''Luna'' is the world's second-largest expedition

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

. In 2022 it was seized by authorities in Germany.

Ownership history

''Luna'' was delivered to Russian businessman

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian Russian oligarchs, oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club ...

on 10 April 2010. Its exterior was designed by NewCruise of Germany and its interior by Donald Starkey. The yacht's cost has been estimated at over €250m. ''Luna'' was sold to Azerbaijani Farkhad Akhmedov, for €200m in April 2014. In October 2014 the yacht was sent to Bremerhaven, Germany, for an extensive refit costing €50m. The yacht was delivered in March 2016 after a 16-month extensive refit. She featured at the centre of a dispute between Akhmedov and his ex-wife, Tatyana Akhmedova, after an English High Court judgement awarded Tatiana a disputed £453 million matrimonial settlement. Following the ''Luna'' ruling, Farkhad and Tatiana settled their dispute. ''Luna'' became property of the Blue Sea Trust, reported to be the owning entity of the Akhmedov family. In October 2021, having undergone a refurbishment following her stay in Dubai, ''Luna'' set sail once again heading through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

and into the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and arriving at

Lloyd Werft Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven GmbH is a dockyard in Bremerhaven. It was founded in 1863 by the shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd, first mainly used as a repair workshop for the company’s own merchant fleet. This new yard was established in ...

shipyard to undergo maintenance. In March of 2022, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' reported that ''Luna'' was still owned by Farkhad Akhmedov. At the time, she had been sanctioned by the EU, UK, Canada, and Switzerland, and was still registered in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

with a value of $196 million. She was frozen by German authorities on May 12, 2022, and on May 23, 2022, was recorded in

Hamburg, Germany (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

.Biden And Allies Are Coming For Russian Billionaires’ Yachts: Forbes Tracked Down 51. Here’s Where To Find Them
, Giacomo Tognini, March 1, 2022; ''Forbes''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luna (Yacht) Motor yachts 2009 ships

Ownership history

See also

References