There are over 5,000 superyachts in the world, of which Russian oligarchs own a relatively small number – over 50 according to estimates.
These are subject to sanctions by the EU and the USA and a number have been seized this week.
Crew recruitment agencies have suspended contacts with Russian superyacht owners, one of whom is Vladimir Putin, whose vessel is beyond the reach of sanctions – in Russia itself.
World’s largest superyacht
The world’s largest superyacht, by volume, the Dilbar, owned by Russian Oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s superyacht is stuck in Hamburg in Germany where it has been undergoing a refit.
The U.S. Treasury has valued it at between $600 and $700 million. The crew of 80 left after EU and US sanctions stopped wages being paid. Usmanov, (68), is the sixth-richest Russian with a fortune of $17.8 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.