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2 Russian Oligarch’s Superyachts Just Seized: 1 Boat Is On the Run

Sanctioned Russian oligarch Eugene Shvidler’s two private jets were recently seized. That’s when he must have drawn a line. His Le Grand Bleu superyacht is now missing. The last whereabouts of the boat were around Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov wasn’t so lucky. After a long search, his $300 million superyacht was seized in the remote Fiji Islands.

What Russian assets are western governments seizing?

Western governments have been snapping up private jets, yachts, property, and bank accounts of oligarchs after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Biden administration created the task force “KleptoCapture” in March. Its charge is to hunt down oligarch assets . 

“Last month, I warned that the department had its eyes on every yacht purchased with dirty money,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. “This yacht seizure should tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide, not even in the remotest part of the world. We will use every means of enforcing the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine.”

This Russian oligarch’s boat is missing

That would include Shvidler’s superyacht, though its current whereabouts are unknown. Its last whereabouts were in Puerto Rico, according to NBC . At 370 feet, it should be easy to spot. In spite of its age, until recently it was considered one of the longest yachts ever made. 

The length accommodates two (not one!) helipads, two mega-tenders, an owner’s bed which also features a sliding ceiling above, and a glass-bottom observation deck. Where did the money from all of this come from? In the 1990s the Russian oil industry became privatized. Oligarchs made billions of dollars as a result. 

Kerimov was the recipient of this largesse. He was in the right place at the right time and had lots of other oil billionaires as friends. But now that association is getting him into trouble with various world powers over the sanctions. 

This Russian boat was snagged recently

As for the seized superyacht christened Amadea, it was the smaller 350-foot variety. Kerimov, according to the U.S. Treasury, helped Russia through corruption, and also the annexation of Crimea. That helped him take an official position with the Russian government. 

This yacht sleeps 16 people in eight cabins. The Amadea was last registered in the Caymans and is also thought to be worth $300 million. 

The Dilbar superyacht is another boat siezed

German officials seized another oligarch yacht last month. Thought to belong to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, after a thorough investigation of its registration, Usmanov’s sister Gulbakhor Ismailova actually owned it. 

This one surpasses the other two with a length of 500 feet. It also has two helipads. The U.S. Treasury Department estimates its worth to be almost $750 million.  

So what can we learn from all of this? Being a Russian oligarch is a good gig until your puppet master invades a country for no reason. Then, it’s not .

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Thom Taylor

Thom Taylor is a celebrated automotive journalist. He was awarded the Top 100 Most Influential People in Hot Rodding from Hot Rod Magazine, and was inducted into the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame and the National Rod and Custom Hall of Fame. He’s a member of SEMA and the NHRA.

Thom has authored a number of books, including Hot Rod & Custom Chronicle and several guides for drawing vehicles like a pro, which pull from his distinguished ventures as an automotive illustrator.

Thom joined the MotorBiscuit team in 2019, and focuses his coverage on new vehicle releases, design, and the latest features and tech in the industry. His tenure of 25 years writing about the industry gives him a unique context for the auto news he covers, whether it’s part of the Rusty Monday series or the latest news from Chevy. Thom has built two complete cars from the ground up and driven vintage roadsters at the Indy 500.

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West hits Russian oligarchs where it hurts — their mega-yachts

By Megan Cerullo

March 7, 2022 / 1:55 PM EST / MoneyWatch

The U.S. and European Union are cracking down on sanctions against Russian billionaires by taking control of their mega yachts and other valuable assets, including villas and private jets, parked in territory over which their governments have jurisdiction. 

Italy on Friday said it seized a $70 million yacht moored in Liguria, Italy, belonging to Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov, a steel magnate with close ties to the Kremlin. 

"Italy's police has just seized 'Lady M Yacht' - a €65 million yacht belonging to Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov located in Imperia (Liguria) - in compliance with the recent EU sanctions," Ferdinando Giugliano, a media adviser to Italy's prime minister, said in a tweet.

Italy’s police has just seized “Lady M Yacht” - a €65m yacht belonging to Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov located in Imperia (Liguria) - in compliance with the recent EU sanctions. pic.twitter.com/8NzqkXH7lE — Ferdinando Giugliano (@FerdiGiugliano) March 4, 2022

On Saturday, Italy's tax police also froze "Lena," a $54 million yacht belonging to Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko, the founder of a Moscow, Russia-based private investment group and close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the EU has sanctioned.

Assets that cannot be moved are even easier to take possession of, or prevent their owners from accessing. 

Italy also froze a $3.2 million property in Tuscany belonging to Oleg Savchenko, who is among the richest Russian business people. Giugliano tweeted an image of a Ministry of Economy and Finance vehicle in front of the estate, named "Villa Lazzareschi." 

Italy’s tax police also froze “Lena” - a €50m yacht belonging to Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko located in Sanremo (Liguria) - and “Villa Lazzareschi” - a €3m property belonging to Oleg Savchenko located in the province of Lucca (Tuscany). pic.twitter.com/yc1Q2y4d0G — Ferdinando Giugliano (@FerdiGiugliano) March 5, 2022

President Biden has also said the U.S. government is homing in on Russian oligarchs' super-yachts, private planes and other conspicuous symbols of their wealth as Russian President Vladimir Putin escalates his country's attack on Ukraine.  

A new federal task force, dubbed "KleptoCapture," will take aim at what Mr. Biden described in his State of the Union address on Tuesday as "the crimes of Russian oligarchs."  

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," Mr. Biden said. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

More than a dozen Russian billionaires are under sanction by the U.S., European Union and the United Kingdom, and some are trying to dodge restrictions by moving assets that are mobile — including mega-yachts — into territories where sanctions don't apply and where their property cannot be seized or their assets frozen. 

The super-yacht "Graceful," believed to be owned by Vladimir Putin himself, left Germany two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine and recently docked in Kaliningrad, near Russia's nuclear weapons operations, data form MarineTraffic, a maritime tracking website, shows. 

Putin ally Roman Abramovich, who made his fortune in the energy business, is not currently on any government sanction lists, but is making moves to unload valuable assets, including Chelsea Football Club. Among those assets is a super-yacht named "Eclipse" that is the third largest pleasure vessel in the world, measuring more than 540 feet long and 72 feet wide, according to Marine Vessel Traffic, a website that tracks the location of ships and other vessels, including privately owned yachts. It recently set sail from St. Barts to Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten — the Dutch side of the Caribbean island Saint Martin.

"Le Grand Bleu," owned by Russian oil titan Eugene Shvidler, is also anchored off the island of St. Martin, where EU sanctions can be enforced. 

Too big to hide

Some oligarchs on sanction lists, who are alleged to have built their wealth in Russia through political corruption, have already been cut off from their own valuable assets. 

The EU's sanctions on Russian oligarchs on Wednesday led to Germany's freezing of a yacht owned by Alisher Usmanov, one of the wealthiest Russians, according to a Forbes report . According to Marine Traffic, the 512-foot yacht, named "Dilbar," had been stationed in Hamburg, Germany, since October 29 for repairs. 

The French Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday said its customs agents seized the "Amore Vero" yacht belonging to a company owned by Igor Setchine, director of Russian oil company Rosneft. The yacht had been stationed for repairs in La Ciotat in Southern France's Cote d'Azur region. 

While the crew's intention was to "sail urgently, without having completed the planned work," it was seized before it could depart, the agency said. 

Fleeing hotspots

In hopes of avoiding the same fate, some yacht owners are "hightailing it on the high seas," financier and anti-corruption activist Bill Browder told CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge. 

They are mooring their mega-yachts, some with 100-member-crews, in places like Dubai and the Maldives — a nation of tiny islands in the Indian Ocean, which does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. "They're parking their assets where they cannot be seized," Browder told CBS MoneyWatch. 

The problem is that ships of this size can't stay indefinitely in a place like the Maldives, which can generate significant income through docking fees, given their need to refuel and stock provisions. 

"There are a number of these yachts in the Maldives, and unless those countries put sanctions in place they're probably safer there," Alasdair Milroy, a maritime accountant and owner of Breaking the Mould Accounting, told CBS MoneyWatch. "But you can only spend so long in someplace like the Maldives on a yacht of that size without needing provisions, or to refuel, so I don't know how well that will last for a longer period. I don't think they'll be able to do that for that long."

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who is in charge of the new U.S. task force targeting Russian oligarchs, issued a stark warning: "We will use every tool to freeze and seize your criminal proceeds," she said in a statement.

Confiscating Russian oligarchs' wealth could be an effective tactic, Browder told CBS MoneyWatch. "It's hugely symbolic, and part of this thing is psychological war. This really has an impact — if not financially, then psychologically."

At least 10 of the 100 largest super-yachts in the world belong to Russian oligarchs, according to Marine Vessel Traffic .

Websites tracking maritime activity show that other oligarchs' yachts are on the move as their owners attempt to shield their assets from seizure. The "Galactica Super Nova," a 230-foot long, $80 million vessel owned by Vagit Alekperov, president of Russian oil company Lukoil, recently left its mooring in Barcelona, Spain, where EU sanctions apply, and set sail for Tivat, Montenegro, in the Balkans, according to VesselFinder.com.  

"Clio," a super-yacht owned by Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska, is currently anchored off of the Maldives, according to MarineTraffic.com . A handful of other oligarch-owned mega-yachts are also moored in the Maldives, including Alexander Abramov's "Titan," Viktor Rashnikov's "Ocean Victory" and Vladimir Potanin's "Nirvana." 

How sanctions work

Placing an individual or their assets under official sanction does not give another government the legal authority to seize their assets — only to freeze or cut off their owner's access. 

"Generally speaking, sanctions are the authority that allow us to freeze assets. They are most easily understood in context of a bank account — it's literally put into a frozen account that still exists and collects interest and you own it, but you can't get any money from it," said Adam M. Smith, a partner at law firm Gibson Dunn. 

Tangible property must also be under the jurisdiction of the U.S. for any sanctions to work, or for the government to cut off their owner's ability to use an asset like a private yacht or jet. 

Daniel P. Ahn, a sanctions and economic warfare expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former chief economist for the U.S. State Department, said that targeting an individual's yacht can limit its use even it isn't seized.

"If it arrives in the West, any port that can refuel is not allowed to do that anymore. So maybe the yacht itself doesn't get seized, but it's a lot less useful thing to have," he said. 

For this reason, sanctioned individuals may choose to try to sell assets like yachts at a loss, rather than risk losing use of them indefinitely. 

"If I was an oligarch, the first thing I would do is I would protest and say I shouldn't be blacklisted. Second would be to see if I can liquidate these assets and claw back something, knowing that otherwise it may rot at the pier without proper maintenance and the like," Ahn said.

As far as their impact goes, the sanctions are more than merely symbolic, he added. "The ultimate objective is to make life very difficult for these oligarchs, and it has been achieved," Ahn said. 

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News Streaming to discuss her reporting.

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Oligarchs fret about their assets as UK fights to keep tabs on their spending

A small part of the Treasury is charged with regulating the spending of sanctioned individuals – but faces a mountain of paperwork and criticism that it is being too lenient

It is hurricane season in the Caribbean and the billionaire owner of Le Grand Bleu, one of the largest superyachts ever to sail the seven seas, is losing sleep over it.

The 113-metre-long vessel belongs to Eugene Shvidler, a Russian-born oil tycoon who was sanctioned by the UK last year, due in part to his long association with Roman Abramovich, himself accused of enjoying a cosy relationship with Vladimir Putin .

Le Grand Bleu, which Shvidler acquired from Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea FC, has graced some of the world’s most glamorous ports over the years and is valued at nearly £80m. Tourists once complained it was blocking views of the Statue of Liberty when it was moored in New York.

Now the vessel languishes in an industrial shipyard in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where its twin helipads and gleaming white curves offer stark contrast to nearby rusting warehouses.

In a hearing last month at London’s high court , Shvidler launched an effort to have the sanctions on him declared unlawful, accusing the government of oppressive treatment and significant errors in its decision making. A judgment is expected soon. In his witness statements, Shvidler cited the yacht’s jeopardy extensively.

About 47 members of crew had had to be let go, including 10 British citizens, because they could not be paid without potentially breaching sanctions, lawyers said.

A freeze on Shvidler’s sizeable assets – he is said to be worth about £1.3bn – means the remaining skeleton crew have been left waiting for payment and lack the equipment required to sail out of port, should a hurricane make that necessary.

As jarring as such complaints may sound when set against those of the Ukrainian people, whose plight sanctions are designed to alleviate, the tussle between Shvidler and the UK government offers new insight into a curious process: the world of sanctions enforcement.

The Treasury’s enforcer

For a sanctioned oligarch to do their weekly shop, let alone maintain a superyacht, they require permission from a little-known enclave of the Treasury, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). Its remit covers everything from Libyan militias to the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes.

Since Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine, the OFSI’s staff have become desk-bound combatants in Europe’s largest land conflict since the second world war, responsible for enforcing sanctions against 1,600 people targeted as part of international efforts to heap pressure on the Kremlin.

An unglamorous but increasingly time-consuming part of their duty is the operation of a licensing system that is, in theory at least, simple.

When an individual is “designated” and goes on to the UK’s sanctions list, their funds are frozen but they can apply for licences to make payments for reasons such as living expenses – food, rent, utility bills or medicine.

They fill out a form and in return receive a licence that can be presented to their bank, which in turn rubber-stamps transactions that it would otherwise be obliged to block. There are also “extraordinary” situations in which transactions can be permitted, such as for humanitarian reasons or to prevent loss of life. One such exemption covers Shvidler’s licence to keep his boat afloat.

The OFSI also issues general licences, offering blanket permission for expenses such as legal fees or to fulfil prior contractual obligations.

Now it is coming under fire on two fronts, from campaigners on one side and lawyers for sanctioned oligarchs on the other. The former complain that the OFSI is granting sanctioned individuals far too much leeway to deploy frozen funds for what could be deemed questionable purposes.

Lawyers, on the other hand, say that some of their sanctioned clients are facing unfair and intolerable hardship, unable to pay for basic living expenses.

The lawyers’ complaint

“Every time my client went to Waitrose to buy food for the kids, I had to write to OFSI notifying them he’d breached sanctions and committed a criminal offence,” one veteran sanctions lawyer said. “If you were to comply with the law, you’d starve to death. The system is broken: they just cannot cope.”

On this issue, opposing factions find some common ground. The OFSI is, they say, stretched to breaking point and, at times, struggles to function. Before the war, the office employed 40 staff, but has since expanded to more than 140. However, the headcount increase has not kept pace with the mountain of work piling up.

In the year before the Ukraine war, the government received 11 licence applications related to Russian sanctions and approved nine. It has since been inundated with more than 1,000 licence requests, approving 82.

The volume of frozen assets under the Russian sanctions regime has ballooned, from £44.5m in September 2021 to £18.4bn in December 2022.

During the course of Shvidler’s suit against the Foreign Office, the government admitted that an “exponential” increase in licence applications had led to long delays.

Lawyers spoke of young and inexperienced staff recruited from industries such as the travel sector, of interminable delays and basic spelling errors.

Such issues can lead pernickety banks to refuse payment requests – or sometimes embolden tricksy debtors to refuse to settle up, disingenuously citing the risk of breaching sanctions law.

One lawyer pointed to a job advert recently posted by the OFSI, advertising for a new head of “sanctions guidance”, with a salary range starting at £50,000. The role was based in either London or the Treasury’s Darlington campus, with a salary bump for working in the capital. “You’d struggle to get anyone decent at that level,” he said. “Big law firms pay trainees more than that.”

Too much leeway?

The flip side of the coin, however, is that the OFSI has granted licences that test the boundaries of what most people would consider necessary living expenses. “I’ve always advised my clients that, frankly, you shouldn’t be applying for the florist or the yoga teacher,” said a second lawyer with several sanctioned individuals in his client book.

But some licences have allowed for more expensive services. Petr Aven – the former head of Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa-Bank JSC, who is worth an estimated $5.5bn – is fighting a court battle to unfreeze £1.5m of funds held in two companies that he has previously used to manage his UK properties and pay his children’s private school fees.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) had secured an asset freezing order on the companies, alleging they had breached sanctions by making a £200,000 payment to two car dealers and a £160,000 transaction allegedly intended to conceal the sale of a Bentley.

However, the NCA had failed to tell the court, when applying for the freeze order, that the OFSI had granted Aven a licence to access the funds. Westminster magistrates court ruled last year that the money could be used for the benefit of Aven’s family and is still considering whether the accounts can be unfrozen entirely.

Aven’s business associate Mikhail Fridman obtained a licence to pay 19 members of staff, including drivers, private chefs, housekeepers and maintenance staff, according to a report in the New York Times , which said the total cost had reached £300,000 in the first year of the war. The Observer approached Fridman for comment.

The government has since acknowledged that one example was particularly egregious. Last year, the OFSI granted a licence to Yevgeny Prigozhin – head of the Wagner Group, the brutal private army that was accused of perpetrating atrocities in Ukraine before a very public falling-out with Putin, which ended in an apparent coup attempt. Prigozhin was given leave to hire lawyers to sue a British journalist for defamation.

The resulting outcry ultimately led the government to close a loophole that allowed the lawsuit, restricting legal licences so they could not include such actions.

Concerns remain about the overall licensing framework. Sanctioned individuals may apply for licences allowing them to spend up to £60,000 a month, or £720,000 a year, to cover their “basic needs”.

The OFSI also provides for sanctioned people to pay their lawyers up to £500,000 every six months, or £1m if the work began before sanctions were imposed. That is 45 times the cap in the US. Barristers can also be paid up to £1,500 an hour – 15 times the rate allowed in the US.

That sort of cash buys you the best. Shvidler was represented in court by Lord (David) Anderson, who spent six years advising the government on terrorism legislation and earlier this year published a review for the Home Office of the Investigatory Powers Act.

Little wonder that a cottage industry has sprung up within the London legal profession. When Putin’s invasion began, some of the larger law firms in effect fired their Russian clients, leaving this fees bonanza to smaller outfits.

“I knew virtually nothing about sanctions law before February 2022,” said a senior figure at one such firm. “Since then it’s been 90% of my life.”

Campaigners’ concern

The campaign group Spotlight on Corruption has raised concerns that blanket “general” licences are being issued too easily, as a way for hard-pressed staff at the OFSI to reduce their backlog.

The group also raised concern that the UK’s relatively permissive regime is partly geared towards ensuring the continued flow of fees to the legal sector, which was accustomed to a regular income before the war from Russians using the London courts to play out personal and corporate battles .

Susan Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, said the licences for legal fees put the UK “at serious odds” with allies such as the US.

“There is a real risk that the government’s general licence – or ‘free pass’ – for the legal sector encourages UK lawyers to adopt a ‘business as usual’ approach and keep profiting from working for clients sanctioned in relation to Russia’s war in Ukraine,” she said.

Oligarchs' sanctioned assets

Rich pickings: top seized assets since the invasion of Ukraine

Since the invasion of Ukraine, the British government has frozen more than £18bn of assets from people it says are linked to the Kremlin, ranging from yachts and private jets to cold hard cash.

The US, EU and other territories around the world have taken similar steps, as part of a co-ordinated international effort to turn the screw on Vladimir Putin by targeting oligarchs.

The British government is now  weighing laws  that could see some of these assets not just frozen but seized and even sold to help pay for the eventual reconstruction of Ukraine.

The EU has looked at imposing a levy on frozen assets for the same purpose, while members of Congress in the US have proposed parallel measures.

Here are some of the most eye-catching assets that were frozen in the early days of the war. Others sailed or flew out of the reach of the authorities just in time.

Asset: A villa in Cap d’Antibes (pictured) Estimated value: £100m Owner: Roman Abramovich

Roman Abramovich had more than £5.4bn of his assets frozen in Jersey last April, while 12 luxury properties were seized by the French government.  They included his sprawling Château de la Croë villa complex in Cap d’Antibes in the south of France, once the holiday home of King Edward VIII.

The US has not sanctioned Abramovich but issued  freezing orders against two of his jets . Neither aircraft were in the US at the time.

Two of his superyachts, the £750m Eclipse the £458m Solaris, hurriedly left Europe before any attempt by EU countries to seize them and have been seen in Turkish waters.

Asset: The world’s largest superyacht and two helicopters Estimated value: £460m Owner: Alisher Usmanov and family

The German authorities  seized the $600m (£458m) Dilbar superyacht  while it was undergoing repairs in Hamburg last year. They concluded that the vessel was owned by the sister of sanctioned oligarch Alisher Usmanov. Meanwhile, the French authorities froze ownership of two helicopters linked to Usmanov, worth a combined $26m, according to Forbes. A spokesperson for the tycoon reportedly said at the time that the aircraft did not belong to Usmanov but to a family trust.

Two jets linked to Usmanov flew out of Europe before they could be impounded, a  Guardian investigation established  last year. He also owns the £48m Beechwood House in Highgate, London, and the 16th-century Sutton Place estate in Surrey.

Asset: Two private jets and a superyacht Estimated value: £120m Owner: Eugene Shvidler

Roman Abramovich associate Eugene Shvidler complained of “oppressive treatment” by the UK during a legal challenge to sanctions against him. He cited, among other things, the seizure of two private jets - a $45m (£34m) Bombardier Global 6500 jet impounded at Farnborough airport and a $13m (£9.8m) Cessna Citation Latitude jet seized at Biggin Hill. His yacht, Le Grand Bleu, is stuck in Ponce, Puerto Rico, due to restrictions on his ability to pay crew and maintenance costs.

Asset: Planes, yachts and helicopters Estimated value: Unknown Owners: Igor Sechin, Suleiman Kerimov, Viktor Vekselberg, and Viktor Medvedchuk

Between them, this quartet have reportedly had a fleet of aircraft and vessels frozen. They include Kerimov’s $300m yacht, the Amadea, seized in the US, and the Tango, a $90m yacht belonging to Vekselberg, which was detained in Spain. A helicopter and private jet belonging to Viktor Medvedchuk, who was considered Putin’s chosen puppet leader in Ukraine, were handed over to the country’s armed forces.

“We urgently need a full independent review to ensure that the UK’s licensing regime is not creating perverse incentives for sanctioned oligarchs to run down their frozen assets, including in legal fees or so-called ‘basic needs.’”

The OFSI’s own annual review suggests it does take the prosperity of British business sectors, such as the legal profession, into account.

Licences, it states, are issued “to protect individual and UK business needs which in turn underpin strong, sustainable and balanced growth”.

A government spokesperson said the unit strongly rejected the notion that the legal licence regime was deliberately permissive in order to benefit the London legal sector.

They said licences were “strictly monitored, with a breach resulting in financial penalties or criminal prosecution”, adding: “These applications are closely scrutinised and frequently rejected.”

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The Internet Sleuths Obsessively Tracking the Superyachts of Russian Oligarchs

‘Seizure of the yachts feels like a little bit of justice. It sends the message that these oligarchs have to pick a side: Support the dictator or support democracy’

For the first time in several years, Ben, a 36-year-old machinist in Michigan, hasn’t been pulling up Twitter first thing in the morning. Instead, he’s been checking MarineTraffic.com — an open, community-based website that tracks the real-time movement and location of ships — to see which yachts belonging to Russian billionaire oligarchs have been seized as a part of the economic sanctions placed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. “I catch up on everything else later in the day,” he tells me. “But ever since they announced the sanctions, I can’t take my eyes away from #YachtWatch and MarineTraffic.” 

To be sure, a desire to know intimate details about billionaire yachts is nothing new. Within niche communities of maritime enthusiasts and professionals, these extraordinary yachts have always been followed and discussed in great detail. In fact, many yachts have their own Wikipedia pages , and websites like SuperYachtFan.com and SuperYachtTimes.com thrive on outlining the design, specs and ownership of these multi-million dollar vessels. But for the general public to become interested in the intricacies of billionaire yacht ownership and tracking is certainly new. 

To that end, Alex Finley, a former CIA officer turned author , had been researching oligarch yachts for her upcoming novel long before they caught the public’s eye. “I was already in tune with how the yachts and other assets play a role in Putin’s wider agenda,” she tells me. “But when I was kind of shitposting about Russian yachts on Twitter, no, I didn’t think it would turn into a crowdsourced global hunt for super yachts.” 

Good day #YachtWatch -ers. Yesterday morning, around 10am, Roman Abramovich’s other yacht [insert eye roll gif] Eclipse was tracked heading toward Gibraltar. She hasn’t pinged in about 8 hours. 1/ pic.twitter.com/cdlr6TH3rW — Alex Finley (@alexzfinley) March 11, 2022

Since creating the #YachtWatch hashtag, Finley says she’s seen the number of people like Ben who regularly check in on her updates of yacht seizures grow exponentially. “I’ve gained something like 20,000 followers in just a few days, and judging by the number of media inquiries, yeah, I guess people are interested,” she explains. 

And more than merely observe, certain people have made contributions that help improve the public’s ability to track and absorb complex maritime information. “Some mariners have helped explain some of the more technical aspects regarding AIS [ automatic identification system ] and navigation and facility infrastructure, for example,” Finley says. “Others have provided great encouragement, or remind me to sleep and hydrate, which I love.” 

Italy are still winning with an early brace, but still lots to play for. Straights of Gibraltar could prove a winning card for @RoyalNavy to get UK on the board, but a strategically timed US Transfer deal with the Maldives could beat everyone! #HuntForRedYachtober #YachtWatch https://t.co/yBOyI7cBSs — Charlie Moore (@c_moore) March 11, 2022

Elsewhere, members of the #YachtWatch community have created makeshift “BINGO” cards that show pictures of yachts along with the name of the Russian billionaire to whom they belong. Others, like Jack Sweeney , a college student who recently gained notoriety for tracking Elon Musk’s private jet, created their own Twitter accounts dedicated to the pursuit. In just over a week, his @RussianYachts account has amassed over 22,000 followers after posting information about yacht ownership and location updates. 

While I figure out more to track the yachts and choose the best solution. Here's a graphic made by @CNN of the latest locations of some of the yachts. pic.twitter.com/z9FgcJNiz2 — Russian Yachts (@RussiaYachts) March 7, 2022

Finley reckons that there’s a sense of “heightened” schadenfreude driving the massive public interest in superyacht seizures. They’re not just watching bad things happen to bad people, they’re watching people who “supported a dictator who started a totally unprovoked war” lose their toys. “These oligarchs have supported Putin’s efforts to destabilize the West and our democratic institutions, while at the same time taking advantage of those very same democratic institutions,” she says. “Seizing the yachts feels like a little bit of justice. It sends the message that these oligarchs have to pick a side: Support the dictator or support democracy. We won’t let you do both anymore.” 

Roman Abramovich's yacht Solaris looks to be heading to Montenegro, a popular place for Russian yachts. His even bigger superyacht Eclipse is in the Atlantic heading toward the Strait of Gibraltar per @MarineTraffic pic.twitter.com/o70Zzl7EEi — Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) March 11, 2022

With that in mind, Finley argues that a lot of people “are getting into the hunt because they feel like they’re helping a just cause.” 

Plus, unlike most white-collar crime that gets prosecuted over the course of lengthy, closed-door legal battles, the seizure of superyachts has been swift and public. On March 3rd, French authorities took to Twitter to announce they had seized a 281-foot-long yacht belonging to Russian oligarch Igor Sechin. The $120 million vessel was in breach of the law after having attempted “to leave French territorial waters,” and was therefore seized and “immobilized” by French customs. 

Dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre des sanctions de l'Union européenne à l'encontre de la Russie et en soutien à l’Ukraine ?? nous avons procédé à la saisie d’un premier yacht. ➡️ L’Amore Vero est immobilisé en France. pic.twitter.com/ncr4UOP3OD — Olivier Dussopt (@olivierdussopt) March 3, 2022

But of all the major governments cracking down on Russian yachts so far, Ben says he’s rooting for the Italians the most. “It seems like they’re the ones who aren’t pussyfooting around, pardon my French,” he says. “I don’t know what happens to the seized properties after the fact, but I feel like the Italians could end up with an army of superyachts when this is all said and done.” 

So far, Italian authorities have officially seized at least two yachts belonging to Russia oligarchs Gennady Timchenko and Alexei Mordashov — Timchenko’s Lena, a 126-foot, $55-million beast , and Mordashov’s Lady M, a 213-foot, $71-million luxury monstrosity . 

Keeping watch on these Russian's Yacht's pic.twitter.com/BaZQeNyyKB — Russian Yachts (@RussiaYachts) March 6, 2022

According to the Washington Post , MarineTraffic.com “has seen a ‘huge spike’ in interest,” with traffic reaching “a level not seen since a massive ship got stuck in the Suez Canal one year ago.” Ben says he checks the site several times a day, working his way down the curated list of oligarch yachts he’s created there. “Right now I’m watching Clio , Tango , Palladium , Nirvana and Le Grand Bleu ,” he tells me. “Le Grand Bleu has been spinning in circles outside St. Martin for a few days now, so hopefully he runs out of fuel and is forced to make a decision soon.”

That’s when he’ll get the payoff he’s been waiting for: “The day I check my phone during a break and see one of my yachts being chased down or seized by government agents… I can’t even begin to imagine what that’ll feel like.” 

Ultimately, though, when it comes to social media-driven justice , particularly involving the rich and powerful, it’s nearly impossible to not be cynical. Is #YachtWatch just another fleeting #ResistanceTwitter saga, yacht seizures being the latest carrot dangled in front of a terminally logged-on population fruitlessly grasping for control as the world spirals toward nuclear war? Or, could the growing interest in tracking billionaire’s yachts actually lead to systemic change ? 

Melnichenko's $600,000,000 Yacht A is being seized in Italy: https://t.co/oYfVydcANQ — Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) March 12, 2022

For her part, Finley is hopeful that it’s the latter. “We arrived at this point in history partly because we in the West allowed a system that’s fueled both inequality and authoritarianism , all because businesses, politicians and the West in general were getting rich from it, too ,” she explains. “I hope the mega-yacht hunt might be a wake-up call that we need to reform the system and make it more transparent.” 

It’s certainly opened Ben’s eyes to the idea that wealth disparity isn’t merely a flaw in the system. “I’m not naive enough to think we don’t live in a world of haves and have-nots, but the sight of all those yachts, crowding around islands in the Caribbean like mayflies to a street lamp stopped me in my tracks,” he says. “It really struck me how they live in a different universe, where laws don’t exist.” 

Ben has “read everything about the tax-dodging leaks and money in the Cayman Islands,” but if it doesn’t go over his head, it just makes him feel powerless. “There’s nothing I can do about billionaires cheating the system — all these guys have gotten away with crimes because they’re billionaires,” he concludes. “But now that I know what can happen with transparency, I like to think this is the beginning of the end for them.” 

Quinn Myers

Quinn Myers is a staff writer at MEL. He reports on internet culture, technology, health, masculinity and the communities that flourish within.

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Biden And Allies Are Coming For Russian Billionaires’ Yachts: Forbes Tracked Down 63. Here’s Where To Find Them

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Most of the yachts are registered through offshore vehicles and docked in far-flung locales.

Updated with new sanctions on September 14, 2023. The locations in this article were last updated on January 9, 2023 and the map has not been updated since this story was originally published in March 2022.

R ussian billionaires have been in the spotlight since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24. In his State of the Union address on March 1, President Joe Biden said his administration would work with European countries to target Russian oligarchs by seizing “their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets.”

The United Kingdom and the European Union imposed sanctions on three more Russian billionaires on March 9 and the U.K. sanctioned Roman Abramovich the next day; more sanctions were announced on March 15 and on March 24; new actions have since brought the total number of sanctioned Russian-born billionaires to 50. Several yachts owned by sanctioned billionaires or their family members and associates—Roman Abramovich, Farkhad Akhmedov, Vagit Alekperov, Andrei Guriev, Eduard Khudainatov, Andrei Kuzmichev, Igor Makarov, Andrey Melnichenko, Alexey Mordashov, Dmitry Pumpyansky, Arkady Rotenberg, Gennady Timchenko, Eugene Shvidler, Alisher Usmanov and Viktor Vekselberg—were last tracked in the U.S., EU or in the U.K. and their territories after the individuals were sanctioned, including France, Germany, Gibraltar, Italy, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico and Spain.

Their personal assets in the European Union, from private jets and superyachts to luxury real estate, may now be frozen. Italian authorities froze Mordashov’s Lady M yacht and Timchenko’s Lena yacht on March 4. On March 12, Italian police froze Melnichenko’s Sailing Yacht A in Trieste. On March 21, authorities in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar detained Dmitry Pumpyansky’s Axioma yacht, the same day French authorities froze a yacht owned by Alezei Kuzmichev. On April 4, Spain’s Guardia Civil and the FBI seized Vekselberg’s Tango yacht in Palma de Mallorca . On April 13, German authorities froze Dilbar , a yacht that was owned by Alisher Usmanov until he transferred ownership to his sister Gulbakhor Ismailova in 2020. On May 5, Fiji seized Suleiman Kerimov’s yacht Amadea at the request of U.S. authorities.

It’s still unclear whether the EU, the U.S. or the U.K. will declare additional sanctions on other individuals. As recently as February 28, Forbes tracked the wealth of more than 100 Russian billionaires. Using data from yacht valuation experts VesselsValue, Forbes has compiled a list of every yacht owned by Russian-born billionaires and recent dropoffs—both those that have been sanctioned and those that have not. At least 12 Russian billionaires fell out of the three-comma-club on March 1.

According to VesselsValue’s head of superyachts, Sam Tucker, yacht “ownership is notoriously private.” The firm has 90% confidence in its data on these yachts, which are generally owned through offshore companies registered everywhere from the Isle of Man to the Cayman Islands. Collectively, the 63 yachts are worth at least $6.3 billion. The 53 yachts owned by sanctioned Russian billionaires are worth at least $4.7 billion.

“Technically speaking, these yachts are owned by a special purpose vehicle, often being in a different jurisdiction to the beneficial owner,” Tucker said. “There are also lease systems, which further distance the [owner] from the asset.” Lease systems are legal structures commonly used to purchase yachts, allowing individuals to own a yacht through a separate company—often registered in places such as Malta and Cyprus—that then leases the yacht to the individual.

While the Russian economy crashes under the weight of sanctions, yachts owned by the country’s billionaires have anchored in much sunnier climes: everywhere from Monaco and Barcelona to Dubai and the Seychelles.

Here is a list of all of the yachts owned by Russian billionaires and billionaires born in Russia tracked by Forbes and VesselsValue (Location data from VesselsValue, MarineTraffic and VesselFinder):

Alexander Abramov

Sanctioned by australia, u.k., yacht name: titan, length: 257 feet, last recorded location: dubai, united arab emirates on january 9, 2023, registered in: bermuda, value: $82 million.

Alexander Abramov's Titan yacht.

Roman Abramovich

Sanctioned by u.k., eu, canada, australia, switzerland, yacht name: eclipse*, length: 533 feet, last recorded location: bodrum, turkey on january 9, 2023, value: $438 million.

*Abramovich also owns eight small vessels “used to support the operations” of Eclipse, named Eclipse 1 through Eclipse 8.

Yacht name: Solaris

Length: 458 feet, last recorded location: marmaris, turkey on january 9, 2023, value: $474 million, yacht name: halo, length: 180 feet, last recorded location: göcek, turkey on december 16, 2022, registered in: cook islands, value: $38 million, yacht name: garcon, length: 220 feet, last recorded location: fethiye, turkey on august 8, 2022, value: $20 million, yacht name: kewpie, length: 80 feet, last recorded location: saint barthélemy on january 6, 2023, value: $3 million, yacht name: sussurro, length: 162 feet, last recorded location: la ciotat, france on january 9, 2023, value: $17 million, yacht name: umbra a, length: 40 feet, last recorded location: not available, registered in: not available, value: $1 million, yacht name: aquamarine*, length: 164 feet, last recorded location: vlissingen, netherlands on april 5, 2022, registered in: russia, value: $29.9 million.

* Aquamarine is owned by Jersey-based MHC Jersey Limited, which is owned by British Virgin Islands-based Norma Investments Limited. Prior to February 24, 2022, Norma’s beneficial owner was Abramovich; Norma’s ownership was transferred to David Davidovich, a business associate of Abramovich, on the same day, according to public filings. Davidovich was sanctioned by the U.K. on April 14 .

Roman Abramovich's Eclipse yacht.

Farkhad Akhmedov

Sanctioned by eu, u.k., canada, switzerland, yacht name: luna, length: 375 feet, last recorded location: hamburg, germany on july 4, 2022 ( frozen by german authorities on may 12, 2022), registered in: marshall islands, value: $196 million.

Farkhad Akhmedov's Luna yacht.

Vagit Alekperov

Sanctioned by u.k., australia, canada, yacht name: galactica super nova, length: 230 feet, last recorded location: off the coast of budva, montenegro on march 2, 2022 (departed tivat, montenegro on march 2), registered in: sierra leone, value: $67 million, yacht name: space, length: 114 feet, last recorded location: sevastopol, crimea on august 23, 2022, value: $8 million, yacht name: galactica, length: 263 feet, last recorded location: vladivostok, russia on october 1, 2022, value: not available.

Vagit Alekperov's Galactica Super Nova yacht.

Oleg Deripaska

Sanctioned by u.s., u.k., eu, canada, switzerland, australia, yacht name: clio, length: 238 feet, last recorded location: adler, russia on october 27, 2022, registered in: cayman islands, value: $58 million, yacht name: sputnik, length: 197 feet, last recorded location: göcek, turkey on november 9, 2022, registered in: antigua and barbuda, value: $19.75 million, yacht name: elden, length: 95 feet, last recorded location: volga river near sknyatino, russia on october 8, 2022, value: $1.9 million.

Oleg Deripaska.

Sergey Galitsky

Yacht name: quantum blue, length: 341 feet, last recorded location: off the coast of salalah, oman on march 22, 2022, value: $213 million.

Sergei Galitsky's Quantum Blue yacht.

Andrei Guriev

Sanctioned by u.s., u.k., yacht name: alfa nero, length: 267 feet, last recorded location: falmouth harbour, antigua and barbuda on november 3, 2022 ( blocked by the u.s. on august 2), value: $81 million.

Andrei Guriev's Alfa Nero yacht.

Dmitry Kamenshchik

Yacht name: flying fox, length: 446 feet, last recorded location: göcek, turkey on december 27, 2022 ( blocked by the u.s. on june 2), value: $455 million.

Dmitry Kamenshchik's Flying Fox yacht.

Suleiman Kerimov

Sanctioned by u.s., eu, u.k., canada, switzerland, australia, japan, yacht name: amadea, length: 348 feet, last recorded location: san diego, california on june 6 ( seized by u.s. authorities on may 5, 2022), registered in: united states, value: $300 million.

Suleiman Kerimov's Amadea yacht.

Igor Kesaev

Yacht name: my sky, length: 168 feet, last recorded location: crossroads superyacht marina, maldives on june 16, 2022, value: $30 million, yacht name: sky, length: 166 feet, last recorded location: limón bay, panama on january 9, 2023, value: $23 million.

Igor Kesaev.

Eduard Khudainatov

Sanctioned by eu, yacht name: divina barbara, length: 115 feet, last recorded location: rendsburg, germany on november 17, 2016, registered in: united kingdom, value: $9 million, alexey kuzmichev, sanctioned by u.s., eu, u.k., canada, switzerland, australia, yacht name: la petite ourse, length: 79 feet, last recorded location: antibes, france on august 11, 2022 ( frozen by french authorities on march 16, 2022; released after court decision on october 5, 2022), registered in: malta, value: $4.5 million, yacht name: la petite ourse ii, length: 54 feet, last recorded location: cannes, france on june 6, 2022 ( frozen by french authorities on march 21, 2022; released after court decision on december 9, 2022), value: $1.2 million, anatoly lomakin, yacht name: sea & us, length: 205 feet, igor makarov, sanctioned by canada, australia, yacht name: areti i, length: 128 feet, last recorded location: st. augustine, florida on october 24, 2022, value: $7 million.

Igor Makarov.

Iskander Makhmudov

Sanctioned by: u.s., u.k., yacht name: predator, length: 239 feet, last recorded location: kuşadası, turkey on january 4, 2023, registered in: st. kitts and nevis, value: $55 million, dmitry mazepin, sanctioned by: u.k., eu, switzerland, canada, australia, yacht name: aldabra, length: 97 feet, last recorded location: bodrum, turkey on october 7, 2022 (frozen by italian authorities), registered in: isle of man, length: 72 feet, last recorded location: n/a (frozen by italian authorities), registered in: n/a, andrey melnichenko, sanctioned by eu, u.k., u.s., switzerland, australia, yacht name: my a, length: 390 feet, last recorded location: ras al khaimah, united arab emirates on may 28, 2022, registered in: isle of man ( deregistered on march 16, 2022), value: $204 million, yacht name: sy a, length: 469 feet, last recorded location: trieste, italy on january 9, 2023 ( frozen by italian authorities on march 12, 2022), value: $578 million (valued by italian government).

Andrey Melnichenko's SY A sailing yacht.

Leonid Mikhelson

Sanctioned by U.K., Canada, Australia

Yacht name: pacific, length: 280 feet, last recorded location: abu dhabi, united arab emirates on december 25, 2022, registered in: malaysia, value: $115 million, yuri milner, yacht name: andromeda, length: 352 feet, last recorded location: off the coast of nassau, bahamas on january 9, 2023, value: $129 million, andrei molchanov, yacht name: aurora, length: 243 feet, last recorded location: istanbul, turkey on august 21, 2022, value: $110 million, alexey mordashov, sanctioned by eu, u.k., u.s., switzerland, australia, japan, yacht name: lady m, length: 213 feet, last recorded location: imperia, italy on june 6, 2022 ( frozen by italian authorities on march 4, 2022), registered in : cayman islands, value: $27 million, yacht name: nord, length: 464 feet, last recorded location: malacca strait near kuala selangor, malaysia on october 24, 2022.

Alexey Mordashov's Nord yacht.

Alexander Nesis

Yacht name: romea, length: 268 feet, last recorded location: malé, maldives on january 9, 2023.

Alexander Nesis.

Vladimir Potanin

Sanctioned by u.s., u.k., canada, australia, yacht name: nirvana, length: 290 feet, last recorded location: dubai, united arab emirates on january 9, 2023 ( blocked by the u.s. on december 15), value: $120 million.

Vladimir Potanin's Nirvana yacht.

Mikhail Prokhorov

Yacht name: av (formerly palladium), length: 312 feet, last recorded location: fort lauderdale, florida on january 9, 2023, value: $157 million.

Mikhail Prokhorov's Palladium yacht.

Dmitry Pumpyansky

Sanctioned by eu, u.k., u.s., switzerland, canada, australia, yacht name: axioma, length: 236 feet, last recorded location: gibraltar on january 9, 2023 ( detained by gibraltarian authorities on march 21, 2022)*, value: $42 million.

*Axioma was auctioned in August 2022 and is no longer owned by Pumpyansky.

Dmitry Pumpyansky's Axioma yacht.

Viktor Rashnikov

Sanctioned by eu, u.k., u.s., canada, switzerland, australia, yacht name: ocean victory, length: 459 feet, last recorded location: malé, maldives on march 1, 2022, value: $294 million.

Viktor Rashnikov's Ocean Victory yacht.

Arkady Rotenberg

Sanctioned by eu, u.s., u.k., australia, canada, japan, switzerland, yacht name: rahil, last recorded location: sochi, russia on december 1, 2022.

Arkady Rotenberg's Russian-registered Rahil yacht.

Boris Rotenberg

Length: 157 feet, last recorded location: marseille, france on january 9, 2023, registered in: luxembourg ( deregistered in april 2022, frozen by french authorities), value: $15 million, dmitry rybolovlev, yacht name: anna, length: 361 feet, value: $250 million.

Dmitry Rybolovlev.

Anatoly Sedykh

Yacht name: hermitage, length: 225 feet, last recorded location: dubai, united arab emirates on december 16, 2022, value: $73 million.

Anatoly Sedykh's Hermitage yacht.

Eugene Shvidler

Sanctioned by u.k., australia (shvidler was born in the u.s.s.r. and is a citizen of the u.s. and the u.k.), yacht name: le grand bleu, length: 354 feet, last recorded location: ponce, puerto rico on june 6, 2022, registered in: palau, value: $109 million.

Eugene Shvidler's Le Grand Bleu yacht.

Andrei Skoch

Sanctioned by u.s., eu, u.k., australia, canada, japan, switzerland, yacht name: madame gu, length: 325 feet, last recorded location: dubai, united arab emirates on march 6, 2022 ( blocked by the u.s. on june 2), value: $156 million.

Andrei Skoch's Madame Gu yacht.

Alexander Svetakov

Yacht name: cloudbreak, length: 246 feet, last recorded location: singapore on january 9, 2023, value: $98 million.

Alexander Svetakov's Cloudbreak yacht.

Gennady Timchenko

Sanctioned by: eu, u.s., u.k., australia, canada, japan, switzerland, yacht name: lena, length: 126 feet, last recorded location: sanremo, italy on september 24, 2022 ( frozen by italian authorities on march 4, 2022), registered in: british virgin islands.

Gennady Timchenko.

Oleg Tinkov

Sanctioned by u.k., australia ( dropped off forbes real-time billionaires on march 1), yacht name: la datcha, length: 252 feet, last recorded location: cabo san lucas, mexico on january 9, 2023, registered in: panama, value: $121 million, yacht name: ycm 90, length: 90 feet, value: $2 million.

Oleg Tinkov's La Datcha yacht.

Alisher Usmanov

Sanctioned by eu, u.k., u.s., australia, canada, japan, switzerland, yacht name: dilbar*, length: 512 feet, last recorded location: hamburg, germany on may 6, 2022 ( blocked by the u.s. on march 3, 2022 and frozen by german authorities on april 13, 2022), value: $588 million, yacht name: begham*, length: 131 feet, last recorded location: olbia, italy on october 25, 2021, value: $10.5 million.

* Dilbar is owned by Caymans-based Navis Marine Ltd. and Begham is owned by Caymans-based Highseas Yachting Ltd. Both Navis Marine Ltd. and Highseas Yachting Ltd. are owned by Cyprus-based Almenor Holdings Ltd. Almenor is in turn owned by Switzerland-based Pomerol Capital SA, which holds the shares "in trust for the benefit of" the Sister Trust, which a German Federal Police investigation found is held by Gulbakhor Ismailova, Usmanov’s sister. Ownership of Navis Marine Ltd. and Highseas Yachting Ltd. was transferred to Almenor in 2020.

Alisher Usmanov's Dilbar yacht.

Viktor Vekselberg

Sanctioned by: u.s., u.k., japan, canada, australia, yacht name: tango, length: 255 feet, last recorded location: palma de mallorca, spain on january 9, 2023 ( blocked by the u.s. on march 13, 2022 and seized by u.s. and spanish authorities on april 4, 2022), value: $90 million.

Viktor Vekselberg's Tango yacht.

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Russian oligarch yachts fitted with helicopter hangars, submarines, ‘anti-paparazzi’ tech, $40,000 faucets.

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‘Pier’ pressure got to them.

A fleet of superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs are scrambling for safe havens — a desperate flight that comes amid extraordinary global pressure to seize and squeeze owners’ assets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russians own up to 10 percent of the global fleet of mega-yachts, according to SuperYachtNews. The oligarchy is especially fond of obnoxious showboats with over-the-top amenities straight from a James Bond thriller, including submarines, helicopter hangars, underwater observation decks and “anti-paparazzi” technology meant to prevent passengers from being photographed.

France has seized one of these vessels, with two more held by Italian authorities, while the status of another Russian superyacht in Germany is in dispute. Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced on Wednesday the Bringing Oligarch Accountability Through Seizure (BOATS) Act which specifically targets Russian superyachts.

Many of the majestic vessels are hiding in or headed for Maldives, which has no extradition agreement with the USA. Russian yachts are often found in Seychelles, long favored as an international tax haven for the superwealthy. One is there now, with another reportedly on its way, according to VesselFinder.com. The destinations of others are unknown.

Graceful, 262 feet, $100 million

Owner – Vladimir Putin, 69, President of Russia

Net worth – estimated $200 billion , which would make him the wealthiest man in the world

Last known location – Kaliningrad, Russia

Amenities – dance floor that opens to reveal a 50-foot-long indoor pool. Putin tipped his geopolitical hand when Graceful slipped away from Hamburg, Germany for Russia on the eve of the Ukraine invasion. His luxury cruiser was designed in London and its maritime signal was reportedly hacked recently, with the vessel’s name changed to FCKPTN.

Eclipse, 530 feet, $700 million

Owner – Roman Abramovich, 55, financier

Net worth – $13 billion

Last known location – Sailing northward about 35 miles west of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten

Amenities – room for three helicopters, two restaurants, plus a high-tech “anti-paparazzi” system designed to disrupt efforts to photograph passengers or its crew of 70.

The long-time Putin confidante’s stunning vessel boasts nine decks and enjoyed the distinction for many years of world’s largest superyacht. Abramovich is facing intense personal pressure because of his prominence in the soccer world. He put English Premier League club and reigning European champ Chelsea on the market this week for $4 billion.

Dilbar, 511 feet, $800 million

Owner – Alisher Usmanov, 68, steel and mining

Net worth – $18 billion

Last known location – Hamburg, Germany

Amenities – two helipads, a crew of 100, a range of 6,000 nautical miles and the largest indoor pool ever placed on a yacht, at more than 6,300 cubic feet.

Dilbar, named for Usmanov’s mom, is spectacular even by oligarch standards, reportedly the world’s largest superyacht by interior space and volume (16,000 tons). Video of the giant ship at sea, dwarfing the yachts around it, has generated 1 million views on YouTube. There are conflicting reports over whether it was seized last week by German authorities or is merely undergoing repairs in Hamburg.

Ocean Victory, 459 feet, $300 million

Owner – Victor Rashnikov, 73, steel

Net worth – $9.1 billion

Last known location – Maldives

Amenities – helicopter hangar, tender dock, six pools and an underwater observation suite for admiring aquatic life below.`

The largest of the oligarch yachts, as of Thursday, seen in and around Maldives, according to Bloomberg News. The tender dock can be flooded and anchored, allowing lesser yachts to pull up and float among Ocean Victory’s glory.

Le Grand Bleu, 370 feet, $150 million

Owner – Eugene Shvidler, 57, oil

Net worth – $1.6 billion

Last known location – Saint Maarten

Amenities – aquarium, landing craft with Land Rover 4×4 for onshore excursions, and a “veritable arsenal of tenders and watertoys”  according to  Boat International, including two sports boats capable of speeding across the water at 60 knots (69 MPH).

The oil magnate made New York City’s ‘shvit’ list in 2017, when he anchored his superyacht in front of the Statue of Liberty for two months, denying countless tourists from around the world a precious American photo op. A “ jackass move ” The Post called it. Shvidler, a Russian-born US citizen, reportedly won the vessel in a high-stakes wager against his best pal Abramovich in 2006. Le Grand Bleu was crafted “to look like a Mercedes” on the water,  said  superyacht designer Stefano Pastrovich.

Sea Rhapsody, 216 feet, $65 million

Owner – Andrey Kostin, 65, chairman VTB Bank

Net worth – $500 million

Last known location – Gulf of Suez, destined for Seychelles

Amenities – gym, infinity pool, cinema, and an array of splashy toys: wave runners, water skis, paddle boards, kayaks, waterslides, towable tubes and a “range of children’s beach toys and games.”

Looking for a family vacation? Sea Rhapsody is available for charter out of Seychelles for just $660,000 per week, with room to sleep 12 people in six state rooms.

Clio, 238 feet, $65 million

Owner – Oleg Deripaska, 54, Rusal founder

Net worth – $4 billion

Amenities – cozy sun-splashed piano lounge that seats at least 12.

Deripaska, once Russia’s richest man, is one of the few oligarchs to publicly protest Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He’s also run afoul of American authorities, losing a 2019 lawsuit against the Treasury Department after it sanctioned him on charges of meddling in US elections. Clio’s manufacturer, Lurssen, claims the vessel is “designed for long voyages around the world and self-sufficient living for several months at a time.” It reportedly arrived in Maldives Monday.

Lady Anastasia , 157 feet, $7.7 million

Owner – Alexander Mijeev, 60, weapons industry executive

Net worth – unknown

Last known location – Mallorca, Spain

Amenities – dramatic jacuzzi on top deck above the bridge.

A minnow by the standards of superyacht leviathans, the Lady Anastasia brought global attention to the fate of the oligarch fleet when a Ukrainian crew member sabotaged the vessel last week. Taras Ostapchuk, 55, was taken into custody in Mallorca. “My boss is a criminal who sells weapons that kill the Ukrainian people,” the freedom fighter told authorities.

Sailing Yacht A, 469 feet, $600 million

Owner  – Andrey Melnichenko, 49, chemicals, coal

Net worth – $19.8 billion

Last known location – Trieste, Italy

Amenities – elevators and, allegedly, its own submarine for underwater exploration — or escape.

Sailing Yacht A compensates for lack of imagination in its name with jaw-dropping futuristic design, including three composite masts that tower above the deck more than a football field in height, believed the largest in the world. Melnichenko’s smaller boat, the 390-foot, $300 million Motor Yacht A, features gaudy bathroom faucets worth about $40,000 each, according to ClubYacht.net.

Anna, 360 feet, $250 million

Owner – Dmitry Rybolovlev, 55, fertilizers, sports

Net worth – $6.7 billion

Last known location – Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Amenities – two distinct helipads, gym and elegant state room with veranda for formal oceanview dining.

The extraordinarily sleek, streamlined vessel with military-style designs claims the honor of largest superyacht ever built in the Netherlands. It has the ability to sail 4,500 nautical miles without refueling. Anna named for the Rybolovlev’s daughter.

Royal Romance , 303 feet, $200 million

Owner – Viktor Medvedchuk, 67, Ukrainian politician

Net worth – $1 billion

Last-known location – Rijeka, Croatia

Amenities – 40-foot pool that feeds onboard waterfall, plus four sun-splashed platforms wrapped in glass.

Medvedchuk, a traitor in his homeland, is a close friend and ally of Putin. The Russian president is the godfather of Medvedchuk’s teenage daughter Daryna. The Ukrainian bureaucrat was accused of treason by his nation’s government and placed on house arrest in May. Royal Romance is “a fantastic looking ship,” gushed one yacht enthusiast as she gingerly docked on the Spanish island of Ibiza.

Nord , 465 feet, $500 million

Owner – Alexei Mordashov, 56, Severstal chairman

Net worth – $25.8 billion

Last known location – Seychelles

Amenities – helicopter hangar, two elevators, gym, sauna and cinema.

The newest superyacht in the oligarch armada, built by Lurssen , was completed and delivered to Mordashov in 2021. A prominent landing deck on the bow gives Nord the appearance from the front of a small aircraft carrier. Its operating cost is estimated by SuperYachtFan.com at $40 million to $50 million per year.

Amore Vero , 281 feet, $120 million

Owner – Igor Sechin, 61, Rosneft CEO

Net worth – up to $2.5 billion (estimated)

Last known location – Le Ciotat, France

Amenities – main deck swimming pool that converts to a helicopter platform, sundeck with a jacuzzi, VIP suites and private balconies.

Honored for “best yacht design over 50 meters” at the World Yacht Trophies, according to its builder, Oceanco. Amore Vero was seized by French authorities in a Mediterranean port on Wednesday.

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• All The Superyachts Seized From Russian Oligarchs

All the Superyachts Seized from Russian Oligarchs

As a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, institutions from all over the world have begun to seize superyachts belonging to Russian oligarchs – billionaire cultural and political influences closely aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But why is this the case? And what are some of the biggest superyachts seized during this ordeal?

Why Are Superyachts Being Seized from Russian Oligarchs?

Governments all over the world are taking superyachts away from Russian oligarchs. But why?

The simplest answer is that this is part of ongoing sanctions against the Russian government as a punishment and disincentive for their actions against Ukraine. The hope is that these sanctions can non-violently deescalate the situation – and hopefully deter other aggressors from taking similar military action in the future.

Russian oligarchs targeted by these sanctions are believed to be governmental influencers powerful enough to qualify as being part of the Russian government.

Michael Moore, a founding partner of Moore & Co., a law firm with expertise in maritime law, was recently interviewed on the topic . “Seizing yachts”, Moore says, “generically means a private party instigates action to take control of them. For example, the private party may be the U.S. government, asking allies to conduct some version of taking control. However, whether that seizure will hold up in court later is an entirely other matter. The process can drag out for a year and a half”, Moore adds, “if a yacht owner fights the action.”

“That wrangle will include, in part, judges deciding whether the owners of the seized yachts are effectively agents of the Russian government and appropriately within scope of the sanctions order.”

Now, let’s take a look at some of the biggest and most impressive superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs.

First up, there’s the “Lady M” superyacht, which is pretty tame by the standards of this list. This 215-foot yacht was owned by Alexei Mordashov, known as Russia’s wealthiest businessman and estimated to have a net worth of over $14 billion. The Lady M has a number of impressive features, including six guest cabins and accommodations for a crew of 14. It also has a pool and a fully functioning gym. These features and others help to justify its estimated value of $27 million.

Mark Harkin, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Of course, the Lady M is just one of Mordashov’s superyachts, and one of his other vessels is even bigger. The Nord , by contrast is estimated to be worth $500 million, standing at 464 feet with two helipads and a built-in waterfall. The Nord can also fit 36 guests. Mordashov has anchored this vessel in the Seychelles, where it will be exempt from U.S. and E.U. sanctions.

Officials in Italy were responsible for seizing the Lena, a 132-foot superyacht that was previously owned by energy industry leader Gennady Timchenko. It’s estimated to be worth $8 million, with five cabins and occupancy for ten guests. At the time of seizing, it was occupying the port of San Remo on the Italian Riviera.

If you’re wondering about the strange name, the SY A simply stands for “Sailing Yacht A,” and it’s considered one of the world's biggest and most valuable superyachts. It’s currently valued at $440 million and stands at 469 feet, just beating the Nord in terms of size. SY A was owned by fertilizer industry leader Andrey Melnichenko before being seized in the Italian port of Trieste in March.

Feliz, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

This yacht has a stunning assortment of features, including eight decks, multiple elevators, and even an observation area for underwater life. The vessel also sports some of the tallest masts of any ship in the world .

So far, most of the superyacht seizures have been in Italy, but there have also been some seizures in Spain – like the seizure of Sergei Chemezov’s vessel, Valerie. Valerie is a 279-foot superyacht that was recently moored in Barcelona, estimated to be worth $140 million or more. Chemezov himself is a former KGB officer who now heads the state conglomerate Rostec, which supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

JanManu, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Valerie offers six decks to its guests, and sports a variety of interesting features, with the top sundeck sporting a bar, a large pool, a hot tub, and even a full wellness area with a gym, massage room, steam room, and beauty salon.

Igor Sechin, the chief executive of Rosneft (a Russian energy company, and the third-largest company in the country), owned a $120 million superyacht known as the Amore Vero. This 289-foot vessel was leaving the French town of La Ciotat when French officials seized it . The vessel had a built-in Jacuzzi, extensions for the balcony, and a swimming pool that could be converted into a helipad.

The Crescent

The Crescent is a 445-foot superyacht impounded in Spain until its ownership is officially determined. Right now, it’s thought that the superyacht belongs to Sechin (who also owns the Amore Vero). The full details of this ship aren’t public knowledge, but we know the vessel was around $600 million and can house up to 18 guests and 24 crew members.

One of the most recent superyacht seizures was handled by the United States. In Spain, U.S. government officials seized the 254-foot yacht The Tango – owned by Viktor Vekselberg, a Putin ally and billionaire in charge of the Renova Group. This yacht is just one of many assets held by Vekselberg in the United States that are now frozen. American companies are also no longer permitted to do business with Vekselberg or his business entities.

You don’t have to be a Russian oligarch to have a yacht, nor do you have to be rich. In fact, even if you have a relatively small budget, you can often find a yacht you can afford – as long as you know where to look.

Here at TheYachtMarket, we have a large collection of new and used vessels to explore, so check out our selection today !

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Roman Abramovich's superyacht has missile defence system and anti-paparazzi lasers

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's yacht, Eclipse, has modern tech to protect guests, from bullet-proof windows toa missile-detection system and even a mini escape submarine

• 12:26, 11 Mar 2022

Roman Abramovich has two prized assets that look out of reach - his enormous superyachts.

The Chelsea owner has been hit by sanctions from the UK government and faces the prospect of having £3.2billion of assets in this country frozen after being identified as having links to Vladimir Putin and the Russian state.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said yesterday that oligarchs like Abramovich have "no place in our society or economy", adding: "The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame."

Abramovich, who according to The Sunday Times Rich List is worth a staggering £10.2billion, has a property empire across the world, including a west London mansion, Colorado ski-ranch and chateau on the French Riviera.

The Chelsea owner has a collection of helicopters and commercial-sized planes valued at around £400m, which includes his customised jet nicknamed "Bandit".

Abramovich also boasts a huge collection of supercars worth more than £16m and even splashed out £285,000 just on a number plate.

But the Russian billionaire is really known for being the world's greatest spender on luxury yachts, maintaining a fleet which was dubbed 'Abramovich's Navy'.

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Abramovich, who used to have a vast collection of super yachts, now only has two but they completely dwarf his old ones in size.

The crown jewel is Abramovich's 533ft super yacht Eclipse, which at the time of launch was the largest privately owned superyacht in the world.

Eclipse was originally contracted at a price of around £500million but is now known as 'the $1.5billion yacht'.

Winning the record Euromillions jackpot of £189million five times over would still not give you enough cash to purchase Abramovich's vessel.

Weighing in at 13,564 tons, Eclipse was the world'largest private yacht for around three years until the Azzam was built in 2013.

Designed by French architect Hermidas Atabeyki, it was built by Blohm and Voss in 2010, with the interior kitted out by Terence Disdale.

There is more accommodation for crew than guests, with 35 of the 53 cabins for the workers, who also get their own private cinema.

The superyacht has enough space on board for two helipads, an aquarium, multiple hot tubs, disco hall and two separate swimming pools.

One of the pools is the biggest ever placed on a private yacht and can be drained out to become a dance floor.

But most interesting of all is the modern technology Eclipse is kitted out with to give its guests privacy and protection from all sorts of threats.

Abramovich's yacht has anti-paparazzi lasers, which can detect the electronic light sensors that cameras use before they even flash.

They target the cameras with beams of infrared light which overexposes the photos, rendering them useless to anyone trying to get a snap, although it doesn't work on an old-fashioned mechanical camera.

There is also bullet-proof glass and armour-plating around Abramovich's personal quarters and a mini submarine that fits three people and could be used as an escape pod.

The newest addition to his fleet is the £430million Solaris, a 430ft vessel which took to the seas for the first time last year.

It is the most costly custom-made superyacht ever built with 48 cabins across eight decks, a crew of 60 and space for 36 guests.

To put into perspective how large Solaris is, the superyacht is bigger and taller than Buckingham Palace.

Abramovich has cut down to just two superyachts, but previously owned an entire fleet which he would loan out to his pals.

The two biggest were Pelorus and Luna, which were both 377ft and cost £274million and £276million respectively.

Pelorus was given to his second wife, Irina Vyacheslavovna Abramovich, as part of their divorce settlement in 2009 while Luna was sold to a close friend, Azerbaijani-born billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, in April 2014.

Luna had been his replacement for the £110million and 371ft Le Grand Bleu, as both were expedition yachts with stronger hulls capable of providing comfort while navigating through high seas and inhospitable climates such as the North and South Poles.

Other vessels owned by the billionaire include the £110million Ecstasea (282ft) and £16million Sussurro (162ft).

Some of the yachts have been loaned out to some of Chelsea's players, including John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.

After Chelsea won the Premier League in 2005, Terry and Lampard were given use of the Pelorus as a 'bonus', then two years later Terry and his wife Toni set sail on the yacht for their honeymoon.

On Thursday it was announced that a further seven oligarchs would be sanctioned by the UK government over their links to Putin amid his war on Ukraine .

Giving a warning, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin's vicious assault on Ukraine.

"We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies."

One of the oligarchs, Igor Sechin, has already seen his 289-ft yacht 'Amore Vero' seized by French custom officers near Marseille after being sanctioned by the European Union .

But it seems Abramovich is making sure that no one will be able to get their hands on his superyachts.

Eclipse was moored in Barcelona last week but is now in open sea off the coast of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

While Solaris was last spotted off the Sicily coast and is now believed to be heading to Israel, which is where Abramovich holds citizenship.

A spokesperson for the Russian billionaire said: "We never comment on the movements of the yacht or any other vehicles or vessels."

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Strange Glow Over Moscow Skies Triggers Panic as Explosions Reported

B right flashes lit up the night sky in southern Moscow in the early hours of Thursday morning, new footage appears to show, following reports of an explosion at an electrical substation on the outskirts of the city.

Video snippets circulating on Russian-language Telegram channels show a series of flashes on the horizon of a cloudy night sky, momentarily turning the sky a number of different colors. In a clip shared by Russian outlet MSK1.ru, smoke can be seen rising from a building during the flashes lighting up the scene.

Newsweek was unable to independently verify the details of the video clips, including when and where it was filmed. The Russian Ministry of Emergency situations has been contacted via email.

Several Russian Telegram accounts said early on Thursday that residents of southern Moscow reported an explosion and a fire breaking out at an electrical substation in the Leninsky district, southeast of central Moscow.

Local authorities in the Leninsky district told Russian outlet RBC that the explosion had happened in the village of Molokovo. "All vital facilities are operating as normal," Leninsky district officials told the outlet.

The incident at the substation in Molokovo took place just before 2 a.m. local time, MSK1.ru reported.

Messages published by the ASTRA Telegram account, run by independent Russian journalists, appear to show residents close to the substation panicking as they question the bright flashes in the sky. One local resident describes seeing the bright light before losing access to electricity, with another calling the incident a "nightmare."

More than 10 villages and towns in the southeast of Moscow lost access to electricity, the ASTRA Telegram account also reported. The town of Lytkarino to the southeast of Moscow, lost electricity, wrote the eastern European-based independent outlet, Meduza.

Outages were reported in the southern Domodedovo area of the city, according to another Russian outlet, as well as power failures in western Moscow. Electricity was then restored to the areas, the Strana.ua outlet reported.

The cause of the reported explosion is not known. A Telegram account aggregating news for the Lytkarino area described the incident as "an ordinary accident at a substation."

The MSK1.ru outlet quoted a local resident who speculated that a drone may have been responsible for the explosion, but no other Russian source reported this as a possible cause.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Moscow with long-range aerial drones in recent months, including a dramatic wave of strikes in late May.

On Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the region's air defense systems had intercepted an aerial drone over the city of Elektrostal, to the east of Moscow. No damage or casualties were reported, he said.

The previous day, Russian air defenses detected and shot down another drone flying over the Bogorodsky district, northeast of central Moscow, Sobyanin said.

There is currently no evidence that an aerial drone was responsible for the reported overnight explosion at the electrical substation in southern Moscow.

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The police staged a raid at a wildberries warehouse in the moscow region. migrants working there were given summonses to the military registration and enlistment office - meduza.

Police officers on the morning of November 24 staged a raid to check migrants working at the Wildberries sorting center in Elektrostal, Moscow Region.

The police, Mash reports, are checking warehouse employees' passports and marks of military service. Baza writes that after verification, some employees ar... [Short citation of 8% of the original article]

News from non-English countries

In Russia, armed men seized an oil field with shooting: what is happening (video)

2023-09-17T14:45:23.375Z

Highlights: In the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation, armed men seized the town of oil workers, frightened people with shots up and were expelled from the barracks. The incident is explained by an "active change of control" over an asset belonging to the arrested ex-owner of the bank Yugra, Alexei Khotin. The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs said that they are aware of what is happening in the oil town, but their employees do not participate in the events. Earlier, in the Russian city of Elektrostal (Moscow region), during demonstration performances, soldiers began to shoot at spectators with children from machine guns with blank cartridges.

In the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation, armed men seized the town of oil workers, frightened people with shots up and were expelled from the barracks. See and read the details ᐅ 1+1 news

In the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation, two dozen armed men in camouflage uniforms landed from helicopters on the territory of the Dulisma oil workers' camp.

The corresponding video is published in Telegram channels.

As can be seen in the published footage, people in civilian clothes were taken out of the barracks, lined up against the wall with their hands raised behind their heads, and some were forced to lie down with their faces to the ground. During the raid, shots were fired upwards and obscene language.

The incident is explained by an "active change of control" over an asset belonging to the arrested ex-owner of the Russian bank Yugra, Alexei Khotin. He is accused of embezzlement of funds, since 98% (about 240 billion rubles) of all loans issued by the bank were used to finance the business of its owner in the field of real estate and oil production. Since April 2019, Khotin has been under house arrest.

People with weapons are called both representatives of private security firms and fighters of the SOBR unit, which is part of the Russian Guard.

However, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in a comment to the Podyem Telegram channel, said that they are aware of what is happening in the oil town, but their employees do not participate in the events. "It was not our department that was involved in the raid," they said.

Earlier, in the Russian city of Elektrostal (Moscow region), during demonstration performances, soldiers of the Russian Guard began to shoot at spectators with children from machine guns with blank cartridges.

Source: tsn

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