The battle of the Russian yachts: economic warfare against the oligarchs

Economic sanctions against Putin-friendly Russian oligarchs by the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries such as the United States and Australia have led to a disbanding of yachts. In the picture, My Solaris, the immense yacht of Roman Abramovich (the disgraced owner of Chelsea) arrives on the coast of Montenegro, a former Yugoslav republic where he has sought refuge from possible seizure. Something that has already happened to other yachts, seized by the authorities due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

One of the world's largest yachts, the SY A, (pictured) belonging to Andrei Melnichenko, a Russian oligarch with banking, fertiliser and coal businesses, has been seized in Italy. The Independent reported that his boat had been seized by the Italian Finance Guard in the port of Trieste.

The SY A is valued at $690 million and is a prodigy of design and engineering for sailing. The luxury is clear as you approach this vessel, as can be seen in the picture. Andrei Melnichenko has spoken out in favour of peace, but this has not spared him from the economic persecution that the European Union has decided to undertake against the super-rich Russians that it considers close to the Russian leader.

According to local media, such as Corriere de la Sera, the yacht Lady M, owned by Alexey Mordashov, has been seized. A villa in Tuscany was also seized by the Finance Guard from this super-rich Russian, whose fortune comes from the mining and steel business.

In the picture, tourists are strolling in a Corsican port (in the summer of 2021). This boat has also been seized by the Italian authorities. It is the Lena, somewhat more modest than the previous ones but also a luxury yacht. Its owner is Gennady Timchenko, to whom Forbes attributes a fortune of more than 11 billion dollars based on gas and the petrochemical industry.

Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, the French government seized the yacht of oligarch Igor Sechin (pictured with Putin), chairman of the Rosfnet oil company. According to Business Insider, the boat 'Amore Vero' was being repaired at the La Ciotat shipyard near Marseille, and intended to set sail urgently to escape sanctions.

Meanwhile, the Germans (as reported by DW) seized the yacht Dilbar, owned by Alisher Usmanov, considered the third richest man in Russia.

The Mediterranean is the hunting ground for yachts owned by the great Russian fortunes. The Côte d'Azur has witnessed a desertion of yachts owned by wealthy Russians, and the same has happened in the port of Barcelona. According to El País, the General Directorate of Ports ordered the 85-metre yacht Valerie, owned by Seguéi Chemezov, a director of Rostec, a large Russian corporation, to be detained there.

Photo: Enes / Unsplash

Spanish media reported that more yachts owned by wealthy Russians may have been immobilised. In particular, surveillance has been stepped up in the ports of Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera to ensure that no Russian-owned yachts escape from the islands.

If EU ports are not safe, where do you go with your yacht if you are a Russian oligarch? There are countries that, for the moment, preserve a certain neutrality: Turkey, for example, does not support sanctions against Russia. So its ports may be an option for refuge. In the picture, the yacht of a Russian oligarch in a port in the Mugla region (in 2015).

And then there are the ghost ships, mysteries like the immense yacht Scherezade, in the waters of Marina di Carrara, whose story was told by The New York Times. A luxurious ship with two heliports, standing in the Tuscan sea and no one knows if its owner is a Russian oligarch. It is standing in limbo, in the Mediterranean, with the Finance Guard watching over it.

Photo: Federico Burgalassi / Unsplash

Russian oligarchs enjoy the ostentation of their wealth (as do almost all rich people), so taking away their yachts has both a real, economic effect and an important symbolic one. It sends the message that, for the duration of the war, Europe does not accept the use of the continent to be their place to relax. In the picture, Suleyman Kerimov's yacht ICE in 2014.

Other properties are also being seized. We know that, in Italy, there have been several raids on villas in Tuscany. Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, Russia's super-rich have summer mansions. The picture shows the landscape of the Italian region of Tuscany.

Photo: Reuben Teo / Unsplash

Economic sanctions are another form of war with Russia. The EU has drawn up a list of wealthy Russians sanctioned with more than 600 names.

Photo: Waldemar Brandt / Unsplash

For the time being, the European waters are being searched for the yachts of super-rich Russians caught up in the sanctions. The battle continues.

Photo: David Ramírez / Unsplash

The offensive against the Russian oligarchs is a pressure measure aimed at making them uncomfortable to the point of convincing their "boss", Vladimir Putin, that he has embarked on an absurd war. Will it do any good? For the time being, the Mediterranean is no longer a place of relaxation for all these big names from Russia.