Flying Fox, The world’s largest charter yacht has returned to the global charter market. The 446-meter Lürssen, which hosted Jay-Z and Beyoncé in 2021 and has a weekly rental cost of $ 3,200,000, was subject to US sanctions in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian-Ukrainian war continues to rage, but in October, Flying Fox US sanctions were lifted.

The yacht’s Russian billionaire owner, Dmitry Kamenshchik, is not on any sanctions list, but his previous management company, Imperial Yachts, is also said to be. in 2022 Flying Fox A statement by the US Treasury Department called it a “blocked property” in which “Imperial Yachts has an interest”. Now under the management of Bluewater Yachting Dubai, Flying Fox insured, returned to class and marked in Malaysia.

“The Malaysian flag is open to trade and receive yachts dropped from flags such as the Cayman Islands,” says Peter Bennett, founder of Bluewater Yachting Dubai. “There is no problem servicing these yachts, provided they comply with IMO and SOLAS.”

At least 20 ships were seized or detained following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nine superyachts have been approved by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The most high-profile yachts affected include: Sailing Yacht A It is owned by Russian businessman Andrey Melnichenko and BelleThe world’s largest yacht in terms of gross tonnage, owned by Alisher Usmanov.

Sailing Yacht A While he continues to be detained in Trieste, 600 million dollars BelleThe ship, which underwent maintenance at Lürssen when it came under export control sanctions, is kept in a floating dock at the builder’s Hamburg facilities.

like some yachts Phi, Those detained on London’s River Thames for more than two years have been prevented from leaving the place of detention; Others, including Roman Abramovich’s, are prevented from leaving the scene of their arrest. Hale And garconHe escaped before being caught. They found safe haven in countries that provide new construction and repair services, such as Türkiye and the UAE. Maldives and Seychelles are also preferred travel areas for yachts. Madam Gu, NorthAnd Ocean Victory.

“We see activity in Türkiye and the UAE, since all Russian yachts are concentrated there,” says a CEO of a European shipyard who wishes to remain anonymous. “We heard that the Russians bought second-hand yachts from Turkey and built new boats there. “We even heard that they went to China for a new structure, thanks to the relations between Russia and China.”

Brokers based in the US, UK and EU are strongly discouraged and in many cases prohibited from working with Russians. Some brokers have chosen to move to countries like Dubai as a temporary solution.

“The few people I’ve seen working with non-sanctioned Russians and managing Russian yachts are just pro-business,” says a British sales broker who requested anonymity.

Some North American charter customers now require a statement confirming that a yacht has no Russian connections. Sales brokers regularly check whether there is a connection between a potential sale and Russia. “This is not due to anti-Russian bias, but because it reassures its clients that there will be no bureaucratic hurdles,” the broker says. “We can’t adopt a Cold War mentality where we don’t like the Russians because that’s not the case.”

The yacht, which is open to asset seizure, is also open to liquidation. After former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s failed acquisition attempt in 2023 Alpha Nero -most auctionThe 266-meter Oceanco was sold privately by the Antigua & Barbuda Port Authority in July 2024 for $40 million ($80 million less than the amount Andrey Guryev was estimated to have paid in 2014).

The sale brought an end to protracted financial difficulties for the small island nation, where debts from the yacht’s detention included funds owed to “creditors and crew” as well as maintenance, fuel costs and legal fees. But superyacht lawyer John Leonida, who acts as outside counsel for law firm Wordley Partnership, says this is far from an open-and-shut case.

“Not only is the justification for each detention questionable, but also the subsequent purchase by a third party,” says Leonida. “The Government of Antigua and Barbuda paid compensation to the buyer Alpha Nero for any future losses or third party claims in connection with the sale, making the legality of the sale uncertain. “This is far from a clear legal view that would hold that the sale is impeachable.”

amadeaThe compensation seized by US officials in Fiji has been ruled by the Fijian Supreme Court to be “too costly” for the government to maintain. Now docked in San Diego, the U.S. government pays more than $10 million a year to maintain the facility. There is certainly an appetite to purchase an approved yacht at a discounted price, but buyers are put off by the inevitable media scrutiny and risk of exposure to expensive post-war legal battles.

“Most yachts are owned by companies, not individuals, and 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 used to evade sanctions, which is not the case described in yachts.”

When the sanctions were imposed, shipyards with Russian yachts under construction were also directly affected. Damn The shipyards filed a lawsuit against the Dutch government in 2023 to recover costs resulting from the cancellation of delivery contracts for “several superyachts”.

Other shipyards have systems in place that mean no transfer of ownership occurs until construction is completed. This allowed payments in Russia to be held in an escrow account (a trusted third party) and the yacht to be sold to a new buyer. Mark Zuckerberg’s purchase of the 387-meter Feadship LaunchpadThe project commissioned by Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin before it was sanctioned is an example of this.

The future of many of the approved yachts remains uncertain. “One of the most difficult problems in brokerage is that many classification societies do not want Russian trading,” says the broker. “If the boat is not classed, cannot be rented, cannot go to the flag state you want or cannot be insured in the London market, things start to get more complicated.”

“Policymakers have left these superyachts in limbo,” adds Leonida. “A dangerous corporate law precedent has been set that the courts will be asked to correct at some point in the future.”

Exactly when this happened is a big unknown.