International sanctions have been imposed during the Russo-Ukrainian War by a large number of countries, including the United States, Canada, the European Union, and a number of international organisations against Russia, Crimea, and Belarus following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in late February 2014. These sanctions were imposed against individuals, businesses, officials and assets such as yachts from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Impacted yachts
Name Owner Action taken Photo Refs Date Action By Status M/Y A Andrey Melnichenko Flag state deregistered Sailed to Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates and stuck in port until a new flag state is found. S/Y A Andrey Melnichenko 12 March 2022 Arrested Alfa Nero Andrey Guryev Seized The yacht was abandoned in the harbour since February 2022. She was auctioned off in 2023 but the auction failed to conclude, so the government of Antigua and Barbuda sold the ship to businessman Ali Riza Yildirim for $ 40 million in 2024. TBA Auction date Amadea Suleyman Kerimov 4 May 2022 Arrested Transported by a US crew to San Diego. 27 May 2022 Seized Amore Vero Igor Sechin 2 March 2022 Arrested Axioma Dmitry Pumpyansky 22 March 2022 Arrested Axioma was arrested by Gibraltar authorities on behalf of JPMorgan Chase. Later she was officially seized and put up for auction on 23 August 2022. On 27 September 2022 it was announced that the winning bid was selected out of a total of 63, and is worth $37.5m. Seized 23 August 2022 Auction date 27 September 2022 Winning bid selected Crescent Igor Sechin 15 March 2022 Arrested Dilbar Alisher Usmanov 3 March 2022 Sanctioned 3 March 2022 Arrested Firebird Andrey Yakunin 17 October 2022 Arrested Both yacht and owner were arrested after drones were flying from the yacht and presumably taking pictures of strategic areas, which is not allowed under current sanctions. Flying Fox Dmitry Kamenshchik 28 March 2022 Arrested Flying Fox was briefly detained and searched in the Dominican Republic and released due to no evidence of wrongdoing. As soon as she was released, she started crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Turkey. Later Flying Fox was added to the US sanctions list due to its association with Imperial Yachts. Flying Fox was removed from the US sanctions list on the 30th of September 2024 after breaking ties with Imperial Yachts Released 3 June 2022 Sanctioned 30 SeptemberUnsanctionedGalactica Vagit Alekperov 3 March 2022 Sanctioned Since Galactica was still being fitted out by the yard, she was not allowed to be delivered to her owner because of sanctions. Garcon Roman Abramovich March 2022 Arrested Garcon was arrested on Antigua at the request of the United Kingdom. The reason for her release is unknown but as soon as she was she started crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Morocco. 22 July 2022 Released Graceful Russian GovernmentVladimir Putin (alleged) 3 June 2022 Sanctioned Graceful left Blohm + Voss, Germany abruptly mid refit on 9 February 2022. She was hiding from sanctions in Kaliningrad, Russia. Her AIS tracker was turned off in August 2022. In June 2026 she was spotted leaving the Baltic Sea, escorted by Russian destroyer Severomorsk and the alleged salvage vessel Voevoda (Project 23700), passing the island of Anholt on 29 June. Halo Roman Abramovich March 2022 Arrested Halo was arrested on Antigua at the request of the United Kingdom. The reason for her release is unknown but as soon as she was she started crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Morocco. 22 July 2022 Released Lady Anastasia Aleksandr Mikheyev 26 February 2022 Attempted scuttling Taras Ostapchuk (ships engineer) 15 March 2022 Arrested Lady M Alexei Mordashov 5 March 2022 Arrested Lena Gennady Timchenko 5 March 2022 Arrested Luna Farkhad Akhmedov 12 May 2022 Arrested "Biden And Allies Are Coming For Russian Billionaires’ Yachts: Forbes Tracked Down 51. Here's Where To Find Them", Giacomo Tognini, 1 March 2022; ForbesMadame Gu Andrei Skoch 3 June 2022 Sanctioned Madame Gu is hiding from sanctions in Dubai, UAE. New Vogue 2 April 2022 Arrested Olympia Vladimir Putin 3 June 2022 Sanctioned Olympia is hiding from sanctions in Russia. PHI Vitaly Vasilievich Kochetkov 29 March 2022 Arrested Quantum Blue Sergey Galitsky 3 March 2022 Arrested 4 March 2022 Released Ragnar Vladimir Strzhalkovsky 23 February 2022 Inspected Because the owner is Russian, local fuel companies refused to sell fuel to the yacht causing her to be stuck in Narvik. The Norwegian government had to order a different company to deliver fuel so she could leave. Arrested The people of 30 March 2022 Released Royal Romance Viktor Medvedchuk 23 March 2022 Arrested Following the arrest of the owner, the yacht was arrested by Croatian authorities in Split. On 1 December 2022 it was announced she was seized and set to be auctioned off by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency. An auction date is not announced as of 1 December 2022. 1 December 2022 Seized TBA Auction date TBA Winning bid selected Scheherazade Eduard Khudainatov 9 May 2022 Arrested Sea Rhapsody Andrey Kostin 3 June 2022 Sanctioned Sea Rhapsody is hiding from sanctions in the Seychelles. Tango Viktor Vekselberg 5 April 2022 Seized She was boarded by Spanish and US agencies and subsequently seized by the US. Valerie Sergey Chemezov 15 March 2022 Arrested MY Valerie was arrested while being moored at the MB92 shipyard in Barcelona. She later changed the name to Meridian A in an effort to confuse Spanish officials and try to escape the arrest. Following a relocation from the refit yard where she was taking up space since her arrest to a vacant berth the owner stopped paying for the berthing fees and the yacht was subsequently seized. 4 November 2022 Seized
Other sanctioned yacht owners Below a list of yachts that have not directly been impacted by sanctions but do have owners that are on one or more sanction lists.
Owner Yacht Photo RefsAlexander Abramov Titan Roman Abramovich Eclipse Solaris Sussurro Vagit Alekperov Galactica Super Nova Galactica Plus David Davidovich Aquamarine Oleg Deripaska Clio Sputnik Filaret Galchev Sapphire Ihor Kolomoyskyi Lauren L Dmitry Medvedev Universe Leonid Mikhelson Pacific Andrey Molchanov Aurora Alexei Mordashov Nord God Nisanov Galaxy of Happiness Vladimir Potanin Nirvana Feadship BN1010 Viktor Rashnikov Ocean Victory Arkady Rotenberg Rahil Eugene Shvidler Le Grand Bleu Alexander Svetakov Cloudbreak Rustem Teregulov Grand Rusalina Oleg Tinkov La Datcha
See also List of large sailing yachts List of motor yachts by length Luxury yacht Sailing yacht
Citations
External links Ship arrest explanation at marineinsight.com