The 80-member crew of a Russian oligarch's superyacht jumped ship after the billionaire was apparently unable to pay wages due to international sanctions prompted by Moscow's war on Ukraine.
The Dilbar, a 510-foot vessel valued as high as $750 million and owned by metals and mining magnate Alisher Usmanov, is moored in Hamburg after the captain and his crew bolted. Usmanov, a 68-year-old, Uzbekistan-born pal of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is worth an estimated $18 billion, but he was one of several oligarchs to be individually sanctioned by the West.
“We have tried all avenues to find a solution to keep the team in place, and protect our positions, but have reached the end of the road of possibilities,” Dilbar Capt. Tim Armstrong wrote in a message to the crew, according to Bloomberg. For now, the boat, which features a huge swimming pool and two helipads, will be guarded by a skeleton crew deployed by the German boatbuilder Luerssen, which built it and had been retrofitting it.The yacht is named after Usmanov’s mother and is the world’s largest.
The German Ministry for Economy and Innovation said on March 3 that the federal customs agency must issue export waiver for the boat to sail away. The U.S. Treasury Department has designated Dilbar, as well as Usmanov’s private jet, as “blocked property.” Under the sanctions, the crew cannot be paid in U.S. dollars.Usmanov called the decision “unfair” and “defamatory.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, 80, gets engaged to woman almost half his ageAdd another ring to his collection.
Read more »
I’ve lost 80% of my hair – I think it all started with a smear testI've lost 80% of my hair – I think it all started with a smear test
Read more »
Cost of insulin may drop nearly 80 percent thanks to Utah companyMillions of diabetics in the country will have a less expensive way to treat their illness, thanks to cheaper insulin developed in Utah at company launched by Intermountain Healthcare.
Read more »
Inside Ukraine school where 80 orphans have found refugeAn unprecedented 500,000 children have fled Ukraine in just the last week, according to UNICEF, but some have not been able to leave. NBC News’ Tom Llamas takes us to a specialized school in Lviv, where 80 orphans have found refuge.
Read more »
Ballots sent out for California Assembly District 80 special electionBallots are being mailed out Monday for next month’s special election in Assembly District 80. Democrats David Alvarez and Georgette Gomez and Republican Lincoln Pickard are the candidates running to replace Lorena Gonzalez in California’s 80th Assembly District.
Read more »
Nearly 80% of Amazon rainforest shows signs of loss, study findsScientists have long been warning that extreme weather would cause calamity in the future but it appears that the future is already here.
Read more »