The Spanish authorities provisionally retained a yacht docked in Tarragona (northeast) to investigate if it belongs to any of the Russian magnates sanctioned by the European Union, the Ministry of Transport reported on Wednesday about the third immobilized boat so far this week.
With the flag of the Cayman Islands and 135 meters in length, the megayacht “Crescent” is moored in the dock area of Port Tarraco -on the tourist Catalan Mediterranean coast- from November 2, 2021, and will not be able to set sail while the Spanish authorities determine its real ownership.
“It will be verified whether or not the ownership, possession or control of the ship corresponds to a natural or legal person included in the list of persons and entities sanctioned by the European Council as a result of the armed conflict caused by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia” , the ministry said in a statement.
If this is the case, “they will be immobilized,” he adds. Although the owner has not been officially identified, it is believed to be owned by Igor Sechin, a Russian oligarch and a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin.
According to the note, which does not give details about who its owner could be, this “mega yacht” had requested departure from the Maritime Captaincy on March 4, but it did not finally set sail.
The provisional retention of the “Crescent” is the third carried out by the Spanish authorities since the beginning of the week.
Two other ships confiscated
A first yacht, the “Valerie”, was confiscated on Monday in Barcelonaas announced that same night by the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez.
This boat of 85 meters in length would be linked to Serguei Chemezov, character close to the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, according to the newspaper El País.
The next day the immobilization of the “Lady Anastasia”, a ship of 48 meters in length, retained in Puerto Adrianoon the Mediterranean island of Majorca.
According to a police source, the authorities suspect that the ship belongs to Alexandre Mikheievgeneral director of Rosoboronexport, a Russian public company in charge of arms sales.
Both Serguei Chemezov and Alexandre Mikheiev are on the European Union’s blacklist, which was augmented on Monday with new names from tycoons such as Roman Abramovich, owner of English soccer club Chelsea.
Sanctions against oligarchs
The Western response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine includes the seizure of bank accounts, mansions and luxury boats of Russian tycoons.
The “L’Amore Vero”, a yacht valued between 100 and 120 million euros ($109 million to $131 million), was seized last Thursday in the south of France.
Italy announced last week that it had frozen some 140 million euros of assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, including two yachts. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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