This morning, Roman Abramovich’s £430m superyacht docked in Montenegro as the criticized oligarch apparently sought to protect his valuable assets from being seized by sanctions.
The luxurious 460-foot vessel arrived shortly before 8 am UK time in the port of Tivat after hurriedly leaving Barcelona on Tuesday, two days before the UK government imposed sanctions on Abramovich.
He is believed to have wanted to take his yacht out of Western European waters because of the risk of EU sanctions on him for alleged ties to President Putin.
Roman Abramovich’s £430 million superyacht Solaris (pictured) docked in Montenegro this morning.
Solaris, which boasts its own helipad and missile detection system, was reportedly rushed out of the Spanish shipyard before repairs were completed.
Staff were reportedly ordered to remove the scaffolding so the yacht could leave quickly.
Montenegro is not in the EU, although it is expected to join in 2025, so Abramovich may see it as a safer haven trying to sell Chelsea.
Last week it was announced that Montenegro had joined the EU sanctions against Russia, but in practice so far it has only been about banning Russian flights.
The port the Solaris was heading to was unknown until about 4:20 today, when the destination in Tivat suddenly became visible on ship-tracking apps.
It is believed that the destination was entered into his tracking system by the crew of the Solaris only in the early hours of the morning.
Montenegro is not in the EU, although it is expected to join in 2025, so Abramovich (pictured), who is trying to sell Chelsea, may see her as a safer haven.
Vessel-tracking sites such as Marine Traffic have previously shown that the yacht is sailing around Sicily and into the Ionian Sea, with its final destination unclear.
Abramovich’s second superyacht Eclipse, which is even bigger at 533 feet and reportedly worth over £750 million, could also be heading to Tivat, which has a superyacht marina.
Eclipse usually spends most of the winter in the Caribbean, where Abramovich has a billionaire home on the island of St. Barts.
But the yacht has been in international waters since leaving St. Maarten, about 20 miles from St. Barts, on Feb. 21, when a Russian invasion of Ukraine loomed.
Satellite tracking this morning pinpointed it entering the Strait of Gibraltar and possibly heading for the Mediterranean after sailing along the west coast of Africa.
Superyachts owned by other oligarchs have reportedly been dispersed across locations including the Maldives, Seychelles and Turkey to prevent them from being seized.
Solaris at the Port of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this month. Staff were reportedly ordered to remove the scaffolding so the yacht could leave quickly.
French and Italian authorities last week confiscated three yachts worth more than £170m on suspicion that they were ultimately owned by Putin’s allies.
France has detained Amore Vero, a 280-foot superyacht said to be owned by Igor Sechin, in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat.
Sechin, who also faces sanctions, is the chief executive of the Russian oil company Rosneft and a close ally of Putin. Amore Vero, which means “true love” in Italian, can accommodate 14 guests and 28 crew members.
French police, who boarded the ship at night, said the crew was “preparing to leave in a hurry without completing the planned work.”
Italian authorities in Samremo have confiscated the 134-foot yacht Lena, owned by Putin ally Gennady Timchenko, who is worth an estimated $21 billion in Russian commodity companies.
The 209-foot yacht Lady M, owned by Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov, who is a major shareholder in Russia’s largest steel and mining company, has been hijacked in the nearby Ligurian port of Imperia.
Dilbar, the world’s largest superyacht by gross tonnage, which is said to be owned by former major Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov, has reportedly been confiscated in Hamburg.
But German authorities later clarified that the 511-foot vessel, which was valued at $600 million, was not confiscated but required an export permit to leave port.
UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps said the UK government will detain any yachts suspected of being Russian if they enter British waters.
The Bermuda-flagged Solaris was built for Abramovich by the German shipyard Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven and launched just last year.
The luxurious 460-foot vessel arrived shortly before 8am UK time at the port of Tivat after hurriedly leaving Barcelona on Tuesday.
A yacht with a crew of 60 people, eight decks, cabins for 36 guests, a gym, a sauna, a jacuzzi and a pool that can be turned into a dance floor.
He also has a fleet of 20 high-speed jet skis and at least one helicopter to transport guests from ship to shore, as well as a rumored personal submarine.
Both Solaris and Eclipse are believed to have a number of security measures in place to protect against pirates, kidnappers, or special forces from hostile nations.
The Eclipse is even said to have a special anti-paparazzi system capable of targeting the photosensitive elements of digital cameras and turning them off with a laser.
In addition to missile detection radar systems, the yachts are also expected to have bulletproof windows and armored protection around the wheelhouses and main cabins.