Mystery of the dead deckhand

Le Grand Bleu

It is the unusual tale of the superyacht and a simple deckhand. The yacht sailed - but Wayne Lee's body stayed under Auckland's Princes Wharf.

Police are now puzzling over a death in circumstances peppered with enough red herrings to fill an Agatha Christie novel. Central to the story are a billionaire's yacht and the corpse it left behind. And then there's the banned parrot and the forbidden ammunition, brought in on a month-long visit to Auckland, the reason for which was never really explained.

Wayne Lee arrived in New Zealand in style, on board one of the world's most luxurious yachts - the 108m Le Grand Bleu, owned by Russianbillionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.

When Lee's body was pulled from the ocean last weekend, the yacht was gone. Lee, a Papua New Guinean national who lived in Cairns, was a deckhand. But little else is known about his life or his mysterious death. He was seen leaving the White House massage parlour on January 16.

He apparently made his way down Queen St, with the last confirmed sighting of him on Princes Wharf surveillance cameras. These images, which have been studied by police, show Lee walking alone around 3.30am.

But he never made it back to the vessel, and was found in the harbour five days later, about 500m from the yacht. His body was brought to the surface by the rumbling of the giant propellers of the Statendam cruise liner.

Although police are not considering his death suspicious, how a sailor who travelled the ocean came to fall off a wharf, almost within sight of his ship, is a question no one is able to answer - and not many are willing to offer clues. Certainly no one close to Abramovich.

The famously secretive 37-year-old, with an estimated worth of US$13 billion (NZ$19 billion), used to be known as the "stealth oligarch".

Until recently, one Russian newspaper offered a million-ruble reward just for a photo of him. His profile rose sharply following his purchase of Chelsea Football Club, now reigning English Premier League champions.

And so has his security, which was very strong during the visit of his yacht. Abramovich was not thought to be aboard at any stage in Auckland but it has never been made clear why the yacht was here without its owner.

The ship's agents, Thirty Seven South, refused to comment about Lee, Abramovich or the yacht.

Nor were they prepared to tell Ports of Auckland where the ship was sailing, a routine maritime query.

Apart from reporting Lee missing to police on January 17, the crew of Le Grand Bleu are not believed to have had dealings with anyone else in New Zealand.

Mr Lee's family are not speaking either - the grief process, they say, is taking a heavy toll. His parents, Francis and Katie Lee, flew from Australia and left with the body last weekend.

The visit of Abramovich's luxury yacht made headlines before it even arrived in Auckland. While moored in Tonga, a minor controversy erupted when its African grey parrot was deemed a potential biosecurity risk to New Zealand. After a prolonged period of media scrutiny and negotiations, the crew won the day by promising to keep the parrot caged and below decks.

The drama continued on Le Grand Bleu's arrival. Marine police found ammunition in the hold, which was confiscated until the ship left. No reasons were given as to why a pleasure boat should have ammunition.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY