Photo: Ruben Griffioen for SuperyachtTimes (Composite)
Billionaires, they all have more in common with each other than just their vast wealth. They also share a passion for super luxurious toys and assets, for showing off, and for privacy. And for turning off the AIS on their expensive boats.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon billionaire and certified Space Cowboy, is also the relatively new owner of the largest sailing yacht in the world, the 127-meter (417-foot) Oceanco megayacht now sailing under the name Koru. Koru is a beast of the most gorgeous and impressive kind, and it's been attracting the kind of attention you'd expect a $500 million boat built for a billionaire would.
The same goes for Koru's shadow yacht, which also holds a world record for the largest shadow vessel. Abeona is technically a superyacht on its own, but under the Bezos ownership, it serves as the toy hauler for Koru. Because of its large masts and sails, Koru can't carry any of the gear any self-respecting (and rich) seafarer needs on his adventures, like tenders, water toys, helicopters, and the like. Abeona does that instead.
Given the kind of media attention these two spectacular and record-breaking vessels have gotten over the summer, it probably comes as little surprise to hear that they've gone dark. In fact, as eSysman Superyacht notes in the video below, they've been off the map for almost two months, which means that the AIS (automatic identification system) tracker has been turned off.
Photo: Damen Yachting
Koru last broadcast from Sardinia, turning off AIS as it was underway to other destinations. It was later spotted in Croatia and then off the coast of Spain as early as September 11, so it's unlikely that it's dealing with some sort of AIS malfunction. Most likely, Bezos has "already [grown] tired of his yachts being tracked on AIS websites."
Abeona was in the yard briefly over the summer for some minor touch-ups, with Koru accompanying it to France. It's rare for AIS tracking to be turned off even while a vessel is undergoing repairs or even taken out of the water, so this seems a deliberate decision.
As we all learned last year, when Russian oligarchs began "disappearing" their superyachts the second their name popped up on a sanctions list, AIS tracking is mandatory for any vessel over 300 tons. AIS tracking offers the vessel's exact location and state (sailing or at anchor), its destination, and traveling speed.
This helps authorities and other vessels "see” the boat at all times and avoid mishaps. When the Ukraine war started, and especially after sanctions went into effect, tracking oligarchs' superyachts became a passion for many superyacht watchers.
In the case of Koru and Abeona, it looks like Bezos had about enough of being "seen."
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News