Like with most billionaires and multi-millionaires, a detailed list of expensive assets for any Russian oligarch is impossible to obtain. The same applies for Roman Abramovich, though he still denies being a Russian oligarch as defined by international authorities in their drawing-up the current list of sanctions.
Whether he is in cahoots with President Putin or not, funneling money into his war in Ukraine or not, Abramovich is among the Russians sanctioned in the UK, his former adoptive home country. The second his name was added to the list, he boarded one of his private jets and fled overseas, and embarked on a not-so-secret mission to stash any multi-million asset that might be seized by authorities. This included his fleet of superyachts.
As noted above, it’s hard to establish exactly which vessels are his with accuracy, but this much is known for a fact: he owns the $610 million megayacht Solaris, the $600 million megayacht Eclipse, the $71 million superyacht Halo, and the $24.6 million explorer slash shadow yacht Garcon. Impressive price aside, these four vessels are considered masterpieces of naval design, offering unparalleled levels of luxury.
All four are now safe in Turkish waters, where they are not subject to sanctions and will not be seized.
Solaris and Eclipse have been in Turkey since earlier this year, having made the journey there shortly after sanctions were announced. Solaris is in Bodrum, while Eclipse was, until the other day, in Gocek. Reports in the British media note that Halo and Garcon also arrived in Gocek the other day, and that their arrival coincided with Eclipse leaving and heading to Marmaras. All four vessels are now at anchor, with no further plans for travel – at least, not according to publicly available data.
Halo and Garcon had previously been detained in Antigua and Barbuda, at the behest of the UK government earlier this year. While a subsequent investigation determined that their direct beneficiary was, indeed, Abramovich, authorities in Antigua and Barbuda did not impound them because they had no sanctions laws. On July 22, both ships left port and were headed to Morocco, according to the data they were transmitting. Instead, they arrived in Gocek, which seems to have been the intended destination all along.
Abramovich may deny his ties to Putin or any wrong-doing, but his actions reveal that he planned his moves in advance, at least as far as taking his assets to safe havens goes. Reports claim that he is no longer able to cover the overall costs of ownership for the same assets, including maintenance and weekly salaries, but at the very least he still has them in his name. Some comfort must come from that: not everybody can brag of having $1.3 billion in boats floating around in Turkish ports.
As noted above, it’s hard to establish exactly which vessels are his with accuracy, but this much is known for a fact: he owns the $610 million megayacht Solaris, the $600 million megayacht Eclipse, the $71 million superyacht Halo, and the $24.6 million explorer slash shadow yacht Garcon. Impressive price aside, these four vessels are considered masterpieces of naval design, offering unparalleled levels of luxury.
All four are now safe in Turkish waters, where they are not subject to sanctions and will not be seized.
Solaris and Eclipse have been in Turkey since earlier this year, having made the journey there shortly after sanctions were announced. Solaris is in Bodrum, while Eclipse was, until the other day, in Gocek. Reports in the British media note that Halo and Garcon also arrived in Gocek the other day, and that their arrival coincided with Eclipse leaving and heading to Marmaras. All four vessels are now at anchor, with no further plans for travel – at least, not according to publicly available data.
Halo and Garcon had previously been detained in Antigua and Barbuda, at the behest of the UK government earlier this year. While a subsequent investigation determined that their direct beneficiary was, indeed, Abramovich, authorities in Antigua and Barbuda did not impound them because they had no sanctions laws. On July 22, both ships left port and were headed to Morocco, according to the data they were transmitting. Instead, they arrived in Gocek, which seems to have been the intended destination all along.
Abramovich may deny his ties to Putin or any wrong-doing, but his actions reveal that he planned his moves in advance, at least as far as taking his assets to safe havens goes. Reports claim that he is no longer able to cover the overall costs of ownership for the same assets, including maintenance and weekly salaries, but at the very least he still has them in his name. Some comfort must come from that: not everybody can brag of having $1.3 billion in boats floating around in Turkish ports.