Photo: Lurssen
Last week, Amadea’s fate still hanged in the balance. This stunning superyacht allegedly owned by a controversial Russian billionaire had supposedly made it to safety after having crossed the Pacific following the sanctions against Russia. But nearly a month later, the U.S. officially gets to decide what’s going to happen to it.
Who could have imagined that these majestic pleasure craft built for pure indulgence and luxurious vacations would end up having to make good use of their engine power and self-sufficient capabilities?
Amadea, the gorgeous 348-footer (106 meters) built by Lurssen only five years ago, went on a challenging 18-day journey on the Pacific, from Mexico to Fiji, trying to escape sanctions. It found the opposite of that. As soon as it arrived, its crew was detained by local authorities for having arrived without customs clearance, Bloomberg reports.
But somebody else also had its eyes on it. The U.S. Justice Department's Taskforce KleptoCapture, which is now hunting down the superyachts of sanctioned oligarchs, was ready to seize it. But it took nearly a month to legally prove the vessel’s ownership.
While the massive ship was stuck in Fiji, with a police officer on board at all times, the lawyers of its registered owner, Millemarine Investments, were saying that the real owner is a different oligarch than what the U.S. believed, one who wasn’t sanctioned.
Finally, Fiji's High Court granted the order to seize Amadea on May 3. It turns out that it does belong to Suleiman Kerimov, a gold magnate and a billionaire who had been sanctioned by the U.S. even back in 2018, also as a response to Russia’s international actions.
One of Lurssen’s most impressive creations, with an exterior by the famous Espen Oeino and interiors by Francois Zuretti, Amadea turns head with its clamshell deck design, best admired from inside the private helicopter that would be landing on it. It’s said to be worth $325 million, but it could end up at the scrapyard.
Amadea, the gorgeous 348-footer (106 meters) built by Lurssen only five years ago, went on a challenging 18-day journey on the Pacific, from Mexico to Fiji, trying to escape sanctions. It found the opposite of that. As soon as it arrived, its crew was detained by local authorities for having arrived without customs clearance, Bloomberg reports.
But somebody else also had its eyes on it. The U.S. Justice Department's Taskforce KleptoCapture, which is now hunting down the superyachts of sanctioned oligarchs, was ready to seize it. But it took nearly a month to legally prove the vessel’s ownership.
While the massive ship was stuck in Fiji, with a police officer on board at all times, the lawyers of its registered owner, Millemarine Investments, were saying that the real owner is a different oligarch than what the U.S. believed, one who wasn’t sanctioned.
Finally, Fiji's High Court granted the order to seize Amadea on May 3. It turns out that it does belong to Suleiman Kerimov, a gold magnate and a billionaire who had been sanctioned by the U.S. even back in 2018, also as a response to Russia’s international actions.
One of Lurssen’s most impressive creations, with an exterior by the famous Espen Oeino and interiors by Francois Zuretti, Amadea turns head with its clamshell deck design, best admired from inside the private helicopter that would be landing on it. It’s said to be worth $325 million, but it could end up at the scrapyard.
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