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A FUEL mix-up involving the super-yacht of Roman Abramovich led the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club to switch his family’s summer holiday from Malta to Sardinia.

The 377ft (115m), £72 million vessel — the world’s fourth-largest private yacht — was docked in Malta last month awaiting the Russian oil magnate’s arrival on his private jet from the United States.

However, a Maltese fuel supplier inadvertently filled the yacht’s massive tank with contaminated diesel.

Simon Borg Cordona, the Maltese agent for the Pelorus, said the fuel contained an excessive amount of water. A warning system on board detected the problem while she was still docked at Malta’s Manoel Island Marina and shut down the generators. He said no damage was caused to the engine.

“These things happen all the time — unfortunately it’s a common problem. In this case, the yacht in question is world-renowned, as is its owner,” Mr Borg Cordona told The Times.

The mishap was still very expensive. The entire contents of the tank — worth £120,000 — had to be drained and fresh fuel supplied the following day. An investigation into how the diesel became contaminated is under way. Mr Borg Cordona said: “I hope it does not get blown out of all proportion and have a negative effect on the maritime industry in Malta.”

One thing is certain: the incident has cost Malta its first visit from Mr Abramovich, 38. He had been expected to spend a few days cruising around the former British territory before taking the Pelorus — one of a fleet of three yachts — to another Mediterranean destination.

Instead, the yacht was sent to rendezvous with its owner, his wife Irina and their five children, in Sardinia. The Abramovichs flew into Olbia airport late last week. John Mann, Mr Abramovich’s Moscow-based spokesman, would not comment on any aspect of his boss’s life that was not related to business.

The Pelorus is just two years old and was bought from a Saudi businessman weeks after being completed. She is regarded as one of the most stylish super-yachts afloat and has bulletproof glass, a missile detection system, two helicopters, a submarine and special lights intended to deter paparazzi.

With a crew of 40, the yacht costs some £7 million a year to run. But in the world of Mr Abramovich — Russia’s richest man who is said by Forbes magazine to be worth £8.2 billion — one yacht is simply not enough.

In 2003, the year he bought Pelorus, he took delivery of the 282ft (86m) Ecstasea, custom-built by Dutch shipbuilder Royal Van Let for £72 million. The collection is completed by Le Grand Bleu, a 370ft (113m) yacht worth £50 million that was previously owned by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft.

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