What To Know
- A transport tender boat used by the Below Deck crew caught fire during filming.
- The cause of the fire remains unknown,.
- Emile Kotze is pursuing a federal lawsuit against NBCUniversal alleging mistreatment during Season 3.
The drama got a little too hot on the maritime set of Bravo’s Below Deck. A fire broke out on one of the reality show’s transport boats on Friday, and the blaze was captured on video.
The Below Deck crew was filming off the coast of Moʼorea, a French Polynesian island in the South Pacific, when the transport boat went up in flames, according to TMZ. The outlet added that the boat was not one of the luxurious mega-yachts seen on Below Deck but rather one of the tender boats used to transport passengers to shore. The cause of the fire is unclear, and no injuries were reported, TMZ added.
Aerial footage of the incident shows the tender boat aflame, with smoke billowing into the sky, as people watch from a small motorboat idling nearby.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: It was a dramatic day at sea for “Below Deck” when one of the show’s transport vessels caught fire on the open waters … and we have the scary footage. pic.twitter.com/UNRq0X6Use
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 25, 2026
Though details about Below Deck’s upcoming edition are sparse, the show will return for its 13th season later this year, as Bravo previously announced.
The 12th season, which aired on Bravo last summer, followed Below Deck Adventure alum Captain Kerry Titheradge in his second season as Below Deck’s captain. Titheradge’s crew that season included Fraser Olender, Anthony Iracane, Kyle Stillie, Rainbeau de Roos, Solène Favreau, Barbara Kulaif, Jess Theron, Damo Yorg, and Hugo Ortega.
In other Below Deck news, former cast member Emile Kotze filed a federal lawsuit against NBCUniversal and its affiliates in June 2025, according to People. In the suit, Kotze alleged he was “sexually harassed, manipulated, and subjected to degrading treatment” during and after the production of Season 3 in 2015 — claiming that producers pressured him into a romance with costar Raquel “Rocky” Dakota — and he’s seeking up to $850 million in damages, the magazine added. NBC filed a motion to dismiss Kotze’s amended complaint that October, but a judge denied that motion as moot this January, People reported.
Below Deck, Season 13, TBD, Bravo