Russian Billionaire's Superyacht Mysteriously Vanishes

[Jilly_in_VA]

It’s a 230-foot superyacht with room for 28 guests and crew—and yet, in the last week, it has seemingly vanished, just as other vessels belonging to Russian billionaires have been frozen or seized.

The Galactica Super Nova, owned by Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov, sailed in recent weeks from Barcelona to Tivat, Montenegro, arriving on March 1. But just a day later, the boat departed, according to data from the ship-tracking company MarineTraffic.

An official at the port in Montenegro confirmed that the yacht was no longer there.

Soon after it left, Galactica’s automatic tracking system, also known as AIS, stopped pinging out signals, reports MarineTraffic and its competitors VesselFinder and VesselsValue. As of Wednesday afternoon Central European Time, the boat had yet to update its location.

It is legally required for all yachts of Galactica’s size to have their AIS turned on “at all times,” said Sam Tucker, head of superyachts at VesselsValue. “For the past 12 months, we have had a very reliable signal coming from this vessel, so after seeing it [leave] Porto Montenegro, we are very surprised that there has been no signal received from either our satellites or ground stations.”

Duncan Bateson, a marine lawyer based in London, said it was likely that “if captains of Russian-linked boats are turning off their AIS tracker, then it's because they're trying to evade being tracked.”

Lukoil did not respond to requests for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-billionaire-vagit-alekperovs-superyacht-galactica-super-nova-mysteriously-vanishes?ref=home

[FakeNoose]

1. I'll bet they know lots of places to hide

... but we've got spy satellites.

[Igel]

4. My bet is it made it to the Black Sea and is now under some cover on the coast near Sochi.

That *if* the oligarch is planning on staying on good terms with Putin.

Otherwise it's at a Syrian port, under tarps or some large overhanging roof.

[FakeNoose]

7. Sure but there are lots of possibilities in South America

Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, etc. I'll bet it's cheaper to hide there too.
Doesn't matter, we'll find him eventually.

[calguy]

2. At least they know they're being hunted.

They can't run around like nothing's going on. It's only a matter of time before they get the message.

[rockfordfile]

3. Sink it

[Tetrachloride]

5. Unless there's a Bat Cave, somebody knows

[CaptainTruth]

6. IMHO, people got paid off to make it "disappear."

[mitch96]

8. "Galactica's automatic tracking system, stopped pinging out signals" So would that negate

the insurance on the boat?
IT WOULD BE A REAL SHAME IF SOMETHING WOULD HAPPEN TO IT if it had no insurance..
just say'n...
m

[Angleae]

10. They've been without insurance for a couple of days now (all of them).

The Lloyd's register and DNV had decertified all russian yachts a few days ago, meaning they aren't in compliance and all insurance in invalid.

[mitch96]

11. Open season then... Biden can order "letters of mark" so "Pirates" can appropriate the

yachts and sell them.. The proceeds can be used to rebuild the country of Ukraine..
What I think is a hoot is that letters of marque are written into our constitution right next to where congress can declare war... I guess it was a "thing" back then...
m
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_marque

[roamer65]

9. Find it and torpedo it.

Of course, give a warning to get the hell off from it.