[{"name":"Scheherazade","registration":"Malaysia","length":"465 feet (142 meters)","construction_cost":"$700 million","notable_features":"swimming pool doubles as dance floor","last_known_location":"Marina di Carrara, Italy","last_known_coords":{"latitude":44.035968,"longitude":10.043826},"disposition":"ordered seized by Italian authorities in May 2022","backstory":"When it was impounded by Italian authorities in May 2022, lawyers for Khudainatov argued the yacht was his, owned by a Khudainatov-controlled company in the Marshall Islands called Bielor Asset Ltd. Activists with the late anti-corruption crusader Aleksei Navalny identified multiple crew members on the Scheherazade to be officers in Russia’s Federal Protective Service, which is responsible for President Vladimir Putin’s security. Partly for that reason, activists asserted that the ship’s ultimate beneficiary owner was Putin. The Italian decree ordering the ship’s seizure “highlighted the presence of significant economic and business connections” between the yacht’s owner and “prominent elements of the Russian government.”","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/3bd6cb3a-d900-4f05-eb40-08df13afe2a0_w1200_r0.jpg","photo_credit":"Planet (April 16, 2026)","owner":["78621f49-986a-42e5-847c-ae83a6e6534c"],"country_code":"my","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/00d7c833-a8b9-48de-a36b-99037de4df07-fdc3606e.png"}],"id":"00d7c833-a8b9-48de-a36b-99037de4df07","number":4},{"name":"Tango","registration":"Cook Islands","length":"255 feet (78 meters)","construction_cost":"$90 million","notable_features":"outdoor cinema on sun deck","last_known_location":"Palma de Mallorca, Spain","last_known_coords":{"latitude":39.572657,"longitude":2.656846},"disposition":"seized by Spanish authorities, April 2022","backstory":"Since buying the Tango in 2011, according to US authorities, Vekselberg allegedly used shell companies to hide his ownership of the ship. He was initially sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2018 for his alleged close Kremlin ties, and then again after the invasion of Ukraine.","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/08530000-0a00-0242-4347-08dafbb44c63_w1200_r0.jpg","photo_credit":"Reuters","owner":["fa1883f7-624a-4dd3-8d90-34d8d8f99b52"],"country_code":"ck","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/27b9462a-26c1-4793-afd4-e26cd9a43143-a17e7341.png"}],"id":"27b9462a-26c1-4793-afd4-e26cd9a43143","number":16},{"name":"Crescent","registration":"Cayman Islands","length":"443 feet (135 meters)","construction_cost":"$600 million","notable_features":"two-level glass atrium; retractable helicopter hangar; pool with a glass bottom","last_known_location":"Tarragona, Spain","last_known_coords":{"latitude":41.118839,"longitude":1.244944},"disposition":"seized by Spanish authorities in March 2022","backstory":"One of the largest luxury motor yachts in the world, the Crescent was seized in the wake of EU sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Authorities assert the ship belongs to Sechin. However, Eduard Khudainatov -- a former Rosneft executive -- claims he owns the Crescent, just as he argued unsuccessfully in the case of the Amadea, seized by US authorities.","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/02220000-0aff-0242-9a1b-08da0829f530_w1200_r0.jpg","photo_credit":"Reuters/Albert Gea","owner":["6c5966f5-e634-4ae6-8d47-b75e59527590"],"country_code":"ky","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/4f9da813-fc9f-478b-9621-e1a77332d41f-7a9b84ec.png"}],"id":"4f9da813-fc9f-478b-9621-e1a77332d41f","number":19},{"name":"Lena","registration":"British Virgin Islands","length":"126 feet (38 meters)","construction_cost":"$55 million","notable_features":"fold-out terraces on the sides of the yacht, extending the usable deck area over the water; lifting gull-wing doors","last_known_location":"Sanremo, Italy","last_known_coords":{"latitude":43.815967,"longitude":7.776057},"disposition":"seized by Italian authorities in March 2022, under EU and US sanctions","backstory":"Considered one of Putin’s closest confidants, Timchenko is also believed to be one of Russia’s wealthiest men. There is no public indication that he has challenged the seizure of the yacht.","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/7a010db6-dab8-464b-2829-08df3ee80755_w1200_r0.png","photo_credit":"Google/Airbus","owner":["6a598f05-e6de-46db-bc54-a7b1115ba43b"],"country_code":"vg","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/5999bd39-3491-4565-b2d5-a75c109e2f92-ccb9c35e.png"}],"id":"5999bd39-3491-4565-b2d5-a75c109e2f92","number":7},{"name":"Lady M","registration":"Cayman Islands","length":"210 feet (65 meters)","construction_cost":"$27 million (estimated); $65 million","notable_features":"helicopter pad; retractable swimming pool; freshwater jacuzzi; extensive carvings of cats (reportedly requested by Mordashov’s wife)","last_known_location":"Imperia, Italy","last_known_coords":{"latitude":43.889686,"longitude":8.039527},"disposition":"sequestered by the Italian government in May 2022","backstory":"The smaller of his two luxury motor yachts, Mordashov -- who is ranked as Russia’s richest man -- has argued that the US-built yacht is in fact owned by a company controlled by his wife. An Italian court has rejected that. (The bigger yacht -- the $500 million Nord -- was last spotted by maritime trackers in the Persian Gulf in April, traveling from Oman to Dubai.)","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/028d0000-0aff-0242-93b4-08da10af93f2_w1200_r0.jpg","photo_credit":"Andrea Bernardi (AFP)","owner":["1b40cf88-1c23-4a43-a520-1deac975df19"],"country_code":"ky","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/5a1788d9-b864-412e-b651-72e53832a686-0d1a899e.png"}],"id":"5a1788d9-b864-412e-b651-72e53832a686","number":5},{"name":"Sailing Yacht A","registration":"Sierra Leone","length":"468 feet (143 meters)","construction_cost":"$593 million","notable_features":"three rotating carbon masts, purportedly the world’s tallest; glass underwater observation pod","last_known_location":"Trieste, Italy","last_known_coords":{"latitude":45.689482,"longitude":13.783307},"disposition":"seized under Italian court order in 2022, held under Italian supervision","backstory":"Sailing Yacht A was seized by Italian authorities while berthed in Trieste in March 2022, a few weeks after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Sanctioned by the European Union for what it said was his close ties to the Kremlin, Melnichenko reportedly quit the two companies he derived his wealth from -- EuroChem Group and SUEK -- days before the seizure. He appealed the impoundment and the wider sanctions against him, saying the yacht and other assets belonged to his wife. But an EU court effectively ruled against him. The yacht was recently spotted sailing in the Adriatic for a few hours in August, before returning to Trieste, in what was described as a maintenance trip. The vessel is reportedly scheduled to be moved from Trieste on November 17 and moved to another Adriatic port for maintenance.","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/4f3de57d-39b0-43fe-4e89-08df13aec0bb_w1200_r0.jpg","photo_credit":"Planet","owner":["000c8e95-04ea-49bc-a9f4-50d1fba92076"],"country_code":"sl","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/8419c7ba-5a31-4b9f-a165-942b8f8a64c4-0a6b2f6a.png"}],"id":"8419c7ba-5a31-4b9f-a165-942b8f8a64c4","number":2},{"name":"Amadea","registration":"Cayman Islands","length":"348 feet (106 meters)","construction_cost":"$325 million","notable_features":"helicopter pad; pool; jacuzzi; a \"stunning winter garden on the sun deck\"","last_known_location":"San Diego, California","last_known_coords":{"latitude":32.715738,"longitude":-117.161084},"disposition":"sanctioned and seized by US authorities in 2022; sold at auction for $187 million in 2026 to a Dubai real estate tycoon.","backstory":"The Amadea was the focus of a yearslong, bare-knuckle legal fight over who its owner really was. When it was seized on a US warrant in Fiji in 2022, US authorities insisted the yacht belonged to Kerimov, a politically connected billionaire who was sanctioned in 2018 in response to Russia’s “malign activity around the globe.” Lawyers for Eduard Khudainatov, a former top Rosneft executive, argued that he was the true owner and that the US government’s case was flimsy. In 2025, a US judge ruled in favor of prosecutors, and ordered the ship sold at auction. Earlier this year, the Amadea was reportedly sold at a steep discount to a Dubai real estate tycoon with business links to President Donald Trump.","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/c242ac20-eb2d-4f15-1575-08df407f9918_w1200_r0.jpg","photo_credit":"US Coast Guard","owner":["bb029b5b-e504-44b9-9b63-16b9c455da84"],"country_code":"ky","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/875c09c2-a303-4003-a01b-e5c83a1c7195-0d233719.png"}],"id":"875c09c2-a303-4003-a01b-e5c83a1c7195","number":17},{"name":"Dilbar","registration":"Cayman Islands","length":"512 feet (156 meters)","construction_cost":"$600-800 million","notable_features":"largest indoor swimming pool on a yacht; two helipads","last_known_location":"Hamburg, Germany","last_known_coords":{"latitude":53.548828,"longitude":9.98717},"disposition":"seized by German police, March 2022","backstory":"Dilbar was seized by German authorities as it was undergoing maintenance and repairs in Hamburg. The US Treasury Department identified Usmanov as the owner. However, EU sanctions issued not long after that stated the beneficial owner of the yacht was in fact Usmanov’s sister, Gulbahor Ismailova, who owned it via shell companies and trusts. The US later followed suit with parallel sanctions on those trusts. In June 2026, a German court lifted the EU sanctions affecting the yacht, citing questions about the ownership of the main trust. Three months later, in September, the EU formally lifted sanctions on Usmanov.","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/049b0000-0aff-0242-5bde-08da12ef4462_w1200_r0.jpg","photo_credit":"Reuters/Eric Gaillard","owner":["4773d242-0ad7-4df9-b2cf-b400e5b3b706"],"country_code":"ky","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/b4a441dd-39e2-4831-a767-5b7870479e74-87e56957.png"}],"id":"b4a441dd-39e2-4831-a767-5b7870479e74","number":10},{"name":"Amore Vero","registration":"Malaysia","length":"282 feet (86 meters)","construction_cost":"$134 million","notable_features":"retractable swimming pool that doubles as a helipad","last_known_location":"Antibes, France","last_known_coords":{"latitude":43.580418,"longitude":7.125102},"disposition":"Seized by French customs authorities, March 2, 2022","backstory":"Previously named St. Princess Olga after Sechin’s second wife, the ship was renamed following their divorce. The boat had been docked for repairs in La Ciotat in the weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, but French authorities seized it before it sailed. Sechin was first sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2014, in the wake of Russia’s seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula. Britain sanctioned Sechin after the invasion in 2022.","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/08640000-0a00-0242-3260-08d9fd16eccf_w1200_r0.jpg","photo_credit":"AFP/Nicolas Tucat","owner":["6c5966f5-e634-4ae6-8d47-b75e59527590"],"country_code":"my","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/e5ef139d-cade-49bd-8c09-0c62b94733b5-159ce6a7.png"}],"id":"e5ef139d-cade-49bd-8c09-0c62b94733b5","number":15},{"name":"Luminosity","registration":"Cayman Islands","length":"353 feet (108 meters)","construction_cost":"$292 million","notable_features":"glass elevator; Turkish bath; two helipads","last_known_location":"Tivat, Montenegro","last_known_coords":{"latitude":42.43179,"longitude":18.698975},"disposition":"seized by Montenegrin authorities in March 2022","backstory":"Guriyev bought the yacht at a discount in early 2022, according to trade journals, but the ship was seized shortly afterward under EU sanctions. Montenegro tried to sell the ship two years later for €135 million, but the sale was ultimately blocked and continues to languish in the Porto Montenegro marina in Tivat, according to images posted on social media by Benetti Yachts, which built the ship.","photo":"https://gdb.rferl.org/92793ef9-8859-4cdc-285d-08df3ee80755_w1200_r0.jpeg","photo_credit":"Planet (July 20, 2026)","owner":["49aa0c49-3538-4c98-98a8-a3a1c6687b1b"],"country_code":"ky","diagram":[{"file":"projects/26/11/yacht-spotting/record-media/fbeb2248-09ad-47bc-aa42-040ad031f284-58c85879.png"}],"id":"fbeb2248-09ad-47bc-aa42-040ad031f284","number":18}]