Russian oligarch's £38m superyacht rocks up in UK again year after being seized

26 March 2023 , 21:58

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The superyacht is once again the subject of controversy (Image: Getty Images)

A superyacht said to belong to a Russian oligarch is back in the UK a year after being seized.

The £38million mega vessel, owned by Vitaly Vasilievich Kochetkov, is moored in Canary Wharf, east London.

Superyacht Phi was seized last year by UK authorities after restrictions were placed on Russians following the invasion of Ukraine.

One year ago, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed UK officials had boarded Phi, MyLondon reports.

According to reports, the ship was in capital for an awards ceremony as is once again the subject of controversy.

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Officers from the National Crime Agency served a detention notice on year ago (NCA / SWNS)

The Transport Secretary said last year: "We've detained a £38 million superyacht and turned an icon of Russia's power and wealth into a clear and stark warning to Putin and his cronies.

"Detaining the Phi proves, yet again, that we can and will take the strongest possible action against those seeking to benefit from connections to Putin's regime." The boat is 58.5 metres long and has features like an "infinite wine cellar" and a freshwater swimming pool.

The government described the yacht's ownership as "deliberately well hidden". It's registered to a company based in Saint Kitts and Nevis and carries a Maltese flag.

It is reported that the bright blue boat is allegedly owned by Russian Vitaly Vasilievich Kochetkov, who wasn't on the UK sanctions list as of March 30, 2022.

The vessel is owned by Vitaly Vasilievich Kochetkov (Getty Images)

But despite the boat's detention and murky ownership, it's back in Canary Wharf. After spotting the boat, a Londoner took to Reddit to ask "Whose yacht is docked in Canary Wharf?" Several people took to the comments to joke it was theirs as one person said: "Oops looks like it’s mine.

"My kid took it for a ride the other day and forgot to park it back in my backyard." Another added: "I've seen this yacht a bunch, it's absolutely gorgeous. Wonderful art deco styling, it looks like this thing fell out of the Fallout universe."

After some confusion about why it was still docked, one Londoner clarified: "Yea it's on my running route and has been over in that corner of the dock for almost a year now. It used to come and go I think and dock a bit closer to everything else."

"If they don’t know who owns it," one person wondered, "why don’t they just destroy it like any other piece of discarded property and see who gets the most upset?"

According to marine tracking site MarineTraffic, Phi left the Dutch port of Ijmuiden on December 9, 2021, and arrived in London the following evening. It appears to have moved around within Canary Wharf for the past month, but hasn't left London.

Lea Dzifa Seeberg