Wealthy Russians lost more than half of their most expensive yachts
30.01.2025 - 16:17
After the imposition of sanctions, about a third of the more than 70 yachts owned by Russian oligarchs abroad remained.
Most of the remaining yachts were relocated to the UAE, The Moscow Times reports.
Getaway yachts
Quantum Blue yacht.
In the UAE, the hundred-meter boats A motor yacht of Andrey Melnichenko, Ocean Victory of Viktor Rashnikov, Quantum Blue of Sergey Galitsky, Madam GU of Andrey Skoch’s family, as well as Pacific X (85 m) of Leonid Mikhelson and Nirvana (88.5 m) of Vladimir Potanin were noticed.
Another part of the yachts was in Turkey – there the 162-meter Eclipse of Roman Abramovich, the Predator of Iskander Makhmudov, the Sea Rhapsody of banker Andrey Kostin and Polaris of developer Setl Group of Maxim Shubarev were noted.
Part of the flotilla of the Russian President Vladimir Putin returned to Russia, but not without losses. Putin had up to nine yachts. The biggest loss was the 140-meter Scheherazade (also attributed to the ex-president of Rosneft Eduard Khudainatov), detained in Italy. Putin still has the 82-meter yacht Graceful, the 71-meter Victoria, the 54-meter Chaika, and the auxiliary vessel Orion.
Yachts associated with former President Dmitry Medvedev also managed to return to Russia from Europe. Among them are the boats Vselennaya (74 m) and Fotinia (32 m). After the war, boats belonging to businessmen who were subject to sanctions — Oleg Deripaska’s Clio, Arkady Rotenberg’s Rahil, and Alexei Mordashov’s huge 142-meter yacht Nord— sailed to their owners’ homeland.
Sold out yachts
Come Together yacht.
Most wealthy Russians have been selling their yachts for the third year. Most often, wealthy Americans buy them. Over a dozen Russians have sold their yachts in recent years. According to specialized yacht portals, last year, former major Gazprom contractor Ziyad Manasir got rid of his yacht – he sold the 90-meter Dar (estimated at $175 million) to American billionaire Robert Friedland of Ivanhoe Mines. In May 2024, the Come Together yacht ($70 million) was sold by the founder of the Eurasia drilling company Alexander Japaridze. The vessel was purchased by the American founder of Zynga and an early investor in Twitter, Facebook, Slack Mark Pincus.
Former KGB officer and ex-head of “Nornickel” Vladimir Strzhalkovsky sold his 65-meter Ragnar vessel ($85 million) in the summer of 2023. The new owner is American billionaire Roy Carroll, one of the largest landowners in North Carolina. Lukoil founder Vagit Alekperov has ceased to own the 80-meter Genesis (valued at $80 million), the Dutch shipyard Heesen (transferred to a Dutch fund) and the elite port Marina Port Vell in Barcelona. The port has become the property of investors from the Middle East, and the boat has floated to an unknown owner in Dubai.
Arrested assets
Lady M yacht.
About a third of the Russian elite fleet has been arrested. The US and EU authorities have seized two dozen yachts linked to Russia. In Italy, the 143-meter Melnichenko’s Sailing Yacht, the 58-meter Lady M of Mordashov, and the 40-meter Lena of Gennady Timchenko were detained. In Spain, the 135-meter Crescent of Igor Sechin, the 85-meter Valerie of Sergey Chemezov, and the 48-meter Lady Anastasia of the head of Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheev were detained. In Germany, the 156-meter Dilbar of Alisher Usmanov, the 115-meter Luna of Farkhad Akhmedov remain under arrest, and in France, Sechin’s 85-meter Amore Vero and two yachts of the founder of Alfa Group Alexei Kuzmichev – La Petite Ourse and La Grande. Both were valued at 70 million euros.
Some of the yachts are in the United States – Suleiman Kerimov’s Amadea (106 m, brought from Fiji), Viktor Vekselberg’s Tango (77 m, brought from Spain), and the 112-meter Le Grand Bleu of the Briton and Abramovich’s partner Yevgeny Shvidler is moored in Puerto Rico.
The Russians were the most unlucky, their yachts being detained in the UK and its overseas territories. While Vitaly Kochetkov’s 58-meter Phi has not yet been sold, Andrei Guriev’s Alfa Nero (82 m, arrested in Antigua and Barbuda) and Dmitry Pumpyansky’s Axioma (72 m, arrested in Gibraltar) have gone under the hammer.
As for Ukraine, so far Croatia has only transferred Viktor Medvedchuk’s 104-meter Royal Romance to its flag.
Some of the data on the arrested yachts has not yet been disclosed. Dutch customs officers reported that they had detained 14 yachts that may be associated with Russian businessmen under sanctions. Of these, 12 were under construction, and two more were under repair. In particular, in 2022 the yacht Aquamarine was in the docks. Businessman David Davidovich received it from his business partner Abramovich in February 2022.
Several natives of Russia can freely own a yacht, but they no longer live in the country – American venture investor Yuri Milner uses the boat Andromeda, former banker Oleg Tinkov has not yet sold his La Dacha, and the hundred-meter yachts remain with Russian billionaires from Monaco Dmitry Rybolovlev (Anna) and Alexei Fedorichev (TIS).
