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Germany seizes the world's largest yacht (at least according to volume)

Rachel Treisman

The luxury superyacht Dilbar sails off the coast of Monaco in 2017. Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

The luxury superyacht Dilbar sails off the coast of Monaco in 2017.

German authorities have seized the world's largest yacht by volume after determining that a Russian oligarch had transferred its ownership to his sister — who is also facing Western sanctions.

Dilbar, the yacht in question, measures some 511 feet and 15,917 tons, which shipbuilder Lurssen says makes it the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage. It has two helipads and one of the biggest indoor pools ever installed on a yacht, according to the U.S. Treasury Department , which puts its estimated worth between $600 and $735 million.

Why so many Russian billionaires are called oligarchs

The superyacht is named after the mother of its original owner: Alisher Usmanov, one of Russia's wealthiest billionaires and a known close associate of the Russian president. Usmanov was sanctioned by the U.S., United Kingdom., European Union and Switzerland in March, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Germany's federal police tweeted Wednesday that it found, "through extensive investigations despite offshore concealment," that the yacht currently belongs to Usmanov's sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova. Authorities impounded the yacht, which remains at the port of Hamburg , after confirming with Brussels that its owner is under sanctions.

A Russian billionaire's superyacht has been impounded in Hamburg, Germany. Harsh sanctions in response to the invasion of #Ukraine brought the estimated $600-750 million yacht Dilbar out of 'offshore concealment', and into the hands of authorities. pic.twitter.com/GYkH6SmQk2 — German Embassy (@GermanyinUSA) April 14, 2022

Ismailova was sanctioned by the U.K. on Wednesday and the EU last week. Both entities said Usmanov had indirectly transferred assets to his sister, including leaving her as Dilbar's only beneficial owner.

"The owner of the yacht 'Dilbar' is Navis Marine Ltd. (Cayman Islands), whose shareholder is Almenor Holdings Ltd. (Cyprus). All shares in that holding company are held by PomerolCapital SA (Switzerland) in trust for the benefit of 'The Sisters Trust,' " EU officials explained, adding that Usmanov has not been a shareholder of that trust company since 2017.

National Security

A russian oligarch's $90 million yacht is seized as part of u.s. sanctions.

Ukrainian sailors tried to block a Russian oligarch's yacht from docking in Turkey

Ismailova has also been linked to luxury real estate in Italy and Latvia associated with Usmanov, the EU said, and therefore has "actively supported materially or financially Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine."

Dilbar made headlines in early March , when Hamburg officials denied conflicting reports that they had seized the superyacht and said any such move would have to come from higher federal customs authorities.

According to Boat International, Dilbar is also the fourth-longest yacht in the world. It can accommodate up to 96 crew members as well as 24 guests in a large living space, which includes fold-out balconies, an onboard garden (with "a specifically developed variety of grass that tolerates salt air") and more than 1,000 custom-made sofa cushions.

This story originally appeared in the Morning Edition live blog .

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DILBAR Yacht – Glamorous $800M Superyacht

At 156 meters (512 ft), DILBAR yacht is the fifth-longest yacht in the world.

If measured by tonnage, she actually ranks in first place as the largest yacht in the world by interior volume. DILBAR was built by Luerssen in Germany in 2016.

DILBAR yacht interior

The interior of the DILBAR yacht was designed by Andrew Winch’s studio based in London. Twelve luxury suites can accommodate 24 guests onboard the yacht.

An impressive 96-member crew finds space below deck and tends to every need the guests might have.

The crew can move through the vessel on separate crew passageways to ensure maximum privacy and a luxurious experience.

The superyacht has a gym, sauna, spa, elevator system, beauty salon, and sauna, all for the comfort and entertainment of the guests.

She also has the largest indoor pool ever installed on a yacht, measuring a total length of 25 meters.

The interior of DILBAR features a classical yacht design with beautiful wood elements and opulent furnishings.

Blue and gold accents take the interior design of the impressive superyacht to the next level and have earned her several design awards in the past.

Specifications

The DILBAR yacht has a total length of 156 meters (512 ft), a beam of 25.7 meters (84.4 ft), and a draft of 6 meters (19.8 ft).

She was built in 2016 by the Luerssen shipyard in Lemwerder, Germany and the project took more than four years to complete.

Her tonnage lies at 15,917, but she can still reach top speeds of 23 knots despite her weight. Her average cruising speed lies at 18 knots, and she is powered by twin diesel engines.

DILBAR is a multi-award-winning yacht with an array of unusual features. Her exterior was designed by the Monaco-based studio of Espen Oeino, which has worked on some of the world’s largest yachts.

The exterior of DILBAR is white with bronze and ivory accents to match Usmanov’s other luxury vessels. The yacht has two helipads that can hold Usmanov’s H175 helicopter.

Several sunbathing decks with a great selection of seating areas make this yacht the perfect place to relax and enjoy the stunning sea views.

DILBAR yacht for an estimated sales price of US $800 million, although this number could be even higher.

The yacht generates a further US $50 to 80 million in annual running costs.

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10 facts about Lürssen's 156m superyacht Dilbar

Related articles, superyacht directory.

Launched by German shipyard Lürssen in 2016, Dilbar is a record-breaking superyacht. Her builder has even claimed that she “is one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built, in terms of both dimensions and technology.” This standout superyacht was delivered to her owner Uzbekistani billionaire Alisher Usmanov as a replacement for Usmanov’s previous yacht of the same name, which has since been renamed Al Raya . Information about the super-secretive yacht is scarce but the figures that have been revealed are impressive. Read on to discover the 10 most incredible facts about Dilbar …

1. Dilbar is the fourth longest yacht in the world

At 156 metres, the Espen-Øino designed Dilbar is one of the longest superyachts in the world. She was a step up from Usmanov’s previous Dilbar yacht, now renamed Al Raya , which measured only 110 metres.

2. She can accommodate almost 100 crew members

Dilbar is normally run by a crew of 80 that help maintain the superyacht and wait on her guests. When necessary, this crew capacity can be increased to a maximum of 96 crew members, meaning Dilbar can carry as many as 120 people at full capacity.

3. The largest yacht in the world by gross tonnage

While the title of largest yacht in the world by length goes to the 180.61 metre Azzam , the 156 metre Dilbar has the greatest interior volume of any yacht ever delivered, boasting an impressive gross tonnage of 15,917. This translates into 3,800 square metres of living space for 24 guests styled by Winch Design with rare and exclusive luxury materials and extended by fold-out balconies.

4. Dilbar has the largest swimming pool ever installed on a superyacht

Measuring 25 metres long, the swimming pool on board Dilbar can hold an impressive amount of water – 180 cubic metres of water in fact. The swimming pool on Dilbar is reportedly the largest pool to ever be installed on board a superyacht.

5. There is a garden on board

For guests missing the shore, Dilbar is equipped with an expansive garden complete with a specially developed variety of grass that tolerates salt air. The designer of the garden, German architect and founder of Yacht-Green Axel Massmann, disclosed that plants from “Mediterranean areas” were chosen because “ Dilbar tends to be between the South of France, northern Spain and sometimes Cyprus.” By choosing plants grown within EU waters, Dilbar was also spared the headache of customs regulations that forbid the import of foreign plants.

6. The yacht is powered by a 30,000KW electric diesel power plant

Opting for an electric-diesel hybrid power source helps reduce Dilbar’s emissions while still providing a top speed of 22.5 knots. Her builder Lürssen claims that the 30,000 KW power plant on which Dilbar runs is the most powerful to ever be fitted on a superyacht.

7. Over 1,100km of cables were installed on board

Dilbar was a technical feat. A total of 1,100 kilometres of cabling (almost the same length as the total land borders of the country of Bhutan) was stretched throughout the interior to power all of the amenities and facilities on board.

8. There are two helipads

Helipads are a key asset to helping owners and guests make smooth and swift journeys from ship to shore. Dilbar however is equipped with not one but two helipads where the H175 helicopter can land to drop off or pick up. The first is located forward at the bow of the yacht, while the second is situated aft on the top deck flybridge.

9. Dilbar was built in just 52 months

From the time of signing the contract to delivering the superyacht to her owner, Lürssen and the designers working on the project managed to construct and complete Dilbar in just over four years.

10. The interiors feature over 1,000 sofa cushions

The amount of living space on board meant that Winch Design had to decorate the interiors with plentiful soft furnishings. Dilbar has been outfitted with over 1,000 custom-made sofa cushions on board, with each and every one uniquely designed to fit the interior scheme.

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Massive superyacht ‘owned by sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov’ is seized in Hamburg

German authorities said they have seized a massive superyacht in Hamburg after determining that it belongs to the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov .

The Federal Criminal Police Office said that, after “extensive investigations” and despite “offshore concealment”, it had been able to determine that the owner is Gulbakhor Ismailova, Mr Usmanov’s sister.

Superyacht Dilbar was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more than $648 million (£493 million).

The yacht features a 25m swimming pool, two helipads, and an on-ship garden and is valued between $600m (£456m) to $750m (£570m), according to the US treasury.

Germany police said authorities worked in Brussels to ensure that European Union sanctions applied to the owner.

It says the yacht can no longer be sold, rented or loaded.

The United States and the EU last month announced economic sanctions against Mr Usmanov, a metals magnate, over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

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Alisher Usmanov’s Yacht Dilbar: Everything You Want To Know

Dilbar can be translated a few ways but, in general, it means “lover” or “one with a blossoming heart” and other things along those lines. It was also the name of the yacht owner’s mother. The yacht bearing the name has become one of the most famous yachts in the world thanks to its size, its price and its stunning amenities. 

She was built by Lürssen, a German shipyard, and designed by English yacht designer Andrew Winch on the interior while Espen Øino International handled the exterior. The designers have gone on record saying it was one of the most challenging yachts they have ever built thanks to the size and all the custom elements including exclusive luxury materials. It took nearly four years for the yacht to be built. Over 680 miles of cable and wiring was used in the construction to ensure power is provided to all corners of the vessel. The yacht’s owner had it registered in the Cayman Islands.

Dilbar features a steel hull and an aluminum superstructure. 

Who Owns the Dilbar Yacht

The yacht Dilbar was launched back in 2015 and is owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, president of the International Fencing Federation. A Russian oligarch, Usmanov became a billionaire after the fall of the Soviet Union in the metal and mining industries. Since then he’s gotten into communications, publishing and much more. He’s currently one of the 100 richest people in the world.

Usmanov previously owned a much smaller yacht called Dilbar as well but he changed the name of the smaller vessel to Al Raya when he upgraded to this particular one.

In March 2022, Dilbar was seized by German authorities. Numerous international assets owned by Russian oligarchs, most notably yachts, have been taken into custody by international authorities as a part of sanctions against Russia for their aggressions in the Ukraine War. It is unclear if the yacht will be returned once the war has ended or if something else is in store.

There is also some talk that Usmanov himself may not technically be the owner of Dilar and that ownership, on paper, may actually be linked to his sister. This is potentially related to some illegal activity and was being investigated by German authorities. 

How Big is the Dilbar Yacht?

One of the reasons Dilbar is so well known is because it’s one of the largest yachts in the world . It currently ranks as the sixth longest at a staggering 511’10” long. The yacht has a gross tonnage of 15,917 and a beam of just over 77 feet. The draft is nearly 20 feet. This makes her the third largest yacht in the world by volume.

Inside Dilbar Yacht 

There is a total of 3,800 square meters of living space inside the yacht for 24 guests. This can actually be increased by the use of a number of fold out balconies. There is additional room for the 80-person crew as well. The crew can also be increased to 96 if there is need as the space is available to accommodate so many.

The average apartment in New York is 866 square feet. Dilbar’s 3,800 square meters works out to about 40,900 square feet. That means this yacht is equal to roughly 47 average New York apartments in terms of living space.

In terms of luxury amenities, the Dilbar has some unusual ones. Aside from the giant swimming pool, there’s even a full garden. The grass is a variety designed to handle living in salt air and all of the plants are native to the regions of Europe that Dilbar travels between so it can avoid sanctions about bringing foreign plants from one country to another. 

Comfort was the order of the day for interior as exemplified by something as simple as cushions. There are over 1,000 custom made cushions on board, each designed to match the interior of the rooms they were designed for. Accents in many parts are bronze and light ivory. It’s said that many materials were rare or luxury items but the fine details of what went into the overall interior design have been mostly kept under wraps.

While many superyachts have a helipad these days, Dilbar features two of them. Oneis located near the bow while the second is closer to aft on the top deck flybridge.

There is a beach deck on board as well as a floating observation bay for guests to enjoy. As expected you can also enjoy amenities like a gym, a sauna and a spa. There are several tenders including a limo tender available to ferry passengers to and from shore.

Helicopter Tender

Many superyachts have tenders for guests and Dilbar is no different as we’ve seen. However, one major difference is that Dilbar also has an AirBus Tender. That’s a large, $20 million custom helicopter tender with room for 7 passengers. The interior is designed with a lounge seating area. There’s a forward lounge that can hold 4 passengers. It faces a gallery and the sofa-seating area where three more passengers can be seated. 

The windows of the helicopter can be electronically dimmed for privacy and there’s also mood lighting inside. In-flight entertainment system can be accessed with touch screens as well.

How Fast is the Dilbar Yacht

Dilbar can get up to a top speed of 22.5 knots and a cruising speed of about 16 knots. It’s powered by an electric-diesel hybrid power source that provides 30,000 KW of power. According to the builders, this was the largest power plant ever installed on a yacht.  She runs on 4 Wärtsilä engines each producing 8,158 HP.

What’s Special About the Dilbar Yacht Pool?

The pool on the Dilbar is the largest pool ever installed on a yacht. It measures 25 meters in length which is just over 82 feet. It holds 180 m³ of water which is 47,551 gallons. A gallon of water weighs just over 8 lbs so if that pool is filled, it increases the total weight of the yacht by 396,575 pounds or nearly 200 tons.

What Was the Price of the Yacht Dilbar?

It’s not 100% clear what Usmanov paid initially for the Dilbar but its value has been assessed at $600 million to $735 million by the US Treasury department. That makes it one of the most expensive yachts ever. With a crew of about 80, the estimated annual running cost of the yacht is as much as $50 million to $80 million.

Based on some reports the yacht has a capacity for 1,000,049 liters of fuel or about 220,000 gallons. Diesel for a yacht can cost around $3 per gallon so the cost of a full refuel would be around $660,000. Apparently refueling a beast like this requires a firetruck be on hand in case something goes wrong. 

How Much Does it Cost to Charter Superyacht Dilbar?

The yacht is currently in the custody of German authorities and no one at all besides the government has access to it. That said, even before the yacht was seized it was not made available for yacht charter and was only used by its owner as far as anyone knows. 

The Bottom Line

Dilbar hit the seas in 2016 and is owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, though the German government has since seized it. It is the largest motor yacht in the world by volume and the sixth longest in the world overall. The value of the yacht, according to US authorities, could be as much as $735 million. It’s unknown if the Dilbar yacht owner will be getting custody of the yacht again anytime soon.

Many of the features of the yacht are only partially known but what is known is that the yacht has the biggest swimming pool on the sea. It also has a custom made garden with plants designed to handle the salt air. There is a massive living space on board unlike any other yacht on the sea as well. Guests also have access not just to tender boats but a helicopter tender as well. 

My grandfather first took me fishing when I was too young to actually hold up a rod on my own. As an avid camper, hiker, and nature enthusiast I'm always looking for a new adventure.

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Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s $600M yacht seized in Germany: reports

Usmanov on tuesday confirmed that financial actions had been taken against him.

FOX Business Flash top headlines for March 2

Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for March 2.

Authorities in Germany this week seized a lavish $600 million yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch , according to reports.

The Dilbar, a 512-foot vessel belonging to billionaire Alisher Usmanov, was taken over by authorities while it was being refitted in a German shipyard, Forbes reported.

The business magazine learned about the move Wednesday, just two days after Usmanov was sanctioned by the European Union as part of its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine , the report said.

The EU has accused Usmanov of being a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a supporter of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, the Washington Examiner reported.

RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES

Usmanov on Tuesday confirmed that financial actions had been taken against him.

The luxury yacht Dilbar, which was delivered to a Russian billionaire in 2016, is moored at the Blohm+Voss shipyard on Oct. 30, 2021, in Hamburg, Germany.  (Getty Images / Getty Images)

"On 28 February 2022 I became the target of restrictive measures imposed by the European Union I believe that such decision is unfair, and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation," he wrote Tuesday.

The statement was posted on the website of the International Fencing Federation , where the former professional fencer served as president since 2008 until stepping down Monday, the Examiner reported .

The Dilbar had been undergoing work at a shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, since October, according to Forbes. Employees of Blohm+Voss, the shipbuilding firm overseeing the project, were not at work Wednesday, the report said.

German shipbuilder Lurssen, which built the Dilbar, claims it’s the world’s largest motor yacht by gross tonnage, weighing nearly 16,000 tons, according to Forbes.

When operating, the ship has a crew of 96 people. It features an 82-foot swimming pool, two helicopter pads, sauna, gym and beauty salon and has 12 suites for accommodating 24 guests.

Usmanov is a former stakeholder in the English soccer club Arsenal FC, having sold his 30% share of the club for nearly $700 million in 2018, the report said . 

Usmanov retained a connection to the English Premier League through sponsorship deals involving his companies but those deals were discontinued, the Examiner reported.

Super yacht Dilbar, owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, departed the Port of Southampton in the United Kingdom, in June 2021. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Separately, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich said Wednesday that he will sell English club Chelsea FC and donate proceeds to Ukraine war victims.

Usmanov's fortune comes largely from investments in the production of iron ore, steel and consumer electronics, as well as smaller stakes in telecom, mining and media companies, Forbes reported.

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He also has numerous real estate assets in Europe, according to the report.

President Biden and other Western leaders have made Russian oligarchs a target of their efforts to put economic pressure on Putin as he continues the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This week in Washington, House Republicans promoted a bill that would let U.S. citizens seize yachts, planes and other property belonging to Russian citizens in the U.S.

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West hits Russian oligarchs where it hurts — their mega-yachts

By Megan Cerullo

March 7, 2022 / 1:55 PM EST / MoneyWatch

The U.S. and European Union are cracking down on sanctions against Russian billionaires by taking control of their mega yachts and other valuable assets, including villas and private jets, parked in territory over which their governments have jurisdiction. 

Italy on Friday said it seized a $70 million yacht moored in Liguria, Italy, belonging to Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov, a steel magnate with close ties to the Kremlin. 

"Italy's police has just seized 'Lady M Yacht' - a €65 million yacht belonging to Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov located in Imperia (Liguria) - in compliance with the recent EU sanctions," Ferdinando Giugliano, a media adviser to Italy's prime minister, said in a tweet.

Italy’s police has just seized “Lady M Yacht” - a €65m yacht belonging to Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov located in Imperia (Liguria) - in compliance with the recent EU sanctions. pic.twitter.com/8NzqkXH7lE — Ferdinando Giugliano (@FerdiGiugliano) March 4, 2022

On Saturday, Italy's tax police also froze "Lena," a $54 million yacht belonging to Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko, the founder of a Moscow, Russia-based private investment group and close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the EU has sanctioned.

Assets that cannot be moved are even easier to take possession of, or prevent their owners from accessing. 

Italy also froze a $3.2 million property in Tuscany belonging to Oleg Savchenko, who is among the richest Russian business people. Giugliano tweeted an image of a Ministry of Economy and Finance vehicle in front of the estate, named "Villa Lazzareschi." 

Italy’s tax police also froze “Lena” - a €50m yacht belonging to Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko located in Sanremo (Liguria) - and “Villa Lazzareschi” - a €3m property belonging to Oleg Savchenko located in the province of Lucca (Tuscany). pic.twitter.com/yc1Q2y4d0G — Ferdinando Giugliano (@FerdiGiugliano) March 5, 2022

President Biden has also said the U.S. government is homing in on Russian oligarchs' super-yachts, private planes and other conspicuous symbols of their wealth as Russian President Vladimir Putin escalates his country's attack on Ukraine.  

A new federal task force, dubbed "KleptoCapture," will take aim at what Mr. Biden described in his State of the Union address on Tuesday as "the crimes of Russian oligarchs."  

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," Mr. Biden said. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

More than a dozen Russian billionaires are under sanction by the U.S., European Union and the United Kingdom, and some are trying to dodge restrictions by moving assets that are mobile — including mega-yachts — into territories where sanctions don't apply and where their property cannot be seized or their assets frozen. 

The super-yacht "Graceful," believed to be owned by Vladimir Putin himself, left Germany two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine and recently docked in Kaliningrad, near Russia's nuclear weapons operations, data form MarineTraffic, a maritime tracking website, shows. 

Putin ally Roman Abramovich, who made his fortune in the energy business, is not currently on any government sanction lists, but is making moves to unload valuable assets, including Chelsea Football Club. Among those assets is a super-yacht named "Eclipse" that is the third largest pleasure vessel in the world, measuring more than 540 feet long and 72 feet wide, according to Marine Vessel Traffic, a website that tracks the location of ships and other vessels, including privately owned yachts. It recently set sail from St. Barts to Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten — the Dutch side of the Caribbean island Saint Martin.

"Le Grand Bleu," owned by Russian oil titan Eugene Shvidler, is also anchored off the island of St. Martin, where EU sanctions can be enforced. 

Too big to hide

Some oligarchs on sanction lists, who are alleged to have built their wealth in Russia through political corruption, have already been cut off from their own valuable assets. 

The EU's sanctions on Russian oligarchs on Wednesday led to Germany's freezing of a yacht owned by Alisher Usmanov, one of the wealthiest Russians, according to a Forbes report . According to Marine Traffic, the 512-foot yacht, named "Dilbar," had been stationed in Hamburg, Germany, since October 29 for repairs. 

The French Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday said its customs agents seized the "Amore Vero" yacht belonging to a company owned by Igor Setchine, director of Russian oil company Rosneft. The yacht had been stationed for repairs in La Ciotat in Southern France's Cote d'Azur region. 

While the crew's intention was to "sail urgently, without having completed the planned work," it was seized before it could depart, the agency said. 

Fleeing hotspots

In hopes of avoiding the same fate, some yacht owners are "hightailing it on the high seas," financier and anti-corruption activist Bill Browder told CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge. 

They are mooring their mega-yachts, some with 100-member-crews, in places like Dubai and the Maldives — a nation of tiny islands in the Indian Ocean, which does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. "They're parking their assets where they cannot be seized," Browder told CBS MoneyWatch. 

The problem is that ships of this size can't stay indefinitely in a place like the Maldives, which can generate significant income through docking fees, given their need to refuel and stock provisions. 

"There are a number of these yachts in the Maldives, and unless those countries put sanctions in place they're probably safer there," Alasdair Milroy, a maritime accountant and owner of Breaking the Mould Accounting, told CBS MoneyWatch. "But you can only spend so long in someplace like the Maldives on a yacht of that size without needing provisions, or to refuel, so I don't know how well that will last for a longer period. I don't think they'll be able to do that for that long."

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who is in charge of the new U.S. task force targeting Russian oligarchs, issued a stark warning: "We will use every tool to freeze and seize your criminal proceeds," she said in a statement.

Confiscating Russian oligarchs' wealth could be an effective tactic, Browder told CBS MoneyWatch. "It's hugely symbolic, and part of this thing is psychological war. This really has an impact — if not financially, then psychologically."

At least 10 of the 100 largest super-yachts in the world belong to Russian oligarchs, according to Marine Vessel Traffic .

Websites tracking maritime activity show that other oligarchs' yachts are on the move as their owners attempt to shield their assets from seizure. The "Galactica Super Nova," a 230-foot long, $80 million vessel owned by Vagit Alekperov, president of Russian oil company Lukoil, recently left its mooring in Barcelona, Spain, where EU sanctions apply, and set sail for Tivat, Montenegro, in the Balkans, according to VesselFinder.com.  

"Clio," a super-yacht owned by Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska, is currently anchored off of the Maldives, according to MarineTraffic.com . A handful of other oligarch-owned mega-yachts are also moored in the Maldives, including Alexander Abramov's "Titan," Viktor Rashnikov's "Ocean Victory" and Vladimir Potanin's "Nirvana." 

How sanctions work

Placing an individual or their assets under official sanction does not give another government the legal authority to seize their assets — only to freeze or cut off their owner's access. 

"Generally speaking, sanctions are the authority that allow us to freeze assets. They are most easily understood in context of a bank account — it's literally put into a frozen account that still exists and collects interest and you own it, but you can't get any money from it," said Adam M. Smith, a partner at law firm Gibson Dunn. 

Tangible property must also be under the jurisdiction of the U.S. for any sanctions to work, or for the government to cut off their owner's ability to use an asset like a private yacht or jet. 

Daniel P. Ahn, a sanctions and economic warfare expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former chief economist for the U.S. State Department, said that targeting an individual's yacht can limit its use even it isn't seized.

"If it arrives in the West, any port that can refuel is not allowed to do that anymore. So maybe the yacht itself doesn't get seized, but it's a lot less useful thing to have," he said. 

For this reason, sanctioned individuals may choose to try to sell assets like yachts at a loss, rather than risk losing use of them indefinitely. 

"If I was an oligarch, the first thing I would do is I would protest and say I shouldn't be blacklisted. Second would be to see if I can liquidate these assets and claw back something, knowing that otherwise it may rot at the pier without proper maintenance and the like," Ahn said.

As far as their impact goes, the sanctions are more than merely symbolic, he added. "The ultimate objective is to make life very difficult for these oligarchs, and it has been achieved," Ahn said. 

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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Some Russian oligarchs seek safe ports for superyachts. Others may have missed the memo

WASHINGTON — The massive superyacht Dilbar stretches one-and-a-half football fields in length, about as long as a World War I dreadnaught. It boasts two helipads, berths for more than 130 people and a 25-meter swimming pool long enough to accommodate another whole superyacht.

Dilbar was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more than $648 million. Five years on, its purported owner, the Kremlin-aligned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, was already dissatisfied and sent the vessel to a German shipyard last fall for a retrofit reportedly costing another couple hundred million dollars.

That’s where she lay in drydock on Thursday when the United States and European Union announced economic sanctions against Usmanov — a metals magnate and early investor in Facebook — over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

“We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets,” President Joe Biden said during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, addressing the oligarchs. “We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”

But actually seizing the behemoth boats could prove challenging. Russian billionaires have had decades to shield their money and assets in the West from governments that might try to tax or seize them.

Several media outlets reported Wednesday that German authorities had impounded Dilbar. But a spokeswoman for Hamburg state’s economy ministry told The Associated Press no such action had yet been taken because it had been unable to establish ownership of the yacht, which is named for Usmanov’s mother.

Dilbar is flagged in the Cayman Islands and registered to a holding company in Malta, two secretive banking havens where the global ultra-rich often park their wealth.

Still, in the industry that caters to the exclusive club of billionaires and centimillionaires who can afford to buy, crew and maintain superyachts, it is often an open secret who owns what.

Working with the U.K.-based yacht valuation firm  VesselsValue , the AP compiled a list of 56 superyachts — generally defined as luxury vessels exceeding 79 feet in length — believed to be owned by a few dozen Kremlin-aligned oligarchs, seaborne assets with a combined market value estimated at more than $5.4 billion.

The AP then used two online services —  VesselFinder  and  MarineTraffic  — to plot the last known locations of the yachts as relayed by their onboard tracking beacons.

While many are still anchored at or near sun-splashed playgrounds in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, more than a dozen were underway to or had already arrived in remote ports in small nations such as the Maldives and Montenegro, potentially beyond the reach of Western sanctions. Three are moored in Dubai, where many wealthy Russians have vacation homes.

Another three had gone dark, their transponders last pinging just outside the Bosporus in Turkey — gateway to the Black Sea and the southern Russian ports of Sochi and Novorossiysk.

Graceful , a German-built Russian-flagged superyacht believed to belong to Putin, left a repair yard in Hamburg on Feb. 7, two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. It is now moored in the Russian Baltic port of Kaliningrad, beyond the reach of Western sanctions imposed against him this past week.

Some Russian oligarchs appear to have not gotten the memo to move their superyachts, despite weeks of public warnings of Putin’s planned invasion.

French authorities seized the superyacht Amore Vero on Thursday in the Mediterranean resort town of La Ciotat. The boat is believed to belong to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, which has been on the U.S. sanctions list since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

The French Finance Ministry said in a statement that customs authorities boarded the 289-foot Amore Vero and discovered its crew was preparing for an urgent departure, even though planned repair work wasn’t finished. The $120 million boat is registered to a company that lists Sechin as its primary shareholder.

On Saturday, Italian financial police in the port of San Remo  seized the 132-foot superyacht Lena , which is flagged in the British Virgin Islands. Authorities said the boat belongs to Gennady Timchenko, an oligarch close to Putin and among those sanctioned by the European Union. With an estimated net worth of $16.2 billion, Timchenko is the founder of the Volga Group, which specializes in investments in energy, transport and infrastructure assets.

The 213-foot Lady M was also  seized by the Italians  while moored in the Riviera port town of Imperia. In a  tweet  announcing the seizure on Friday, a spokesman for Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the comparatively modest $27 million vessel was the property of sanctioned steel baron Alexei Mordashov, listed as Russia’s wealthiest man with a fortune of about $30 billion.

But Mordashov’s upsized yacht, the 464-foot Nord, was safely at anchor on Friday in the Seychelles, a tropical island chain in the Indian Ocean not under the jurisdiction of U.S. or EU sanctions. Among the world’s biggest superyachts, Nord has a market value of $500 million.

Since Friday, Italy has seized 143 million euros ($156 million) in luxury yachts and villas in some of its most picturesque destinations, including Sardinia, the Ligurian coast and Lake Como.

Most of the Russians on the annual Forbes list of billionaires have not yet been sanctioned by the United States and its allies, and their superyachts are still cruising the world’s oceans. The 237-foot Stella Maris, which was seen by an AP journalist docked this past week in Nice, France, is believed to be owned by Rashid Sardarov, a Russian billionaire oil and gas magnate.

The evolution of oligarch yachts goes back to the tumultuous decade after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, as state oil and metals industries were sold off at rock-bottom prices, often to politically connected Russian businessmen and bankers who had provided loans to the new Russian state in exchange for the shares.

Russia’s nouveau riche began buying luxury yachts similar in size and expense to those owned by Silicon Valley billionaires, heads of state and royalty. It’s a key marker of status in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and size matters.

“No self-respecting Russian oligarch would be without a superyacht,” said William Browder, a U.S.-born and now London-based financier who worked in Moscow for years before becoming one of the Putin regime’s most vocal foreign critics. “It’s part of the rite of passage to being an oligarch. It’s just a prerequisite.”

As their fortunes ballooned, there was something of an arms race among the oligarchs, with the richest among them accumulating personal fleets of ever more lavish boats.

For example, Russian metals and petroleum magnate Roman Abramovich is believed to have bought or built at least seven of the world’s largest yachts, some of which he has since sold off to other oligarchs.

In 2010, Abramovich launched the Bermuda-flagged  Eclipse , which at 533 feet was at the time the world’s longest superyacht. Features include a wood-burning firepit and swimming pool that transforms into a dance floor. Eclipse also boasts its own helicopter hangar and an undersea bay that reportedly holds a mini-sub.

Dennis Cauiser, a superyacht analyst with VesselsFinder, said oligarch boats often include secret security measures worthy of a Bond villain, including underwater escape hatches, bulletproof windows and armored panic rooms.

“Eclipse is equipped with all sorts of special features, including missile launchers and self-defense systems on board,” Cauiser said. “It has a secret submarine evacuation area and things like that.”

Eclipse was soon eclipsed by Azzam, purportedly owned by the emir of Abu Dhabi, which claimed the title of longest yacht when it was launched in 2013. Three years after that, Usmanov launched  Dilbar , which replaced another slightly smaller yacht by the same name. The new Dilbar is the world’s largest yacht by volume.

Abramovich, whose fortune is estimated at $12.4 billion, fired back last year by launching  Solaris . While not as long as Eclipse or as big as Dilbar, the $600 million Bermuda-flagged boat is possibly even more luxurious. Eight stories tall, Solaris features a sleek palisade of broad teak-covered decks suitable for hosting a horde of well-heeled partygoers.

But no boat is top dog for long. At least 20 superyachts are reported to be under construction in various Northern European shipyards, including a $500 million superyacht being  built for the American billionaire Jeff Bezos.

“It’s about ego,” Cauiser said. “They all want to have the best, the longest, the most valuable, the newest, the most luxurious.”

But, he added, the escalating U.S. and EU sanctions on Putin-aligned oligarchs and Russian banks have sent a chill through the industry, with boatbuilders and staff worried they won’t be paid. It can cost upwards of $50 million a year to crew, fuel and maintain a superyacht.

The crash of the ruble and the tanking of Moscow stock market have depleted the fortunes of Russia’s elite, with several people dropping off the list of Forbes billionaires last week. Cauiser said he expects some oligarch superyachts will soon quietly be listed by brokers at fire-sale prices.

On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a new round of sanctions that included a  press release  touting Usmanov’s close ties to Putin and photos of Dilbar and the oligarch’s private jet, a custom-built 209-foot Airbus A340-300 passenger liner. Treasury said Usmanov’s aircraft is believed to have cost up to $500 million and is named Bourkhan, after his father.

Usmanov, whose fortune has recently shrunk to about $17 billion, criticized the sanctions.

“I believe that such a decision is unfair and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity and business reputation,” he said in a  statement  issued through the website of the International Fencing Federation, of which he has served as president since 2008.

Abramovich has not yet been sanctioned. Members of the British Parliament have criticized Prime Minister Boris Johnson for not going after Abramovich’s U.K.-based assets, which include the professional soccer club Chelsea. Under mounting pressure, the oligarch announced this past week he would  sell the $2.5 billion team  and give the net proceeds “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, location transponders showed Solaris  moored in Barcelona , Spain, on Saturday.  Eclipse  set sail from St. Maarten late Thursday and is underway in the Caribbean Sea, destination undisclosed.

Associated Press writer Aritz Parra in Madrid contributed to this report.

Follow AP Investigative Reporter Michael Biesecker at twitter.com/mbieseck

Contact AP’s global investigative team at [email protected].

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Map shows Russian oligarch yachts around the world as some flee to places they can't get seized

• Insider mapped the locations of 19 yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs. 
• Sanctions prompted by Putin's invasion of Ukraine have put their prize assets in danger.
• Several of their yachts appeared to be heading to locations where they can't be seized. 

Following President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Russia and a raft of sanctions, yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs became the focus of international attention. 

Using automatic tracking data, Insider mapped the location of 19 yachts belonging to some of Putin's closest inner circle as of March 3.

Their locations and routes suggest that several are heading to places that they can't be seized or with significant tax advantages. 

Seizure is a real worry. On Thursday, the French finance ministry said it had seized the Amore Vero , a $120 million super-yacht belonging to Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, which was moored in a French port. 

The 500-foot Dilbar, belonging to Alisher Usmanov, was in Hamburg as of Thursday. That day, port authorities in Hamburg denied a report in Forbes that it had seized the vessel, Reuters reported. Usmanov is the subject of sanctions from the US, the UK and the EU. 

Putin's own Graceful left Hamburg on February 7, Insider's map shows, and was last seen in Kaliningrad, Russia. 

Insider's map also shows four mega-yachts, belonging to Vladimir Potanin, Alexander Abramov, Alexei Mordashovis, and Oleg Deripaska, were in the Maldives. 

The Maldives, a small island nation in the Indian Ocean, does not have an extradition treaty with the US. 

The Nirvana, belonging to Potanin, was under way with the stated destination of Bandos, an island in the Maldives, but actually was heading northwest. As of March 4, Potanin — Russia's richest man — was not a target of sanctions.

The $100 million Titan, belonging to Alexander Abramov, arrived in the Maldives on February 28, the Guardian reported . Abramov, chair of Russia's largest steel company, has also so far escaped the US sanctions list. 

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Meanwhile, two yachts belonging to Roman Abramovich were moored in tax haven Sint Maarten as of Thursday. 

Dmitry Rybolovlev's yacht, named Anna, left Sint Maarten on February 14 and as of Thursday was sailing near St Vincent and the Grenadines, another tax haven.

Neither Rybolovlev nor Abramovich were under sanctions, but are both high profile football magnates under increasing scrutiny as Russian troops advance in Ukraine.

The yachts, often valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, are huge repositories of wealth.

They became even more important assets when western countries began cracking down on oligarchs, who have lost approximately one third of their combined wealth due to the impact of sanctions, according to Bloomberg Billionaires' Index .