Not roadworthy
Mega yacht “Dilbar” in Hamburg: This is how the oligarch ship continues in the dry dock
This is what the “Dilbar” looks like without a tarpaulin: Alisher Burkhanovitch Usmanow’s yacht is one of the largest private ships in the world.
© Picture Alliance
Her estimated value is between 600 and 800 million US dollars, her alleged owner Alisher Usmanov cannot use his yacht. The Federal Criminal Police Office is currently determining whether the ship can be clearly assigned to a sanctioned person. An exit is prohibited, technically impossible at the moment anyway.
The largest indoor pool ever installed on a ship. 40,000 hp. A helipad and luxury cabins for 36 guests. The “Dilbar” (IMO 9661792) is one of the largest, most expensive and most luxurious yachts ever built. In October, the ship embarked on its last voyage, the destination being the Blohm & Voss dry dock in the Port of Hamburg – extensive maintenance work was planned. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) is probably working on keeping the yacht in Germany for a longer period of time.
Due to the Russian army’s attack on Ukraine and the resulting sanctions against President Putin and his closest circle, the ship hit the headlines several times. Because the “Dilbar” is said to belong to the Russian oligarch and billionaire Alisher Burkhanovitch Usmanov, who has made his money with numerous companies in Russia, including as the largest shareholder of the steel company “Metalloinwest” and the “Mail.ru” group.
Not confiscated, but not released either
Already at the beginning of March it was said that the “Dilbar” had been confiscated. This was not the case, because authorities had the ship under observation, but no official arrest was made. The mega yacht, which is said to have a purchase price of between 600 and 800 million US dollars, was still not allowed to move. Because even without sanctions against the owner, a Russian yacht needs an export clearance from customs, which is still not available for the “Dilbar”.
A few days later, it was said that the crew of the “Dilbar” had disembarked. The captain wrote: “We have reached the end of the possibilities.” There were reports of problems with paying wages because sanctioned oligarchs were now banned from paying employees’ salaries in US dollars. According to Forbes, the crew received an email from the British yacht service provider “Sarnia Yachts”, which explained that wage payments were no longer possible.
BKA has interim results
Two weeks later there was news about the status of the investigation by the authorities: Hamburg Senate spokesman Marcel Schweitzer confirmed that the “Dilbar” was “probably” subject to the sanctions. Although the work of the BKA is not yet complete, an “interim result” is sufficient to come to this conclusion.
The investigation is taking so long because the “Dilbar” Usmanow cannot be assigned directly. Officially, the ship belonged to Klaret Continental Leasing Limited, a letterbox company in Malta. At that time, connections to Usmanov could be established via the registered managing director, who was also the head of other Russian companies. But as early as 2019, the oligarch is said to have transferred the “Dilbar” to a trust company, which makes it even more difficult to identify him as the clear owner today.
However, things are not looking good for the freedom of the yacht. The ship is already forbidden to leave the port of Hamburg. Should that happen, according to Schweitzer, the “Dilbar” could be confiscated immediately. However, there is probably no need to set up an observation post, because due to the work on the ship, the “Dilbar” is currently “not roadworthy”, it said.
+++ Read also: He is one of Putin’s closest circle: Oligarch Melnichenko railed against the confiscation of his $ 600 million yacht +++
At the beginning of March, Usmanov had already described official activities relating to his alleged ship and his property in countries where sanctions have been imposed on him as “unfair”. Via the website of the International Fencing Federation FIE, of which Usmanov was President from 2009 to 2022, he let the world know: “I believe that such a decision is unfair and the reasons given to justify the sanctions are one series of false and defamatory allegations that damage my honor, dignity and business reputation.”