What is the world’s most expensive sailing yacht?
THE United States is the country with the most superyachts, according to a 2019 poll.
But what is the most EXPENSIVE and where is it moored. We take a look...
What is the world's most expensive sailing yacht?
Sailing Yacht A is the most expensive privately owned superyacht ever.
It was designed by Frenchman Philippe Starck, who is responsible for some of the world's most luxurious vessels.
Sailing Yacht A is a staggering 330ft high and 470ft long.
The superyacht was commissioned in 2012 and took four years to build.
It was built by German shipyard Nobiskrug and delivered in 2017.
It has eight decks, a helicopter pad, an underwater observation room and a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system.
With an estimated value of almost $600million its not only one of the largest, but the most expensive sailing yacht in the entire world.
The huge luxury yacht is manned by Merchant Navy trained sailors and is as big as a medium sized cargo ship.
Who owns sailing yacht A?
The state-of-the-art yacht was built for Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko who made his fortune as founder of the major fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal company SUEK.
The oligarch is reportedly worth a whopping $25.7billion.
He's lived in Switzerland since 2009 with his glamorous wife Aleksandra and their two children, Tara and Adrian.
Mr Melnichenko hit the headlines in September 2016 when he moored his other yacht, Motor Yacht A, on London’s River Thames near Tower Bridge.
Read more in News
Where is sailing yacht A now?
In 2022, Italian authorities seized the yacht in the port of Trieste over EU sanctions placed on a number of Russian businessmen in light of the war in Ukraine.
He was on holiday celebrating his 50th birthday with his family when he heard about the sanctions.
Shortly after they were announced, Melnichenko resigned as a member of the board in both EuroChem and SUEK and stepped down as their beneficiary.
Alex Andreev, a spokesperson for Melnichenko said: “There is no justification whatsoever for placing him on the EU sanctions list,
“We will be disputing these baseless and unjustified sanctions, and believe that the rule of law and common sense will prevail.”
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