Two superyachts owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich (56) have started moving again this week after eight months of standstill. These are the yachts ‘My Solaris’ and ‘Eclipse’, which are both worth hundreds of millions of euros. They made a trip of barely 20 to 30 kilometers.
The multibillionaire rushed both boats to Turkey in March to avoid being seized as a result of EU and UK economic sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Western authorities wanted to punish the oligarchs with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The yacht ‘My Solaris’, a 140-meter-long eight-storey boat with swimming pool, spa, beach club and helipad, docked in Bodrum on March 21. A week later, the ship sailed another 18 kilometers into Yalıkavak Bay. The ship remained there for eight months. About 70 percent of the staff normally present on the yacht would have been sent home.
Travel of barely 20 kilometers
According to the Turkish newspapers ‘Sözscü’ and ‘Yeni Asir’, ‘My Solaris’ moved again to Bodrum on Wednesday morning, after a journey of no more than 20 kilometers. Quite a few tourists who saw the yacht pass took pictures and tried to find out if Roman Abramovich was on the yacht himself. However, there was only some staff to be seen, busy with cleaning.
Fueled
In Bodrum, the ship is supplied with fuel. That is fueling rumors that it could soon leave again to set course for a new location.
The ‘Eclipse’, an older superyacht of Abramovich, was anchored in Marmaris, also in Turkey, until this week. The former owner of Chelsea football club has owned that boat since 2010. At that time it was still the largest yacht in the world. It has bulletproof glass and is said to have a missile defense system. The ‘Eclipse’ also started moving on Wednesday and moved into Fethiye, barely 30 kilometers away.
According to Turkish media, Roman Abramovich is increasingly seen in the country. He was spotted last week while walking along the Bosphorus in Istanbul.
Fourth Nationality
Turkish media write that Abramovich may want to acquire Turkish nationality. That could be, provided an investment in the country of about 400,000 euros – a piece of cake for a multi-billionaire. Abramovich, whose mother was Ukrainian, has Portuguese and Israeli nationality in addition to Russian. According to ‘Hürriyet’, Abramovich is currently the eleventh richest man in Russia, the second richest person in Israel and the richest person in Portugal.
The oligarch is said to be looking for a house in Istanbul. Rumor has it that he was already seen visiting villas for sale. Another rumor is that he wants to buy a Turkish football club.
Two more yachts to Turkey
According to the website ‘Luxury Launches’, Abramovich transferred two other luxury yachts to Turkey in August. The yachts Garcon and Halo were laid up in the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda earlier this year after British authorities determined the ships were owned by Abramovich.
No sanctions
However, the Caribbean island nation has no sanctions laws and can only seize property when someone commits a crime in the country. Therefore, the ships were released on July 22. After a journey of more than 5,000 nautical miles, the boats initially appeared to be heading for Morocco, but eventually docked in Turkey in August. As a result, Abramovich’s entire fleet, worth 1.2 billion euros, is now in Turkey. That country has not imposed economic sanctions against Russia or its oligarchs.
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Also watch: Superyacht Roman Abramovich arrived in Bodrum (2022-03-22)
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