Italian taxpayers are paying millions to keep Russian yachts afloat

Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters/FILE

An expensive floating eyesore has marred views in the port of Trieste, northern Italy, for more than four years, and it is costing Italian taxpayers millions to maintain, the city’s mayor says.

Russian oligarch Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko’s “Sailing Yacht A,” one of the world’s largest sailing vessels and worth around $600 million, was in Trieste for maintenance in March 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to widespread sanctions and seizures of Russian assets.

Among them was Melnichenko’s 468-foot craft, once dubbed the “world’s ugliest yacht” and known simply as “A” by locals who have grown to hate it. Designed by Philippe Starck, the superyacht features an outer surface that is ghostlike, its barely visible windows embedded in a shimmering armored steel frame. Its three rotating carbon masts are as tall as an eight-story palazzo, casting a silhouette that has by now become a fixture in the busy port where dozens of cruise ships dock each week.

In September 2025, Mayor Roberto Dipiazza raised the issue of who is paying for the yacht’s mooring fees and maintenance in a public campaign, calling it a “disgrace,” and threatening to sell it or sail it away. Dipiazza told CNN that the cost to keep the ship afloat, including paying for a 20-person crew, fuel to run the generators, specialized cleaning, security and insurance, amounts to around $30,000 a day – or nearly $11 million a year.

According to Italian law, a sequestered ship must be maintained and cannot be left to rust or sink. If and when sanctions against Melnichenko are lifted, he will have to pay back those costs to retrieve his vessel. “It will eventually cost him less to buy a new yacht than to pay back all we have spent,” Dipazza said. “And where does that leave us? We could be paying for this monstrosity for years.”

Melnichenko, a banker and industrialist whose fortune is estimated at around $20 billion, challenged the seizure of the yacht in the summer of 2022, arguing that the vessel was not directly owned by him, but instead a company called Valla Sails through a trust set up by his wife. The case was heard by a court in Rome in 2022 and eventually reached the Court of Justice of the European Union, which ruled in 2025 that Italy has the right to keep it sequestered – and with it, the obligation to maintain it.

Sailing Yacht A is not the only Russian yacht costing Italians money. In the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara, the six-deck, 465-foot superyacht Scheherazade is docked behind high walls to keep it both safe and hidden from curious onlookers. While it is reportedly licensed to Rosneft executive Eduard Khudainatov, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny credibly claimed it actually belongs to Russian President Vladimir Putin .

On August 28 of this year, it left the port heading north towards the Italian Rivieria, according to transponder signals recorded by Vessel Finder, heavily flanked by Italian security forces. It returned after ten hours of what a spokesperson for the Italian Sea Group, whose dock it is moored at, said were technical tests as part of its maintenance.

The superyacht, worth $700 million, has twin helipads among its many amenities and a swimming pool that converts to a dance floor, according to Superyacht Times.

Federico Scoppa/AFP via Getty Images/FILE

The Scheherazade ’s mooring contract had been paid through September, according to tax records seen by CNN. Italian Sea Group will not say who paid for, or who is now paying for, those mooring costs. Since it was sequestered, Tuscan taxpayers have paid more than $15 million for the skeleton crew, some of whom are British and others Russian, which switches out several times a year, according to local press reports. A film crew that tried to approach the vessel last year was chased away by drones and water canon.

Additional costs include the security to make sure no one gets close – and that it doesn’t set sail while sequestered.

Among the other vessels that Italy is paying to keep is the Lady M , a sleek 210-foot superyacht owned by Alexei Mordashov, a Putin associate and majority shareholder in Severstal, Russia’s largest steel and mining company. Forbes puts Mordashov’s net worth at nearly $37 billion. Lady M is sequestered in Imperia, and has cost Italian taxpayers around $2 million so far, Matteo Bonjean, vice director of the port of Marina di Imperia, told Forbes.

The 126-foot superyacht Lena , owned by Gennady Timchenko, another Putin ally, is being maintained nearby.

All of the sequestered vessels have crews that maintain the yachts, paid for by the Italian government. Other costs include the use of air conditioning to prevent mold from growing inside.

National Maritime Services

The DOJ seized this 348-foot superyacht from a Russian oligarch. It could be yours for a mere $100 million

Italy is by no means the only country stuck with costs for sequestered yachts in Europe. Germany has the $800 million Dilbar , owned at one time by the sister of sanctioned Russian magnate Alisher Usmanov. France is paying to keep the sanctioned oligarch Igor Sechin’s Amore Ver a, and Spain maintains the Tango , owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.

Gibraltar was able to auction off Russian steel magnate Dmitry Pumpyansky’s 236-foot Axioma for some $37.5 million, according to Reuters. The United States has sold several vessels, including the Amadea, owned by twice-sanctioned Russian politician Suleiman Kerimov.

Not all countries choose to pay upkeep if their national laws don’t require it. Sanctioned Russian Andrey Guryev’s massive 353-foot Luminosity , sequestered in Montenegro, has been left to rust and rot, according to images posted on social media by Benetti Yachts, which built the ship. Montenegro tried to sell the yacht in 2024 for €135 million, but the sale was ultimately blocked and the yacht continues to languish in the Porto Montenegro marina in Tivat.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been a strong supporter of maintaining sanctions against Russian oligarchs tied to Putin, warning the Italian Senate last month that any softening or deal making with Moscow was “a very risky choice.” Many others, like Trieste mayor Dipiazza, feel that taxpayers should not have to pay for the upkeep of oligarchs’ toys.

亚历山德罗·加罗法洛/路透社/文件

意大利北部城市里雅斯特的市长表示，一艘造价昂贵的漂浮物已经破坏了该港口的景观四年多，而且维护费用高达数百万美元，令意大利纳税人不堪重负。

俄罗斯寡头安德烈·伊戈列维奇·梅尔尼琴科的“帆船A号”是世界上最大的帆船之一，价值约6亿美元。2022年3月，这艘帆船在的里雅斯特进行维护，当时俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，导致俄罗斯资产遭到广泛制裁和扣押。

其中就包括梅尔尼琴科那艘468英尺长的游艇，它曾被戏称为“世界上最丑的游艇”，当地人对它恨之入骨，只称它为“A”。这艘由菲利普·斯塔克设计的超级游艇，外形如同幽灵一般，几乎看不见的窗户镶嵌在闪闪发光的装甲钢框架中。它的三根旋转碳纤维桅杆高达八层楼，在繁忙的港口投下一道独特的轮廓，如今已成为一道风景，每周都有数十艘游轮停靠于此。

2025年9月，市长罗伯托·迪皮亚扎发起了一场公开活动，质疑游艇的停泊费和维护费用由谁承担，称其“令人蒙羞”，并威胁要出售或将其驶离。迪皮亚扎告诉CNN，维持这艘游艇的运营成本，包括支付20名船员的工资、发电机燃料费、专业清洁费、安保费和保险费，每天约3万美元，每年近1100万美元。

根据意大利法律，被扣押的船只必须得到维护，不能任其锈蚀或沉没。如果对梅尔尼琴科的制裁解除，他必须偿还赎回船只的费用。“最终，他买一艘新游艇的花费会比偿还我们所有的花费还要少，”迪帕扎说。“那我们该怎么办？我们可能要为这件丑事付出多年的代价。”

梅尔尼琴科是一位银行家兼实业家，其财富估计约为200亿美元。2022年夏天，他对游艇被扣押一事提出质疑，声称该游艇并非他本人直接所有，而是属于他妻子设立的信托基金旗下的一家名为Valla Sails的公司所有。此案于2022年在罗马一家法院开庭审理，最终上诉至欧盟法院。欧盟法院于2025年裁定，意大利有权扣押该游艇，并有义务对其进行维护。

“A号帆船”并非唯一一艘让意大利人掏腰包的俄罗斯游艇。在托斯卡纳的卡拉拉港，六层甲板、465英尺长的超级游艇“舍赫拉扎德号”被高墙环绕，既保证了安全，也避免了好奇的旁观者窥视。据报道，该游艇的注册所有人是俄罗斯石油公司高管爱德华·胡代纳托夫，但俄罗斯反对派领导人阿列克谢·纳瓦尔尼却令人信服地声称，该游艇实际上属于俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京。

据船舶追踪器（Vessel Finder）记录的应答器信号显示，今年8月28日，这艘船离开港口，向北驶往意大利里维埃拉，周围有大量意大利安全部队护航。停泊该船的意大利海事集团发言人称，十个小时后，该船返回，进行维护保养方面的技术测试。

据《超级游艇时报》报道，这艘价值 7 亿美元的超级游艇拥有众多便利设施，其中包括双直升机停机坪和一个可转换为舞池的游泳池。

Federico Scoppa/AFP via Getty Images/FILE

据CNN看到的税务记录显示，“舍赫拉扎德”号的系泊合同款项已支付至9月份。意大利海事集团拒绝透露这些系泊费用的支付方，也拒绝透露现在由谁支付。据当地媒体报道，自政府预算被冻结以来，托斯卡纳纳税人已为这艘船的精简船员支付了超过1500万美元，这些船员部分是英国人，部分是俄罗斯人，每年轮换数次。去年，一个试图靠近该船的摄制组被无人机和水炮驱离。

其他费用包括安保措施，以确保无人靠近，以及防止其在隔离期间起航。

意大利支付费用保管的其他船只中，包括“Lady M”号，这是一艘210英尺长的豪华超级游艇，其所有者是阿列克谢·莫尔达绍夫，他是普京的亲信，也是俄罗斯最大的钢铁和矿业公司谢韦尔钢铁公司的大股东。《福布斯》估计莫尔达绍夫的净资产接近370亿美元。“Lady M”号目前停泊在因佩里亚港，据因佩里亚港务局副局长马泰奥·邦让告诉《福布斯》，迄今为止，这艘游艇已耗费意大利纳税人约200万美元。

普京的另一位盟友根纳季·季姆琴科拥有的126英尺超级游艇“莉娜”号正在附近进行维护。

所有被扣押的船只都配备了维护游艇的船员，费用由意大利政府承担。其他费用还包括使用空调以防止船内霉菌滋生。

国家海事服务

美国司法部从一位俄罗斯寡头手中查获了这艘348英尺长的超级游艇。只需1亿美元，它就能属于你。

意大利绝非唯一一个因扣押游艇而被迫承担费用的国家。德国扣押着价值8亿美元的“迪尔巴号”（Dilbar），这艘游艇曾属于受制裁的俄罗斯富豪阿利舍尔·乌斯马诺夫的妹妹。法国则支付费用保管着受制裁寡头伊戈尔·谢钦的“阿莫雷·维拉号”（Amore Vera），而西班牙则保管着受制裁的俄罗斯寡头维克托·维克塞尔伯格的“探戈号”（Tango）。

据路透社报道，直布罗陀以约3750万美元的价格拍卖了俄罗斯钢铁大亨德米特里·普姆皮扬斯基的236英尺长的“公理号”（Axioma）。美国已出售多艘船只，其中包括曾两次受到制裁的俄罗斯政治家苏莱曼·克里莫夫拥有的“阿玛迪亚号”（Amadea）。

并非所有国家都会选择支付维护费用，除非其本国法律另有规定。据建造该游艇的贝内蒂游艇公司在社交媒体上发布的图片显示，受制裁的俄罗斯人安德烈·古里耶夫的巨型游艇“光辉号”（Luminosity）长353英尺，被扣押在黑山，任其锈蚀腐烂。黑山曾试图在2024年以1.35亿欧元的价格出售这艘游艇，但最终交易失败，该游艇目前仍停泊在蒂瓦特港的黑山港码头。

意大利总理乔治娅·梅洛尼一直坚定支持维持对与普京有关联的俄罗斯寡头的制裁。她上个月警告意大利参议院，任何软化立场或与莫斯科达成协议都是“非常冒险的选择”。许多其他人，例如的里雅斯特市长迪皮亚扎，则认为纳税人不应该为寡头的“玩具”买单。