Abramovich yacht steers well clear of British waters
Roman Abramovich’s £540 million superyacht Eclipse sailed within two miles of British territorial waters near Gibraltar yesterday as it appeared to be headed towards Montenegro, beyond the reach of sanctions.
The Eclipse could be seen from Gibraltar at 1pm, when the skipper altered course slightly to the south to avoid straying into Gibraltar waters. It appeared to be heading towards Tivat in Montenegro to join the Russian billionaire’s other yacht, Solaris.
Other Russian oligarchs have anchored their superyachts in Tivat as the threat of sanctions grew. Abramovich, who was yesterday removed as a director of Chelsea Football Club after the UK Government imposed a series of sanctions against him for his close links to Vladimir Putin. Abramovich denies links to the Kremlin.
Yesterday, Italian police seized a superyacht from Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, the Italian government said, a few days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list. The 470ft Sailing Yacht A, which has a price tag of £444m, has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, the government said.
Designed by Philippe Starck and built by Nobiskrug in Germany, the vessel is the world’s biggest sailing yacht, the government said. Melnichenko owns fertiliser producer Eurochem Group and coal company SUEK.
Last week Italian police seized villas and yachts worth £120m from five high-profile Russians who have been placed on the sanctions list. The police operations were part of a co-ordinated drive by Western states to penalise wealthy Russians linked to Putin.