Photo: Yacht Charter Fleet
Madame Gu is a sublime 324-foot (99m) superyacht built by Feadship in 2013. While not among the largest or most expensive billionaire toys, it is one of the most intricately designed. It is linked to Andrei Skoch, a Russian steel magnate and lawmaker who remains on the sanctions list.
The $156 million behemoth features both interior and exterior design penned by Winch Design, while its naval architecture comes courtesy of De Voogt Naval Architects. It has a steel hull and aluminum superstructure and can cruise comfortably at 18 knots (21 mph / 33 kph) thanks to its quad MTU engines.
Madame Gu features some unique and innovative luxury touches. Among them would be the unique and uniquely expensive Shark Blue paint job, which costs $1 million yearly in repaint, complemented by sublime exterior lighting. It is accompanied by a matching Eurocopter Dauphin AS 365N3 helicopter worth $9 million that can be stowed inside a fully enclosed hangar that can turn into a squash court.
And we haven’t even mentioned the enormous 2,991GT interior yet, which can accommodate up to 12 guests within six lavishly appointed cabins. There is also room for 36 crew members who will make sure each guest is properly taken care of. If that is not enough, other features include a spacious gym, elevator, and extra-large beach club.
Add that to the price of the superyacht itself, and the resulting price is eye-watering. Still, that’s barely enough to make a dent in Skoch’s $6.3 billion net worth. However, losing such an investment cannot be a welcome prospect, leading to Madame Gu going into hiding earlier this year.
The yacht had previously vanished in March 2022 only to be found three months later in Dubai, where it still is today. Ever since, the United States declared Madame Gu as blocked property, meaning American companies or citizens cannot be employed for its upkeep.
But since the yacht currently resides in a sovereign nation, cooperation with that country’s government is required to seize the property. While Emirati officials have said in a statement that they take their role of “protecting the integrity of the global financial system extremely seriously,”, nothing has been concretely mentioned about Madame Gu.
This is where another problem arises. Last month, a UAE-based company, Constellation Advisors Ltd., was sanctioned by the U.S. government due to ties with oligarchs. And it seems a similar thing is happening again with Madame Gu. It is being taken care of by DP World (through its subsidiaries P&O Marinas and World Security), which is owned by Dubai’s royal family.
“It’s frustrating when you see huge assets that are sitting out there and it appears that the country is not cooperating,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse was cited as saying by the New York Times. This is an understandable position to take, considering that the United Arab Emirates has become somewhat of a safe haven for Russian yachts and aircraft unable to sail or fly elsewhere.
But progress is being made, and the U.S. government is making efforts to pursue oligarch-owned assets whose sale could be used to aid Ukraine. To this end, a case made for impounding a $90 million Airbus business jet linked to Skoch in August could be used as a blueprint to seize Madame Gu.
Madame Gu features some unique and innovative luxury touches. Among them would be the unique and uniquely expensive Shark Blue paint job, which costs $1 million yearly in repaint, complemented by sublime exterior lighting. It is accompanied by a matching Eurocopter Dauphin AS 365N3 helicopter worth $9 million that can be stowed inside a fully enclosed hangar that can turn into a squash court.
And we haven’t even mentioned the enormous 2,991GT interior yet, which can accommodate up to 12 guests within six lavishly appointed cabins. There is also room for 36 crew members who will make sure each guest is properly taken care of. If that is not enough, other features include a spacious gym, elevator, and extra-large beach club.
Add that to the price of the superyacht itself, and the resulting price is eye-watering. Still, that’s barely enough to make a dent in Skoch’s $6.3 billion net worth. However, losing such an investment cannot be a welcome prospect, leading to Madame Gu going into hiding earlier this year.
The yacht had previously vanished in March 2022 only to be found three months later in Dubai, where it still is today. Ever since, the United States declared Madame Gu as blocked property, meaning American companies or citizens cannot be employed for its upkeep.
But since the yacht currently resides in a sovereign nation, cooperation with that country’s government is required to seize the property. While Emirati officials have said in a statement that they take their role of “protecting the integrity of the global financial system extremely seriously,”, nothing has been concretely mentioned about Madame Gu.
This is where another problem arises. Last month, a UAE-based company, Constellation Advisors Ltd., was sanctioned by the U.S. government due to ties with oligarchs. And it seems a similar thing is happening again with Madame Gu. It is being taken care of by DP World (through its subsidiaries P&O Marinas and World Security), which is owned by Dubai’s royal family.
“It’s frustrating when you see huge assets that are sitting out there and it appears that the country is not cooperating,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse was cited as saying by the New York Times. This is an understandable position to take, considering that the United Arab Emirates has become somewhat of a safe haven for Russian yachts and aircraft unable to sail or fly elsewhere.
But progress is being made, and the U.S. government is making efforts to pursue oligarch-owned assets whose sale could be used to aid Ukraine. To this end, a case made for impounding a $90 million Airbus business jet linked to Skoch in August could be used as a blueprint to seize Madame Gu.
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