Photo: Benoit Donne / Superyacht Times
Many countries are imposing sanctions against Russian oligarchs for their supposed association with President Putin, prompting a genuine race to move, hide, or stow away assets. So, the hunt – or, at the very least, the watch – for the world’s most expensive, Russian-owned megayachts and superyachts continues.
One megayacht that won’t fall into strangers' hands is Motor Yacht A, the smallest and least expensive second yacht of EuroChem Group founder and billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. Motor Yacht A is a 2008 build designed by Philippe Starck and constructed by Blohm & Voss, worldwide famous and instantly recognizable for the blade-shaped hull that makes it look as if it's upside down and which allows it to travel full throttle with almost zero wake.
Motor Yacht A is the sister ship of the $600 million Sailing Yacht A, which Starck also designed and which still holds the record for the biggest sail-assisted ship. This one was seized in Italy in March this year. Within days, Motor Yacht A sailed out of Dubai and turned off its AIS (automatic identification system) tracking and “disappeared” in the Arabian Sea. The last time we reported on it, its location and port of destination were unknown, and it hadn’t been seen on the radar for more than two months.
As it turns out, Motor Yacht A didn’t really stray too far from its port of departure. Financial Times found it “hiding in plain sight” in the port of Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, some 90 minutes away from Dubai by car. It’s been there for weeks, the publication says; in fact, sources at the marina say it must have been there since April 18.
“By placing his yacht in the UAE, Melnichenko has put it beyond the reach of western governments enforcing sanctions on those deemed supportive of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine,” the publication notes. UAE is openly ambivalent on the topic of the war in Ukraine: on one hand, it’s dispatching aid to the population of Ukraine, while on the other, it’s welcoming Russian oligarchs and their prized assets with open arms because money knows no allegiance.
Melnichenko isn’t the first and will certainly not be the last Russian oligarch to find a safe haven for his superyacht in the UAE. Other safe havens include Turkey, Seychelles, the Maldives, and, until the seizure of $325 million Amadea by the U.S. government, Fiji.
Motor Yacht A is the sister ship of the $600 million Sailing Yacht A, which Starck also designed and which still holds the record for the biggest sail-assisted ship. This one was seized in Italy in March this year. Within days, Motor Yacht A sailed out of Dubai and turned off its AIS (automatic identification system) tracking and “disappeared” in the Arabian Sea. The last time we reported on it, its location and port of destination were unknown, and it hadn’t been seen on the radar for more than two months.
As it turns out, Motor Yacht A didn’t really stray too far from its port of departure. Financial Times found it “hiding in plain sight” in the port of Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, some 90 minutes away from Dubai by car. It’s been there for weeks, the publication says; in fact, sources at the marina say it must have been there since April 18.
“By placing his yacht in the UAE, Melnichenko has put it beyond the reach of western governments enforcing sanctions on those deemed supportive of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine,” the publication notes. UAE is openly ambivalent on the topic of the war in Ukraine: on one hand, it’s dispatching aid to the population of Ukraine, while on the other, it’s welcoming Russian oligarchs and their prized assets with open arms because money knows no allegiance.
Melnichenko isn’t the first and will certainly not be the last Russian oligarch to find a safe haven for his superyacht in the UAE. Other safe havens include Turkey, Seychelles, the Maldives, and, until the seizure of $325 million Amadea by the U.S. government, Fiji.
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