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SuperYacht Times

SuperYachtTimes.com is the leading superyacht website, updated daily with the most relevant and interesting superyacht news and information. In addition, SuperYacht Times also publishes the quarterly newspaper, The SuperYacht Times, in which readers around the world enjoy compelling superyacht stories and unique features from some of the industry’s most influential players, all accompanied by crisp, fresh photography.

“Often people only see the luxury associated with superyachts, but there is a lot more to it than that. It all starts from that first moment of creation – what other object can you create from a blank piece of paper, which is then made by skilled craftspeople exactly to your wishes? The whole process involves so many different kinds of trades and materials. There is something magical about it. From that point onwards, your enjoyment of the yacht only increases – exploring new places, experiencing new cultures and having the time of your life with family and friends from your home on the water. I believe that as an industry we can do a lot more to promote all of this and elevate the image of yachting worldwide.” – Merijn de Waard, Advisor to the Board and Director of SuperYacht Times

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The World Superyacht Awards: A Night of Recognition and Industry Celebration

The World Superyacht Awards by BOAT International, often referred to as the Oscars of the yachting industry, have returned to their birthplace of Venice for the 2024 ceremony.

Adding to the grandeur of the occasion is the venue itself, the Arsenale di Venezia, an exclusive setting for this year’s event. This awe-inspiring complex, steeped in history, was once a bustling shipyard in the 12th century. Its vast expanse, encompassing 48 hectares, served as the heart of Venetian naval power, churning out countless ships that secured the Republic’s maritime dominance.

This prestigious event brings together the crème de la crème of the superyacht world, honouring the exceptional craftsmanship, innovation, and design that define this elite industry. Among the contenders, Heesen Yachts is proud to be participating with four stunning nominations: the 33m Newal , the 55m Reliance , the 60m Ultra G, and the 67m Sparta .

Heesen has a long-standing history of excellence at the World Superyacht Awards, having secured several coveted Neptune trophies over the years. This year’s event witnessed a staggering 15 distinct categories, each teeming with no fewer than 60 distinguished nominees. The shipyard is again in the spotlight, with four remarkable vessels vying for recognition.

The 33m Newal, first delivered in 1988 was designed by Mulder Design and Alfa Marine Design, with interior by Murat Cengiz Architects, is nominated in the Rebuild Category. Following a 15-month refit by KRM Yacht Refit & Rebuild, the yacht is now ready to set sail once more with a new interior, exterior and a 3.6 metre extension. In addition, all electric infrastructure, piping systems and engine rooms saw a complete overhaul.

The World Superyacht Awards are more than just a night of glitz and glamour; they represent a significant opportunity for the industry to come together. From superyacht owners and designers to brokers and industry peers, this event fosters a sense of community and shared passion for the world of luxury yachting. It’s a platform to celebrate the achievements of shipyards, designers, and individuals who push the boundaries of what’s possible on the water.

This event serves as a reminder of the collective effort that goes into creating these magnificent vessels, each one a testament to human ingenuity and craftsmanship.

Heesen is deeply honoured by the judges’ commendation for the 67m Sparta , a recognition of the dedication and talent that went into crafting this one-of-a-kind superyacht.

Written by Sara Gioanola.

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A seized superyacht shows up in Everett — minus one Russian oligarch owner

EVERETT — It’s not clear whether Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov had plans to visit Puget Sound this spring — the French Riviera is more the style of the U.S.-sanctioned mining and energy multibillionaire.

But Monday morning, the Amadea, a 348-foot, $300 million-plus superyacht said to be owned by Kerimov, arrived in the Port of Everett to have some work done at a local shipyard. 

A sleek, white shark of a ship with a knifelike bow, raked profile and quarters for 16 guests and 36 crew, Amadea swanned past Everett’s industrial waterfront with a tug escort and all the made-for-TV glamour of an international celebrity fugitive. Kerimov, of course, was not on board.

In 2022, Amadea (“God’s love” in Latin) was seized in Fiji at the request of U.S. authorities who claim Kerimov has enabled Russian aggression in Ukraine and Syria. Money laundering and conspiracy were also alleged.

At the time, the seizure was hailed as a warning to “every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide — not even in the remotest part of the world,” as a deputy U.S. attorney general put it in a press statement . 

But as any boat owner in this boat-focused community will tell you , seizing a superyacht is one thing. Maintaining its value as an asset is another — especially when the asset is the size of a ferry and equipped with a theater, a gym, beauty salon, teak decks, 30-foot-long pool, helipad and twin 5,766-horsepower diesels. 

“They’re saying it’s costing us $7 million a year to keep it up,” said Chris Petersen, a retired fisherman who runs a metal coatings shop on West Marine View Drive, a few blocks from the port and who, like many here, has been following the superyacht saga since Monday.

Indeed, fuel, maintenance, insurance and salary for the crew of Amadea during its impoundment in San Diego ran around $740,000 a month, according to federal court filings by the Marshals Service. 

In February, the Justice Department told a federal court it intended to halt this “excessive … drain on the public” purse by auctioning off Amadea, which the government claims Kerimov acquired in 2021.

But selling off this excessive drain has been complicated. 

There is litigation challenging Amadea’s seizure because the vessel allegedly wasn’t owned by Kerimov, but by another Russian oligarch, who is not sanctioned, according to court papers. 

Another complication, more relevant to Everett: Amadea’s insurance policy, according to court filings, requires service that can only be done by hauling the vessel out of the water — a job that appears to be slated for the dry dock facilities at Everett Ship Repair, on the port’s East Waterway. 

Few details of the project have been shared. Port officials have referred all questions to Everett Ship Repair, whose vice president of service sales, Lane Richards, politely declined to comment.

But a Justice Department spokesperson confirmed Thursday that Amadea was indeed “in Washington for standard dry dock maintenance.”

And on Wednesday, the vessel in question could be seen berthed, like a slightly lost Imperial Starship, on the south side of Pier 3, adjacent to Everett Ship Repair’s dry dock and the Washington State Ferry Salish. 

All the no-commenting has only added to the atmosphere of maritime intrigue and speculation in a town ordinarily unperturbed by big, secrecy-shrouded ships, including those at the nearby Everett Naval Station. 

Many here wonder why the U.S. government spent the money to bring Amadea all the way to Everett, when there are dry dock facilities in San Diego, San Francisco and Portland; even Seattle is 5 nautical miles closer to San Diego. 

Amadea’s fuel burn “is probably in the 8-to-10 gallons per mile range,” said Dennis Butterfield, a retired car dealership manager and former boat owner, as he kept an eye on the Russian superyacht Wednesday from a viewpoint on Warren Avenue. “That’s the United States government at work, if you ask me.”

Butterfield’s estimate was close: based on vessel specifications featured on the yachting website, YachCharterFleet , the 4,400-ton Amadea burns roughly 11 gallons per mile at a cruising speed of 15 mph.

The Justice Department declined to justify Amadea’s four-day journey from San Diego to Everett.

Such secrecy would likely suit Kerimov, who Forbes once described as “one of the most private Russian billionaires,” and who is also said to have close ties to the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 58-year-old serves in the Russian Federation Senate, is reportedly worth nearly $11 billion and has owned villas on the French Riviera and elsewhere.

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He may also have owned a rare Fabergé egg, according to accounts of the search of the Amadea after its seizure .

Beginning in 2017, Kerimov was listed by U.S. officials as one of a number of Russian oligarchs “who profit from the Russian government through corruption and its malign activity around the globe .”

In March 2022, after the FBI reportedly linked Kerimov to the Amadea , the vessel was seized under a program known as Task Force KleptoCapture and eventually sailed to San Diego under an American flag.

But Amadea’s more recent trip likely had less to do with the vessel’s checkered lineage than with a shortage of West Coast dry dock capacity, especially for large vessels. 

Unlike the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, ship repair infrastructure on the West Coast is “is woefully undersized,” said Craig Hooper, a former naval ship building industry executive who writes and advises on security and defense issues.

In recent decades, several private shipyards with dry dock facilities have closed and building new capacity faces high costs and regulatory hurdles, Hooper said. As a result, “long transits to an open facility are relatively commonplace these days,” he added. 

In the case of the Amadea, Hooper hypothesized, “the responsible party may have put the job out for bid and an Everett yard was the available, lowest-cost option.”

According to court filings, Amadea’s dry dock work is expected to cost $5.6 million and take two months. 

By that time, federal officials may have sorted Amadea’s other complications. 

Last fall, attorneys for Eduard Khudainatov, the former head of state-owned oil company Rosneft, claimed Amadea isn’t owned by Kerimov, but by Khudainatov. Attorneys argue that since Khudainatov wasn’t under sanctions, the yacht was “not forfeitable, as it neither constitutes nor is derived from any unlawful activity.”

But federal prosecutors contend “that Khudainatov is just a straw owner put forward to disguise Kerimov’s ownership of the vessel,” according to an April 19 filing in a federal court in New York, where the case is ongoing.

In the meantime, Everett will take some pleasure in the Amadea’s august presence. 

Port of Everett officials, though tight-lipped about the vessel’s particulars, were clearly pleased by the message it sends of the port’s growing status as a maritime hub.

“Anything that puts Everett on the international map is a good thing!” said Kate Anderson, port spokesperson, in an email response to an inquiry about the Amadea.

Locals, too, appeared to be enjoying the celebrity by association.

“That magnitude of wealth — it’s just another world,” said Petersen, the retired fisherman.

Others wondered who would be foolish enough to buy a vessel whose ownership was being contested by Russian oligarchs.

But mostly, folks here appeared to sympathize with Uncle Sam’s desire to be rid of the costly, controversial craft. 

That was the sentiment of John Mostrom, who had taken a break from mowing his lawn Wednesday to peer down at the Amadea from the Warren Avenue overlook. 

“They say the two happiest days of a boat owner’s life,” Mostrom noted, “are when they buy the boat and when they sell it.”

The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.

Dutch auction house to sell off pro-Russian oligarch's superyacht

Dutch auction house Troowtwijk Auctions will put a superyacht belonging to pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk under the hammer. The funds raised from the sale of the Royal Romance will go toward replenishing Ukraine’s budget, said the Ukrainian government agency, Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).

The 92.5-meter-long yacht has five stories and a swimming pool on board. It was seized in Croatia in March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, and possession was recently transferred to Ukraine. The country chose Troostwijk as the most suitable auction house to sell the yacht.

Viktor Medvedchuk is a businessman and politician placed on the United States sanctions list in 2014 for his role in the annexation of Crimea, NOS reported . According to the U.S. authorities, he is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Czech Republic also accused Medvedchuk of a Russian disinformation campaign involving paying off European politicians via a website based in Prague used to spread Russian propaganda.

According to ARMA, the Royal Romance is the first sanctioned asset seized outside Ukraine to be auctioned. Olena Duma of ARMA spoke of a “big victory.”

A Croatian judge approved the Royal Romance’s transfer to Ukraine. The country handed the ship over with the message, “Whoever buys Medvedchuk’s yacht will deal a political blow to the Putin regime and get a place on the pages of world history.”