ISTANBUL. Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich also moved the two boats that were not yet there to Turkey, where his entire personal fleet is now located, in an attempt to avoid the sanctions with which Western countries have hit Russia. The last two yachts to arrive in Turkish waters are the “Garcon” and “Halo”, who escaped sanctions from the port of Falmouth, Antigua and Barbuda, where they had been moored after the start of the war and where they risked being confiscated by the authorities British.
To save the two boats were the rules of the Caribbean country, which does not confiscate yachts unless the owner is guilty of a crime. These circumstances allowed “Halo” and “Garcon” to sail to the Turkish port of Gocek, where they arrived a few days ago, not far from where the other two yachts of the former Chelsea owner are moored. These had arrived in Turkey last March following routes designed specifically to avoid international waters and sanctions.
The larger of the two, “Eclipse”, worth 600 million dollars, remained in the first months of the conflict anchored in Mugla, in the province of Marmaris, not far from where “My Solaris” is located, worth 780 million. dollars. Both are registered in the Maldives. However, the fact that «My Solaris» remained in the Cruise Port of Bodrum, a well-known Turkish seaside resort, attracted the attention of the English law firms, who noted that the marina itself is listed on the London stock market.
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The news leaked to the British media, with the hypothesis of a violation of the UK sanctions; this prompted the Russian tycoon to move his two yachts once again, which left the ports where they had anchored since March and headed for Gocek. The story could repeat itself in the coming months, considering that, according to reports by the Turkish media, the yachts will be forced to leave the area with the arrival of autumn. According to the Lloyd’s Intelligence List website, in fact, the 140-meter yacht “My Solaris” left the port of Barcelona on 8 March last, it was off Sicily two days later, when the sanctions of the Gran Brittany, and then docked on March 12 in Tivat, Montenegro and from there set sail towards the port of Bodrum, in southern Turkey.
The yacht followed a route that, without ever entering Greek waters, allowed it to avoid the European sanctions, which began on the 15th of that month. The other boat, “Eclipse”, 140 meters long with two runways for helicopter landing and a mini submarine attached, left the Antilles on March 3 and then arrived in Turkey, in the port of Marmaris, on the 22nd of the month. through a path that allowed him to avoid sanctions. The decision of the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to apply economic sanctions against Russia and to leave the airspace open has made Turkey one of the few destinations available to Russians who have decided to leave the country. Among these, about 20,000 since the conflict began in Ukraine, there are dissidents, journalists, academics, and even some oligarchs traditionally close to Russian President Vladimir Putin have stopped in the country.
Abramovich, considered able to mediate with the Kremlin due to his proximity to Russian President Putin, was present on March 29 in Istanbul, when delegations from Russia and Ukraine met to carry on the negotiations previously begun in Belarus.