A report by the US magazine “Forbes” on Wednesday about the luxury yacht “Dilbar” owned by the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanow caused a stir. The report, citing three unnamed sources in the shipping industry, said the yacht had been impounded. According to this, employees at the Blohm+Voss shipyard, where the “Dilbar” was overhauled, stopped working on Wednesday. Both Usmanow and Blohm+Voss initially did not respond to inquiries.
So far, there has been no official response from the responsible authorities to inquiries from SPIEGEL on Thursday. So far there has been no confirmation of the alleged confiscation.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the assets of the Russian super-rich have come under global scrutiny. According to media reports, there are currently several luxury yachts owned by oligarchs in Hamburg, of which only Usmanov is named on the EU sanctions list. Economics Senator Michael Westhagemann (independent) had promised on Tuesday that goods transports from the port of Hamburg to Russia would only be permitted with individual customs permits due to the current sanctions. “You can assume that from now on no more yachts will go out,” says Westhagemann.
Usmanow had the 156 meter long “Dilbar” built by the Lürssen shipyard in Bremen, the purchase price is said to have been around 600 million dollars. According to the shipyard, it is the largest motor yacht in the world in terms of gross register tonnage. Forbes magazine reported that the ship can accommodate an average crew of 96 people and up to 24 guests in 12 suites. The ship’s features included the largest swimming pool ever installed on a yacht and two helipads.
