A stunning superyacht that appeared in a James Bond movie and was once owned by Donald Trump has crashed into a marina wall in Tunisia in a mysterious and undoubtedly costly accident.
The Kingdom 5KR, a sleek 85-meter-long ship that the producers of the Bond film Never Say Never Again evidently believed was fit for a supervillain, crashed into the dock in the Tunisian port of Bizerte on Friday.
A series of images circulating on social media show how the dock suffered considerable damage, while the hull of the multi-million dollar ship was also visibly cracked and dented.
The cause of the accident remains unknown, but initial speculation suggests that a mechanical failure or some type of miscommunication occurred, as the yacht seemed unable to stop and crashed head-on into the dock.
There were no reports of serious injuries, although the financial implications of the damage to both the port and the ship itself are sure to be significant and will be revealed amid an investigation by the Bizerte Maritime Guard.
The Kingdom 5KR yacht, owned by Saudi billionaire Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, suffered significant damage in the port of Bizerte after hitting a dock
There were no reports of serious injuries, although the financial implications of the damage to both the port and the ship itself are sure to be significant.
The Kingdom 5KR was one of the most luxurious and opulent vessels in the world when it was commissioned in the 1980s and remains in the upper echelon of superyachts even four decades later.
FILE PHOTO: Real estate developer Donald Trump and his wife, Ivana, pose aboard their new luxury yacht The Trump Princess docked at the 30th Street Pier on the East River in New York City, Monday, July 4 of 1988.
FILE PHOTO: The filming of the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again aboard a ship then called Nabila and owned by Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi.
Weighing around 1,768 tonnes, the superyacht features a host of amenities including a spa, gym, pool and jacuzzi, and even a helipad.
The ship, designed by famous designer Jon Bannenberg and built by the prestigious Benetti shipyard in Italy, was first launched in 1980 under the name Nabila in honor of the daughter of its first owner, Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi.
But it gained notoriety three years after its maiden voyage when it appeared as ‘The Flying Saucer’, the floating lair of evil agent Maximilian Largo in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again, which was also Sean Connery’s final appearance as 007.
Later that decade, Nabila gained even more weight in popular culture as the inspiration behind the song ‘Khashoggi’s Ship’, written by British rock band Queen in 1989.
It has since had a series of high-profile owners, including the Sultan of Brunei and Donald Trump.
But the financial strain of buying, owning and operating a megaship worth some $90 million proved too much even for the man who became president of the United States, and he sold it again.
The yacht eventually returned to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for decades has been in the possession of Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal al-Saud, another notable business magnate who gave the ship its current name.
Al-Waleed supposedly derived the name Kingdom 5KR from a few near and dear sources: the name of his investment company, his lucky number, and his children’s initials.
Trump is pictured answering a phone call aboard the Trump Princess in 1988.
Real estate developer Donald Trump greets reporters with his wife, Ivana, as they board his luxury yacht The Trump Princess in New York City on Monday, July 4, 1988.
Pictured is the Kingdom 5KR superyacht.
Pictured is the jacuzzi on board the superyacht.
The yacht eventually returned to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for decades has been in the possession of Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal al-Saud, another notable business magnate who gave the ship its current name.
The Kingdom 5KR was one of the most luxurious and opulent vessels in the world when it was commissioned in the 1980s and remains in the upper echelon of superyachts even four decades later.
Weighing around 1,768 tonnes, the superyacht features a host of amenities including a spa, gym, pool and jacuzzi, and even a helipad.
But despite its enormous bulk, a pair of huge diesel engines can propel the ship up to speeds of 20 knots, or 23 miles per hour.
