A £500MILLION megayacht seized from one of Putin’s oligarch pals has sparked fury with its eye-watering upkeep costs.
The ultra-luxurious boat, known simply as “A”, is reportedly draining a whopping £30,000 from the Italian city of Trieste while docked in its port.
Luxury yacht ‘Sailing Yacht A’, right, was seized by Italian authorities in 2022[/caption]
Russian tycoon Andrey Melnichenko (pictured with his wife Aleksandra) is one of the richest men in the world[/caption]
Colossal “A” has been anchored in Trieste for more than three years now, after it was seized from Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko in March 2022.
Mayor Roberto Dipiazza slammed the cost of keeping it seaworthy – around £24million so far.
This dwarfs the budget allocated to other areas of the city – such as the city’s famous tram network which receives around £750,000 a year.
Dipiazza has grown sick of piddling away the pounds and last month demanded to know who will ultimately foot the bill.
“A” needs constant security, a skeleton crew, insurance and fuel, on top of the mooring costs, which is where the money goes.
It has technically been “frozen“, rather than confiscated, meaning it must be returned in the same condition if sanctions are lifted or overturned by a court.
The yacht, launched in 2017, boasts the height of luxury.
Its three masts are taller than Big Ben’s tower, and the boat is so large it is categorised as a medium-sized cargo ship.
It has eight decks, a helicopter pad, an underwater observation room and a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system.
Run by a crew of 54, the yacht also has a digital control system that allows them to raise and lowers the sails and anchor just by swiping.
And it has the power to dash across waves at speeds of up to 20.8 knots (24mph).
The one-of-a-kind yacht was built by German Naval Yards, in Nobiskrug.
Police cars with flashing lights swarmed the yacht and boarded it before impounding the vessel in 2022, seizing it from Melnichenko.
He is one of Russia’s wealthiest men and presides over an estimated fortune of more than $15billion, built on his fertilizer and coal empire.
It has been impounded in a dry dock in Trieste[/caption]
Many of Putin’s oligarch pals had assets seized in 2022 when he invaded Ukraine[/caption]
The yacht is finished to the highest standards[/caption]
The oligarch made headlines when he moored his other £240 million trophy, “Motor Yacht A”, on London’s River Thames near Tower Bridge in 2017.
The tycoon was one of 37 businessmen who met with Putin after the invasion of Ukraine to discuss potential sanctions.
An EU document described him as belonging “to the most influential circle of Russian businesspeople with close connections to the Russian government”, according to the Guardian.
It went on: “He is therefore involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine.”
Both his companies – EuroChem Group and SUEK – said Melnichenko had resigned just days before his yacht was seized in 2022.
A spokesperson for Melnichenko at the time said the businessman had “no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations.”
Authorities have a duty to maintain the mega-yacht in its current condition – hence the eyewatering costs[/caption]
One of Melnichenko’s other boats, Motor Yacht A, was pictured in 2017 beside HMS Belfast in the River Thames[/caption]
