A large, high-capacity motor yacht has been detained by the US Coast Guard in Miami, adding another chapter to its already complicated legal story. The Round, a 98-foot Italian-built motor yacht, was boarded over the weekend for repeated violations of a Captain of the Port (COTP) order.
A vessel matching the same name, appearance and Miami home port is listed on charter marketplace Giggster at a rate of $1,300 per hour. According to a violation summary published by the Coast Guard, inspectors issued six citations, including:
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operating without a Certificate of Inspection (COI),
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failing to employ a properly licensed mariner,
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operating without a coastwise endorsement (the yacht was built abroad and sails under a foreign flag).
The Coast Guard noted that knowing and willful violations of a COTP order constitute a felony, punishable by up to $250,000 in fines or up to six years in prison.
Civil penalties can reach $100,000 per day, plus additional fines for other offenses such as unlicensed carriage of passengers for hire.
“The Coast Guard will continue to work as effectively as possible with state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with all applicable laws on the waterways of South Florida,” said Lt. Michelle Haxtin, investigator with Coast Guard Sector Miami.
“Charter vessel operators must be mindful of safety regulations before boarding passengers to prevent the risk of accidents, voyage interruptions and civil penalties for failing to comply with established laws.”
The yacht
Round
: specs and ownership disputes
Round is an Azimut 98 motor yacht of about 160 gross tons, delivered in 2005 and originally named Leonardo II. More than two dozen fiberglass hulls of this design were built.
According to the Miami Herald, this particular yacht was transported from Italy to Florida in 2013, at the time owned by Venezuelan nationals Luis and Ignacio Oberto.
In 2020, the Oberto family became involved in a legal dispute over ownership of Round with Excellent Auto Group, a car repair business based in Hialeah, Florida.
The Obertos alleged that the owners of Excellent Auto took control of the yacht using falsified documents and removed her from the dock under cover of darkness. The workshop’s owners strongly denied the claims and challenged them in court, and the lawsuit was quickly dismissed on procedural grounds.
The current owner of Round is not listed in Coast Guard documentation.
Multiple boardings and repeated COTP violations
Since 2020, the Coast Guard has boarded Round five times, and in 2021 officers terminated a voyage due to “unsafe conditions” onboard.
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On 25 October 2023, the vessel was issued a Captain of the Port order.
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On 23 March 2025, she violated that order for the first time.
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According to the Coast Guard, the yacht violated it again during the most recent weekend boarding.
Second non-compliant vessel:
Second Wind
Another vessel boarded over the weekend, the Second Wind, has allegedly violated a COTP order three times this year. It was previously stopped on 22 February and 16 May, underscoring increased enforcement against non-compliant and illegal charter operations in the South Florida region.
