Is this Putin’s secret superyacht? Speculation surrounds mystery $700M vessel at Italian shipyard

Italian authorities are currently probing whether a mysterious superyacht docked in a northern port should be seized under sanctions against Russia, following speculation that it could belong to Vladimir Putin himself.

The $700 million yacht, Scheherazade, is one of the largest and most expensive superyachts in the world, and since its launch in 2020, its true ownership has been cloaked in absolute secrecy.

Currently docked for repairs at the Italian Sea Group shipyard in Marina di Carrara, Italy, the Scheherazade is protected by measures that are extreme even by the ultra-private standards of the superyacht world, with covers hiding its nameplate and a metal barrier erected to partially block the vessel from public view.  

For more than a year, workers at the shipyard have speculated that the ship belongs to Putin himself, a source there told DailyMail.com this week. ‘All the whispers were it belonged to Putin,’ the person said.

The source said that the Scheherazade’s crew appear to be Russian, and that a team of Germans working on repairs to the vessel were recalled by their home office after the EU announced its sanctions last week. 

However, the ship’s British captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, denied that Putin owns the Scheherazade or has ever been on board, telling the New York Times: ‘I have never seen him. I have never met him.’

Italian authorities are currently probing whether the superyacht Scheherazade should be seized under international sanctions. Speculation has circulated that the boat, seen above in August 2020, is owned by Vladimir Putin himself

Currently docked for repairs (above) at the Italian Sea Group shipyard in Marina di Carrara, Italy, the Scheherazade is protected by measures that are extreme even by the ultra-private standards of the superyacht world

For more than a year, workers at the Italian shipyard have speculated that the ship belongs to Putin himself, a source there told DailyMail.com this week. ‘All the whispers were it belonged to Putin,’ the person said

Bennett-Pearce declined to identify the Scheherazade’s owner, citing a strict non-disclosure agreement, and would not rule out that the owner is Russian. He did however insist that the owner is not on any sanctions list.

The captain said that Italian investigators had come aboard on Friday and examined some of the ship’s certification documents, and that he planned to hand over documents identifying the true owner on Tuesday, telling the Times that he had ‘no choice.’ 

‘I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that this will clear the vessel of all negative rumors and speculations,’ Bennett-Pearce told the outlet.  

The Italian investigation into the ownership of the Scheherazade comes as authorities across Europe have raced to identify and seize yachts tied to Russian oligarchs named in new sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. 

Last week, French authorities seized the superyacht Amore Vero in the Mediterranean resort town of La Ciotat. 

The 289-foot boat is believed to belong to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, which has been on the U.S. sanctions list since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

The French Finance Ministry said in a statement that customs authorities boarded the Amore Vero and discovered its crew was preparing for an urgent departure, even though planned repair work wasn´t finished.

The Italian investigation into the ownership of the Scheherazade comes as authorities across Europe have raced to identify and seize yachts tied to Russian oligarchs named in new sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine

The $700 million yacht, Scheherazade (seen in drydock), is one of the largest and most expensive superyachts in the world, and since its launch in 2020, its true ownership has been cloaked in absolute secrecy

Putin is know to be fond of luxury yachts. He is seen above cruising with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko

Meanwhile, sanctioned steel baron Alexei Mordashov’s 213-foot Lady M was seized by Italian authorities Friday while moored in the Riviera port town of Imperia.  

And in Sanremo, Italy, authorities seized the Lena, a yacht belonging to Putin ally and oil billionaire Gennady Timchenko.

The 511-foot Dilbar, which is likely the largest superyacht in the world, is currently under orders to remain in port at Hamburg as officials there try to determine its ownership.

Russian oligarchs account for a significant portion of the global superyacht market. Of all the superyacht projects over 164 feet that are in build or on order, Russians make up 17 percent of all owners, according to Boat International.

It has fueled speculation about the Scheherazade, whose ownership remains one of the biggest mysteries in the yachting world.

The opulent vessel features two helipads, but almost nothing is known about the interior features, and there are no known photos from inside the boat.

The Scheherazade, whose ownership remains one of the biggest mysteries in the yachting world, features two helipads, but almost nothing is known about the interior features, and there are no known photos from inside the boat.

Scheherazade, one of the largest superyachts in the world, anchors in Bodrum district of Mugla, Turkey on August 16, 2020

The Scheherazade was constructed by the German firm Lürssen and a source tells DailyMail.com that the boat is under the management of Imperial Yachts, a company based in Monaco that also supervised its construction

Putin’s ‘other yacht’ – a smaller, older vessel named GRACEFUL

 Vladimir Putin claims that he is only moderately-wealthy, but is suspected of secretly harboring a $100 billion fortune.

A smaller, older vessel, the Graceful, has long been suspected of belonging to Putin. 

Alone among the world’s superyachts, the Graceful’s hull was laid at a Russian naval shipyard, before being finished in Germany, an industry source told DailyMail.com.

The Graceful left port in Germany about two weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and is currently docked at Russia’s Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, safely out of the reach of Western sanctions.

The Scheherazade, however, is stuck in drydock in Italy undergoing repairs, and a person familiar with the matter said that it would be impossible for it to sail before the end of March. 

 

A smaller, older vessel, the Graceful (seen leaving Hamburg last month), has long been suspected of belonging to Putin

The Graceful left port in Germany on February 7 (above), about two weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and is currently docked at Russia’s Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, safely out of the reach of Western sanctions

The industry website SuperYachFan, which estimates the boat’s cost at $700 million, believes that the Scheherazade has room for a crew of about 40 and around 18 passengers.   

The Scheherazade was constructed by the German firm Lürssen and a source tells DailyMail.com that the boat is under the management of Imperial Yachts, a company based in Monaco that also supervised its construction.

Imperial Yachts also manages the Amore Vero, the seized yacht belonging to Sechin, according to Reuters.

An industry source told DailyMail.com that ‘ninety percent of the Russians have Imperial manage their boats.’ 

Imperial, led by CEO Evgeniy Kochman, is believed to have four other projects underway at the Italian Sea Group shipyard. The owners of those projects were not immediately clear.  

A spokesperson for Imperial did not immediately respond to an inquiry from DailyMail.com on Tuesday.

Officially, the Scheherazade’s registered owner is Bielor Assets Ltd, a company registered in the Marshall Islands, and the boat is flagged in the Cayman Islands.

The ship’s name, Scheherazade, is the female protagonist from the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the One Thousand and One Nights. 

It is also the title of a symphonic suite by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov that is based on the tales.

Speculation about a connection between the vessel and Putin has run rampant in Marina di Carrara since the boat first docked there last winter, a source said.

The person said that workers at the shipyard believed the initial owner was Middle Eastern, but that at some point the boat was sold to Putin or another wealthy Russian.

The SuperYachtFan site has also speculated that the owner of the boat could be a Middle Eastern billionaire. 

Officially, Putin has a declared net worth of about $150,000 and very few assets. But the Russian leader’s true wealth, thought by some to be as much as $100 billion, though it has never been confirmed. 

Forbes recently called it ‘the most elusive riddle in wealth hunting.’ 

Nevertheless, Putin’s fondness for luxury yachts is well established. 

He has previously been photographed on yachts from the Black Sea in the south the Russia’s northern regions.

Last May, he took a yacht cruise with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.