Seized Russian Superyacht Racking Up $112,000 In Bills A Month While Skeleton Crew Plays Playstation
Today in "efficiency of sanctions against Russia" news, $120 million superyacht Alfa Nero has become abandoned in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, leaving its crew to do nothing but sit around all day playing Call of Duty.
That's actually the story with the yacht as it stands today, according to Bloomberg. The outlet writes that the "bored crew" has nothing to do since "no passengers come aboard" the 267 foot yacht anymore.
The yacht, which is equipped with an infinity pool and helipad, has been taken over by the skeleton crew that remains, according to the report:
"The captain sleeps in a guest bedroom, but otherwise the crew mostly remain below deck, leaving the five other luxury cabins, the spa, the gym, the elevator and everything else on board largely unused."
The yacht hasn't moved since March 2022 when the UK and US slapped sanctions on its owner, fertilizer billionaire Andrey Guryev. A lawyer for Guryev denies it is his, and the yacht had been made available to charter for $1 million per week, until recently, the report says.
It is difficult to ascertain who the real owner of the yacht is, due to the way ownership is hidden via numerous entities, the report says. A notice of the ship’s seizure by the Antiguan government, however, is made out to Guryev.
Antigua has now officially seized the ship, posting a Antiguan flag and 2 security guards aboard.
The crew is holding out for back pay, the report says, which is aggregating at an gargantuan clip of $112,000 per month. The crew has been reduced from 44 people to just 6. 25 crew members are suing to try and recover more than $2 million in wages.
They yacht, as is apropos for a Russian billionaire, also needs a constant supply of diesel. Tom Paterson, the dockmaster at the Antigua Yacht Club, commented: “You can’t even open the doors on Alfa Nero without diesel. These boats, from the day they launch to the day they die, are burning fossil fuels.”
Antigua, meanwhile, has said it has received over 20 bids for the ship and they are asking US authorities to lift the sanctions on it so they can sell it.
Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua’s ambassador to the US, told Bloomberg: “Nobody's laid claim to it, nobody's been paying its bills. It's been running up money left, right and center, and it has become a risk to the harbor itself.”
As a result of sanctions, Bloomberg notes that "more than two dozen vessels worth about $4 billion have been impounded in ports around the world."
