The Business of Middle East Superyachting

Category: Legal

  • Auction to sell Royal Romance called off; Yacht Potentially No Longer Under Ukrainian Ownership

    Auction to sell Royal Romance called off; Yacht Potentially No Longer Under Ukrainian Ownership

    Royal Romance, the 92-meter motor yacht, will no longer be auctioned off by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency ( ARMA) of Ukraine after a new decision made by the Croatian court canceled its prospective sale. Royal Romance, owned by sanctioned Ukrainian lawyer Viktor Medvedchuk, was seized in March 2022 as she was docked in…

  •  Sanctioned Superyacht Alfa Nero Sold to Undisclosed Buyer

     Sanctioned Superyacht Alfa Nero Sold to Undisclosed Buyer

    Alfa Nero, the 81-meter Oceanco-built superyacht, has been sold to a new unnamed owner for $40 million. The yacht was seized in 2022 in Falmouth Harbor, Antigua following the sanctioning of her owner, Andrey Guryev, by the U.S. government following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Following Alfa Nero’s seizure, the U.S. Treasury Department cleared the…

  • Sale of seized yacht AMADEA blocked by US. Court

    Sale of seized yacht AMADEA blocked by US. Court

    The US government, in possession of the seized luxury motor yacht AMADEA, was denied its request to obtain the right to sell the yacht by a New York court. Amadea, belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov, was seized as it was docked in Fiji in May 2022, following the U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia….

  • ARMA in talks with Boathouse Auctions for the selling of seized motor yacht Royal Romance 

    ARMA in talks with Boathouse Auctions for the selling of seized motor yacht Royal Romance 

    Days after auction house Troostwijk Auctions announced they are no longer in talks withARMA to sell the seized motor yacht Royal Romance, a potential central agent has entered in it’s place. Boathouse Auctions, an online yacht auction marketplace based in the United States, has entered into the initial negotiations for the sale of the 92-meter…

  • Troostwijk Auctions no longer the central agent to seized motor yacht Royal Romance

    Troostwijk Auctions no longer the central agent to seized motor yacht Royal Romance

    After the Asset Recovery and Management Agency ( ARMA) of Ukraine confirmed the auction of the seized motoryacht ROYAL ROMANCE with Troostwijk Auctions, plans for the auction have fizzled out. In a statement shared with The Maritime Observer, the auction house states “Troostwijk will not be the auction platform to enable the sale. While we…

  • Commission fees become the topic of law in new US class action lawsuit 

    Commission fees become the topic of law in new US class action lawsuit 

    [YA MON EXPEDITIONS, LLC v. INTERNATIONAL YACHT BROKERS ASSOCIATION, INC. et al] In a class action lawsuit, Wyoming-based boat dealership Ya Mon Expedtions LLC claims that several large yacht brokerages are in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act with the inflation of brokerage commissions in recent boat sales In the 31-page lawsuit, the dealership alleges…

  • Royal Romance to be officially auctioned; Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) of Ukraine announces

    Royal Romance to be officially auctioned; Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) of Ukraine announces

    The sanctioned motor yacht Royal Romance is set to be auctioned after ownership was transferred to the Ukrainian government. In January 2024, The Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) of Ukraine announced that Royal Romance’s ownership would be transferred to Ukraine, following the Croatian court’s ruling, with ARMA planning to auction her off “as soon…

  • United States government plans to sell seized motor yacht AMADEA after strenuous maintenance costs

    United States government plans to sell seized motor yacht AMADEA after strenuous maintenance costs

     US v. M/Y Amadea, 23-cv-09304, US District Court, Southern District of New York.  The 106-meter motor yacht Amadea was seized in May 2022 while docked in Fiji after her owner, Suleiman Kerimov, was placed under the U.S. sanctions list due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Kerimov’s third time becoming a designated person in…

  • Russian national Vladislav Osipov charged with five counts of bank fraud in connection to the motor yacht M/Y TANGO

    Russian national Vladislav Osipov charged with five counts of bank fraud in connection to the motor yacht M/Y TANGO

    On February 22, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed five new counts of bank fraud against Swiss resident Vladislav Osipov, an employee of sanctioned Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg,  owner of the 77.7-meter motor yacht Tango. The press release reads “Osipov and his employees instructed the yacht management company to avoid doing business with banks in Tango’s true…

  • Deep Dive – M/Y Phi Challenges UK High Court Decision 

    Deep Dive – M/Y Phi Challenges UK High Court Decision 

    You may recognize M/Y Phi as the backdrop of then UK Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps’ polemic at West India & Millwall Docks in London, delivering a stark warning of how the country plans to address Russian individuals as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, using the yacht as an emblem…