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Discovered, fueled, fled: Roman Abramowitsch has two of his ships sail halfway around the world
The “garcon” (IMO 9587051) is a so-called support ship. The 20-million-dollar ship is like a floating toy drawer and carries all sorts of stuff behind Roman Abramovich’s larger ships, such as helicopters, jet skis or smaller excursion boats.
© imagebroker / Imago Images
At the beginning of April, the government of Antigua identified two ships as belonging to oligarch Roman Abramovich – but due to the lack of appropriate laws, they were not confiscated. However, both yachts are now on the run.
The fall of “Amadea” will have shaken up the very rich oligarch Roman Abramovich. Although Suleiman Kerimov’s multi-million dollar ship was in port in Fiji, the long arm of the United States snapped and hauled the ship from vacation paradise to San Diego harbor in record time. Kerimov lost his ship and apparently even a Fabergé egg that was on board.
A fate that the former FC Chelsea owner probably wants to avoid. As early as April, the government of Antigua reported that two of its ships, the “Garcon” (IMO 9587051) and the “Halo” (IMO 9794537) are located in the port of St. John’s. That’s what came out of the search for the key beneficiary behind shell company Wenham Overseas Ltd. who officially owns both ships.
First Morocco, then probably Turkey
According to the industry portal “Insurance Marine News”, the government there then sought talks with British authorities to find ways to freeze or confiscate the ships. Because: Antigua has no sanctions laws of its own that would have made it possible to deny the oligarch access to its ships. This is reported by the yacht expert “Esysman” in a video on his YouTube channel.
It must have gotten tight after all – or the oligarch needs his ships where his others are. Because as if out of nowhere, the “Garcon” and the “Halo” set off on Friday within an hour on roughly the same course. The “Garcon” heads for Casablanca, for the “Halo” it goes to Agadir – both in Morocco. Currently, both ships are “out of range”, i.e. no longer broadcasting their position.
Experts suspect that for both ships it goes to the rest of the Abramovich fleet. His mega yachts “Solaris” (IMO: 9819820) and “Eclipse” (IMO: 1009613) have been lying in Turkish waters for weeks with their position transmitters switched on – apparently completely carefree and without fear of the enforcement of sanctions.
Toy box and mini yacht
Both the “Halo” and especially the “Garcon” are not mega yachts like their big sisters, but much smaller and intended for specific purposes. The “Halo” is a comparatively small leisure yacht of only 55 meters in length, perfectly suited for stays in small bays without attracting too much attention. However, as can be seen in the magazine “Luxurylaunches”, the ship is by no means lacking in amenities.
55 meters, relatively inconspicuous, perfect for small bays: the yacht “Halo” (IMO 9794537) by Roman Abramovich is hardly noticeable in his collection. Their value is estimated at around 40 million US dollars.
© Peter Seyfferth / Imago Images
On the other hand, no one goes on vacation on the sun deck of the “Garcon”. The ship serves as a dinghy for the big pots, transporting all kinds of billionaire toys so that it doesn’t get boring at sea. The “Garcon” offers space for a helicopter, several small boats, jet skis and much more. A crane on deck ensures that everything can be lowered safely into the water.
Abramovich fights for his property
Although Roman Abramovich is very close to the Russian government, the oligarch does not take it easy when it comes to trying to steal his wealth. Although the billionaire still has his ships under his control, private planes and a huge villa are already in the hands of the authorities.
As reported by “Bloomberg”, Abramovich hired lawyers from the New York law firm “Kobre & Kim” in early July, whom he paid up to 1,900 US dollars an hour, so that they could take his private planes, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and a Gulfstream G650ER from the get confiscation.
Sources: Bloomberg, Esysman, Luxury launches, Insurance Marine News