They say that second happiest day in a boat owner’s life is when he buys the boat, but the happiest day is when he sells it. I’m not sure what kind of life Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko lives, but I’m pretty sure he’s extremely upset with his superyacht purchase after learning some pretty bad news.
So what’s this bad news? Luxury Yacht A, a sailing superyacht built by a German Naval Yard and bought by Andrey Melnichenko for $450 million, is in all likelihood trapped in the Baltic Sea. Because of an oversight from the German Naval Yard, this extremely large vessel is so tall it is literally unable to make it under bridges and so deep that it can’t make it out of any channels. I have no idea what’s going on in the mind of a billionaire Russian, but it’s a safe bet that he didn’t drop all that cheddar just to sail around Germany, Sweden, and Russia. Boats like this are at home on tropical islands we’ve never heard of, in countries we’re too poor to even know exist.
From the Daily Mail:
The nearby Drogden Channel between Denmark and Germany has a maximum depth of eight metres, yet Yacht A’s draught is described as being between eight and ten metres (26ft and 32 ft)
Meanwhile, the alternative sea route by the Great Belt, between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen, has a draught of 15.4 metres (50ft).
But its maximum height is 65 metres (213 ft), limited by the clearance of the east bridge of the Great Belt Fixed Link.
Life.ru quoted a naval source saying that the possibility of an accident is ‘very high’ if the vessel exited the Baltic through the Drogden Channel. The news outlet reported the masts could not be ‘folded’ or removed to lower the height of the vessel, roughly equivalent to the height of Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben.
Just how big is this bad boy? Let’s take a quick look at some statistics that will make you want to actually move to Russia and get involved in white collar crime.
Sailing Yacht A Stats
• Cost = $450,000,000
• 468-feet long
• Main Mast is 300-feet tall
• The keel has a glass room inside for viewing
• Helipad + pool + tons of other stuff no one knows exists
• Room for 20 guests and a crew of 54
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZrpIGF7RU
–Not to be confused with Motor Yacht A, a motor superyacht Melnichenko bought for US$ 300 million–
has just become the cause of a serious expensive headache for Melnichenko.
