Tracked down: the super-yachts Putin oligarchs sent to Turkey to cheat sanctions
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH, flanked by four hefty bodyguards and trailed by his family, strolled into the restaurant without a care in the world.
Sanctions have hit the Russian billionaire hard – his close ties to Vladimir Putin have led to accusations that he has blood on his hands over Ukraine – but onlookers said he seemed perfectly at ease. He ate and drank well, enjoying chateaubriand steak and expensive red wine.
Ramazan Cesaret, owner of the CaesarEt Lounge steakhouse in the Turkish port of Gocek, was stunned to see the ‘globally famous’ guest at his table. He admitted to being nervous.
These are troubling times for Kremlinlinked oligarchs. Turkey, though, is fast becoming the bolthole of choice for their super-yachts. No fewer than 11 of them – including four belonging to the former Chelsea Football Club owner – are berthed here, beyond UK, EU and US sanctions. It helps that president Recep Erdogan’s regime is close to Russia.
After the invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich quickly moved his collection of boats – worth an estimated £1.1bn (€1.3bn) – from berths across the world to this part of the Mediterranean.
‘They eat and then they just drink and drink’
The Mail on Sunday found two of them in Gocek last week.
One is the Eclipse, a 160-metre vessel worth more than £400m (€470m) with two helicopter pads, two swimming pools, a disco and even an anti-missile system. It was anchored about three kilometres out. It has the feel of a ghost ship, with five or six staff on board instead of the usual 95. Turkish media reports claim most staff left after sanctions came into force because they were not being paid.
In the exclusive Azure Marina we spotted Abramovich’s Garcon – 67 metres long and worth £17m (€20m) – whose transponder, known as the Automatic Identification System (AIS), has been switched off since August 8 in what appears to be an attempt to avoid detection.
Another Abramovich vessel, Halo – 55 metres long and worth £32m (€38m) which flies under the flag of the South Pacific’s Cook Islands – is also believed to be in Gocek.
The billionaire’s fourth superyacht, My Solaris – 139 metres long and worth about £430m (€507m), equipped with a helipad, gym, spa and several swimming pools – is anchored down the coast in Bodrum.
Other yachts belonging to oligarchs in Gocek’s crystal-blue waters include the Flying Fox, anchored next to Garcon at Azure Marina. The 136-metre vessel, worth more than £339m (€400m), is owned by Dmitry Kamenshchik, a Putin ally and boss of Moscow Domodedovo airport, which has had its AIS switched off since August 3.
It appears the Flying Fox has resumed its charter service and has been hired at least three times for an astonishing £3m (€3.5m) a week since its arrival in Gocek. One marine security guard told the Mail on Sunday an Arab prince had chartered it recently.
Rory Jackson, an expert at Vessels Value, said Turkey is popular because it can ‘offer better yachting grounds’ than somewhere like Dubai, whose only appeal is the city itself. It is also beyond sanctions.
He said: ‘When the sanctions fell it was not the Mediterranean season, so the oligarchs had time to think where they could take their yachts.’
Residents and businesses have mixed opinions about the influx of Russians into Gocek.
Sukru Aydin, 54, a tour boat operator, said: ‘Of course these yachts are a problem. Firstly they are anchored at sea and are obstructing small boats like ours. We cannot go near them as it triggers their alarm systems.’
But Zeynep Ketenci, the owner of a boutique clothes shop, said: ‘Of course we have more Russians compared with last year. They are here because you want to take away their possessions. This is imperial.’
Back at the Caesar-Et Lounge, owner Mr Cesaret says the yachts bring in business. He says the
‘You want to take away their possessions’
Flying Fox’s mainly British crew are regulars in his restaurant.
‘Sometimes they come as a couple, and sometimes there are 30 of them. They eat and then they just drink and drink, usually red wine. They never care about money.’
Asked if Abramovich had enjoyed his meal, Mr Cesaret showed a gift the billionaire had sent him the following day. It was a plaque with Eclipse on it – a celebration of a super-yacht evading sanctions.