The industrial area and the extensive truck park in the small Dutch town of Oss give almost no indication of the lavish yachts built in the nine covered sheds of the port, or the identities of their customers or owners.
But Heesen, a local shipyard that boasts “producing some of the world’s best superyachts”, is part of a narrow network of manufacturers and service companies for the water-rich, which is now under surveillance by their clientele. from a Russian oligarch.
Heesen is ultimately owned by Vagit Alekperov, who runs the Russian oil company Lukoil and is under sanctions in Britain and Australia. The company, which claims to be operationally independent of Alekperov, has built three related Galaxy yachts. In addition, it has built two, which are related to the United Kingdom and EU-sanctioned businessmen Igor Kesayev.
It is one of a network of companies in the European superyacht supply chain, ranging from designers in Norway to builders in Germany and Italy, brokers in Monaco and crews in the United Kingdom.
They balance discretion in their operations with brilliance in their marketing and their end products.
Many are now watching nervously as governments step up seizures in an intensifying campaign of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.
This week alone, the Dutch government has placed 18 yachts in yards under restrictions while their ownership is being investigated and confirmed that two more boats in the Netherlands for maintenance have connections to sanctioned individuals.
Egbert Vatel, CEO of Younique Yachts in Makkum, another Dutch shipbuilding city, described the long-standing culture of secrecy even for builders of smaller boats like him: “Most owners don’t want everyone to know they’re building a yacht. It has always been like this. It’s like being a doctor – you don’t mention who the patients are. “
Makkum has two huge dry docks – one 110 meters long and the other 120 meters – for superyacht equipment, which allows ships to be completed while closed on each side. They can handle all boats except the largest.
The Fish Bar in the Shadow of the Cathedral, one of the two dry docks in Makkum used to equip superyachts © Chris Cook / FT
Ferry Jansen works in a fish bar in the shadow of the Cathedral, one of these structures. He knows where many of his clients work. But they can’t tell him what they did. “They buy fish and fries, but they can’t say anything. It is classified! . . . I swam there, but I couldn’t see anything. “
The Russians began actively buying yachts in the 1990s, as a select few made a quick move after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Roman Abramovich, who made his money in oil, was an early adoptive parent when he bought Sussurro in 1998.
Dozens of others followed suit with the growing number of billionaires. The Superyacht Times, an industry publication, estimates that Russian owners now make up 9% of the world’s 2,000 superyachts at least 40 meters long.
In the over 80 meters category, the Russians own one-fifth of the 153 ships, second only to buyers from the Persian Gulf. The world’s largest superyacht, the 168-meter Dilbar, which is now blocked in Hamburg, is owned, according to the US Treasury Department, by Alisher Usmanov, a sanctioned oligarch close to Putin.
Boat International, a research company, reports that Russian buyers account for about 3.9 billion euros from the cumulative global order of 35-40 billion euros. It says Italian shipyards are building the most superyachts for Russian customers, with 60 under construction, followed by the Netherlands and Turkey.
Some companies have adapted their marketing to the dominance of Russian buyers. An industry official described an event organized by a superyacht builder: “We were invited there and the only two languages spoken were Russian and English. All the entertainment at the event was from the Russian Philharmonic. ” The website of the yacht builder Italian Sea Group, based in Carrara, Italy, is in Russian along with Italian and English.
Russian buyers are known for particularly expensive flavors. Along with saunas, helicopter pads and even submarines, they want ultra-luxury accessories, including rare tropical trees, special leathers and solid gold faucets. “They are one degree below the Saudis,” said one broker.
A Dutch master pointed out both the obsession with details and secrecy as characteristic of the sector: “The standards are incredible. You have to do things perfectly. . . but it is so secret. If I did something amazing today, I can’t show it to my mother. I’m not allowed to photograph my work. “
Heesen Shipyard has built luxury vessels, including three Galaxy yachts, linked to Vagit Alekperov, who runs the Russian oil company Lukoil © Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Superyachts are often owned by offshore companies, which disguises their ownership and may offer tax breaks. Sailing in international waters also provides some protection from land authorities.
A former Antigua Coast Guard told the Financial Times that Russian superyachts often have armed private security guards. “It simply came to our notice then [alone]. We can’t look for a boat that big, and we know that if we do, the owner may have a direct relationship with politicians, so we have to be careful. “
However, those who work in the industry say that owners usually spend at most a few weeks a year on their yachts. Although there is an active market for resale, they also offer a low return on investment, given that annual operating costs are usually 10 percent of the purchase price.
The need for large crews – usually men for the decks, young and women for the interior and a general preference for non-speakers – as well as regular reviews and online satellite tracking along with their highly visible presence in ports also means that discretion is limited.
However, a number of Russians have invested in the industry.
Heesen was bought by Alekperov more than a decade ago and is held through his Cypriot investment instrument Morcell. The company said it “[condemned] violence in any form and [hoped] for a speedy resolution of the war “and that” cooperates in full transparency with government agencies “.
Its non-executive directors, Pavel Novoselov and Pavel Sukhoruchkin, resigned after the Russian invasion.
Imperial Yachts, a Monaco-based brokerage firm, was founded by Evgeni Kochman and his sister Julia Stewart in 2005 after several years of selling yachts to Russians. It remains a highly influential intermediary for Russian buyers, although it has since diversified its customers.
The company said: “IY is a global business with an international customer base and we are confident that our business will continue as it does not depend on any geography. Although the sector will obviously be affected, it is still difficult to know what that will be. “
Another broker, Burgess Yachts, a high-end company with offices around the world, has a list of Russian clients, both owners and those who want to rent for more than $ 500,000 a week.
The company appears to have removed details of 10 or more superyachts from its website since the invasion began. But the unedited mirror website used for testing purposes remains active, allowing users to see which boats have gone.
These include Axioma, a 72-meter ship owned by Dmitry Pumpyansky, which was detained in Gibraltar last month and was previously available for 299,000 euros a week. Pumpyanski was sanctioned by the United States back in 2017. Sky, a boat owned by Kesayev, valued at $ 40 million and measuring 50 meters, was previously available for charter for $ 245,000 a week.
In a statement, Burgess said he “continues to monitor closely the current situation in Ukraine and adheres to all requirements and guidelines set by governments in the territories in which the company operates.”
At McCum, local business owners agree that superyachts are the city’s most important source of revenue. The yard employs 400 people directly, but also attracts a rotating staff of subcontractors who drink in the city’s bars and stay in its hotels.
But there is little sense of how the city’s economy will be affected by the sanctions. Subcontractors often do not have a clear idea of their end customers. One of them said: “Honestly, we have no good idea who the customers are. Sometimes they go out or they visit. But I was working on something and only found out who owned it when I saw it was confiscated.
Others in the sector stress that they are careful to follow the “rules of knowing the client” and are reluctant to fall within the scope of sanctions. They also downplay the speculation that repression could hit business.
Rory Jackson, business editor of The Superyacht Group, a data and research company, said: “I don’t think this will make buyers wary. There is no point in buying such a ship and then trying to make it invisible. “
Additional reports by David Keohain, Cynthia O’Marchy and Robert Smith
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