran over the last two decades and have reasonably substantial offshore experience. Six of us (including two engineers) chartered a catamaran from Istion Yachting, Lefkada, in the Ionian Sea during September 2024. As experienced charterers and sailors we need to share, regrettably, that our experience with Istion Yachting was exceptionally disappointing. Overall, the boat and tender were in average to poor condition due to poor maintenance. Plainly some of this was attributable to the fact that the boat would have been under constant charter during the chartering season. For example, the tender’s outboard engine was in poor condition as it was prone to constant overheating and was very unreliable. Despite being meticulous in handling the boat, when we returned to Lefkada Marina, Istion’s base manager, [Name Removed], blamed us for various maintenance issues which frankly had nothing to do with us. There was, however, a significant issue in that the prop seal on the port engine, likely overdue for service, had partly failed - leaking sea water into the gear box oil.

Istion, apparently seeking to have us cover their own regular maintenance costs, alleged that we had caused the problem by fouling a fishing line. Curiously, [Name Removed] said to us that it was ‘impossible for us to know whether we had fouled any fishing twine’. We understand the point he was trying to make, namely that fishing twine is very fine and essentially colourless and essentially very difficult to see whilst underway. And he appeared to be saying that there was simply nothing we could do to avoid snagging fishing twine. The reality was that we were very focussed on this and always tried to steer clear of fishing boats or areas where fishing was occurring. But the conclusion seems to be that, even if we acted diligently and did everything correctly, we were apparently nonetheless liable for damage. But importantly, we asked many times for some evidence that we had caused the problem. All we received were some photographs of a propeller shaft which indeed confirmed a general lack of maintenance according to our engineering advice. There was simply nothing that evidenced that we had caused the seal rupture. Indeed, the photographs were consistent with some twine having been snagged at a time prior to our charter. Subsequently, following a complaint on our part, Istion did refund 25% of the bond amount. Attributing us with any cost was absurd as it was plainly a problem that we had not caused, according to our engineers. Accordingly, we feel we need to caution people to avoid Istion Yachting. We have been left feeling that a substantial proportion of our bond has simply been applied, without our consent, towards end of season maintenance. Clearly, it’s open to us to institute legal proceedings in Greece from Australia, and we are considering this option.