Flying Fox, the world’s largest charter yacht, is back on the global charter market. The 446-foot Lürssen, which hosted Jay-Z and Beyoncé in 2021 and costs $3,200,000 per week to charter, had U.S. sanctions imposed on it in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russo-Ukrainian war rages on, yet in October, Flying Fox’s U.S. sanctions were lifted.
The yacht’s Russian billionaire owner Dmitry Kamenshchik does not appear on any sanctions lists, though its previous management company Imperial Yachts does. In 2022, Flying Fox was named in a statement by the U.S. Department of Treasury as “blocked property” in which “Imperial Yachts has an interest.” Now under the management of Bluewater Yachting Dubai, Flying Fox is insured, back in class and flagged in Malaysia.
“The Malaysian flag is open for business and picking up yachts that have been dropped from flags like the Cayman Islands,” says Peter Bennett, founder of Bluewater Yachting Dubai. “It doesn’t have an issue servicing these yachts provided they comply with IMO and SOLAS.”
The 446-foot Flying Fox was originally on the US sanctions list but has recently returned to the charter market.
Bluewater Yachting/Guillaume Plisson
At least 20 vessels have been seized or detained following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nine superyachts have been sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). Among the highest-profile yachts affected are Sailing Yacht A owned by Russian businessman Andrey Melnichenko, and Dilbar, the world’s largest yacht by gross tonnage, owned by Alisher Usmanov.
Sailing Yacht A remains under arrest in Trieste, while the $600 million Dilbar, which was undergoing maintenance works at Lürssen when it was placed under export control sanctions, is being held in a floating dock at the builder’s Hamburg facilities.
While some yachts, such as Phi, which has been detained on London’s River Thames for more than two years, are blocked from leaving the location of their arrest, others, including Roman Abramovich’s Halo and Garcon, escaped before seizure. They found safe harbor in countries like Turkey and the UAE, which are fulfilling new build and refit services. The Maldives and the Seychelles are also favored cruising grounds for yachts like Madame Gu, Nord, and Ocean Victory.
Superyacht Dilbar has been at a drydock in Hamburg for the last two years.
Lurssen
“We’re seeing activity in Turkey and the UAE since [the Russian-owned yachts] are all concentrated there,” says a CEO of a European shipyard who asking not to be named. “We’ve heard of Russians buying used yachts in Turkey and building new boats there. We’ve even heard of them going to China for a new build, thanks to the relationship between Russia and China.”
Brokers based in the U.S., the U.K., and the EU are strongly advised, and in many cases prohibited, from working with Russians. Some brokers have chosen to relocate to countries like Dubai as a workaround.
“The few people I see operating with non-sanctioned Russians and managing Russian yachts are simply pro-business,” says a British sales broker who requested to remain anonymous.
Amadea, which was first detained in Fiji, has been brought to the U.S. west coast. It’s costing the U.S. government tens of millions to maintain.
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Some North American charter clients now request a statement to confirm there is no Russian nexus involved on a yacht. Sales brokers routinely check if there’s a Russian connection with a potential sale. “It’s not due to anti-Russian bias, but to reassure their client there won’t be any red-tape hurdles,” says the broker. “We can’t adopt a Cold War mentality where we don’t like Russians because that’s not the case.”
Any yacht that is open to asset seizure is also open to liquidation. Following a failed attempt by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt in 2023 to acquire Alfa Nero at auction, the 266-foot Oceanco was privately sold by the Antigua & Barbuda Port Authority in July 2024 for $40 million ($80 million less than Andrey Guryev is presumed to have paid in 2014).
The sale ended an extended period of financial challenges for the small island nation, which listed funds owed to “creditors and the crew,” as well as maintenance, fuel costs and legal fees among the debts racked up by the yacht’s detainment. Yet it’s far from an open-and-shut case, says superyacht attorney John Leonida, who serves as outside counsel for law firm Wordley Partnership.
Superyacht Alpha is being held at a dock on the River Thames.
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“Not only is the premise of each detention questionable, but so is any subsequent acquisition by a third party,” says Leonida. “The Government of Antigua & Barbuda has indemnified the buyer of Alfa Nero for any future losses or third-party claims connected with the sale, thus making the legality of the sale uncertain. This is a long way from a clean legal opinion that would hold the sale as being unimpeachable.”
Amadea, which was detained in Fiji by U.S. authorities, was ruled “too costly” for the government to maintain by the Fijian Supreme Court. Now docked in San Diego, the U.S. government pays more than $10 million a year for its upkeep. There is certainly an appetite to purchase a sanctioned yacht at a reduced price, but buyers are put off by the inevitable media scrutiny, and the risk of being exposed to expensive post-war legal fights.
“Most yachts are owned by companies, not individuals, and the legal ownership may not be directly linked to the [Russian] individuals involved,” says Leonida. “Sanctions are not a valid reason to pierce the corporate veil unless, for example, the company is being used to evade sanctions, which is not the declared case with these yachts.”
The world’s largest sailing motoryacht, Sailing Yacht A, remains under arrest in Trieste.
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Shipyards that had Russian yachts in build when the sanctions hit have also been directly impacted. Damen Shipyards initiated a lawsuit against the Dutch government in 2023 in a bid to reclaim costs incurred from the cancellation of delivery contracts for “several superyachts.”
Other yards have systems in place that mean the transfer of ownership doesn’t occur until the build is complete. That allowed Russian payments to be held in an escrow account (a trusted third party) and the yacht sold to a new buyer. Mark Zuckerberg’s acquisition of the 387-foot Feadship Launchpad, which was commissioned by Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin before he was sanctioned, is one example.
For most sanctioned yachts, the future remains unclear. “One of the hardest issues within brokerage is that a lot of classification societies don’t want Russian business,” says the broker. “If the boat can’t get into class, it can’t be chartered, and if it can’t go onto the flag state that you want or be insured through the London market, then it starts to become more complicated.”
Chains and keep-out signs on seized yachts could be around for years until legal issues are settled.
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“The policy makers have left these superyachts in limbo,” adds Leonida. “A dangerous corporate law precedent has been set, which the courts will be asked to put right at some point in the future.”
When that is, exactly, is the big unknown.