Ask a Russian Oligarch's Superyacht crew anything...

[justaninnocenthenchman]

MrJuice said:

Who runs the ship?

Like you and I control our household with a partner (if relevant). We decide how much to spend on X, whether to buy Y this year or next and whether we really need Z.

Who runs all this stuff for the boss? Do you put things out to tender? Say you need 50 lobsters. Do you just buy from your regular supplier or do you get people to bid? How do you know your regular supplier is not taking the piss with pricing?

I get that the owners are rich and these are relative pennies but would still be interested to hear

We decide on board what needs to be done, and how much it costs. The boss will then approve the work. Obviously we don't bother them with every little job (these are covered by our normal operating budget) but anything major will need the nod. Our operating budget will be agreed the year ahead, and will cover most planned expenses.

We do get multiple quotes for larger items where possible, but sometimes things are only available through the OEM. If we are spending 10M on a winter works period, then we will send a job list to a couple of shipyards and decide from there - though cheapest is obviously not always the 'best' option. The comparative quotes just give us bargaining power with our preferred yard.

Anything non-urgent we will shop around. Not necessarily every time, but as you said it is important to keep our suppliers honest.

However, that can all go out the window if mid summer we need something urgently. There can be some serious gouging going on by suppliers, especially if you are somewhere remote and they know they are your only option.

[rallye101]

Sounds as though all western crews are being handed p45s, Russians crews taking over and yachts smuggled out of ports overnight recently with their transponders off for fear of being sanctioned/ detained....headed back to russian ports apparently
Any news?

[justaninnocenthenchman]

rallye101 said:

Sounds as though all western crews are being handed p45s, Russians crews taking over and yachts smuggled out of ports overnight recently with their transponders off for fear of being sanctioned/ detained....headed back to russian ports apparently
Any news?

Don't believe everything you read.

[shopper150]

Is the beneficial owner being caught up in today’s revised sanction list of 350 people/entities?

[peter tdci]

justaninnocenthenchman said:

peter tdci said:

Is this a true picture of charter yacht life? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-9krjQaD_8

I've followed her for a while for the cooking aspect, but she recently left the yacht she was working on and apparently had to delete many of the videos she'd posted - presumably those that could have identified her employer at the time?

Never heard of her. In fact I've never consumed any SM or YT yacht content, so can't really comment on it's validity. I would say though, that as with any SM content, it is probably 90% self promotion for the creator, and 10% real information.

Thanks - I don't know why the channel popped up as a suggestion but, as you said, there's a strong element of self promotion.

[marky1]

Are there really any Oligarch's that exist that didn't steal their money? Is that not the definition of an Oligarch?

[SpeckledJim]

marky1 said:

Are there really any Oligarch's that exist that didn't steal their money? Is that not the definition of an Oligarch?

I'm a potless and honest Oligarch, but I have been told I'm not doing it right.

[MrJuice]

I wonder if the Reuben brothers will be sanctioned? Or maybe they made all their billions in Russia very honestly and cleanly. Or maybe they are far removed enough from Putin not to cause alarm. Hmm

[HocusPocus]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60786467

So can you still find ports willing to bunker the boat?

[Bannock]

OP has gone quiet for 3 days. Hope he's OK.

[Arnold Cunningham]

Probably trying to persuade the Norwegian harbour master to sell him some fuel.

[Davey S2]

HocusPocus said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60786467

So can you still find ports willing to bunker the boat?

"We have nothing to do with the owner."

Apart from being paid by him?

[Arnold Cunningham]

The thing is, IMVHO, the superyacht embargoes are largely a publicity stunt. In the big picture, the superyachts are irrelevant. Moreover, the oligarchs will all have a diverse enough portfolio of funds and investments that on a day to day basis, life will continue quite comfortably.

But for the optics of the sanctions and embargoes, it's almost certainly "necessary".

[PurpleTurtle]

Davey S2 said:

HocusPocus said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60786467

So can you still find ports willing to bunker the boat?

"We have nothing to do with the owner."

Apart from being paid by him?

"Why should we help them?" Holmlund Oil Service's general manager, Sven Holmlund, told NRK.

"They can row home. Or use a sail."

[anonymous-user]

justaninnocenthenchman said:

Typical usage is Med summer, Indian Ocean winter. Many Russians are reluctant to go to close to US waters, so Caribbean is out. Privacy more important than the travel. In my experience they wont even get off the boat.
...

We used to get a few Russian yachts and their support vessels in BVI, seemed to be a bit of a New Year thing. IIRC Abramovich was a regular but I didn't really pay much attention. Used to go have a mooch round them in a little boat though which always brought out a few "deck hands" who looked decidedly military, they were always friendly enough though. Once had a float round Paul Allen's smaller yacht and his crew were complete pr1cks screaming and shouting at us to go away. So we stayed for a bit and put some music on. wker.

Great thread OP! Safe travels.

[hidetheelephants]

marky1 said:

Are there really any Oligarch's that exist that didn't steal their money? Is that not the definition of an Oligarch?

Popularly it's used for people who colluded with corrupt govts to systematically loot the former soviet states, took bribes, paid bribes, assassination, etc. It's a euphemism for gangster, although it's fair to say that's not the dictionary definition.

[Arnold Cunningham]

Proves money doesn't buy happiness though, a lot of them seemed to commit suicide.
e.g. Boris Berezovsky

Well worth reading up on him - an interesting story.

Edited by Arnold Cunningham on Friday 18th March 16:00

[hidetheelephants]

Arnold Cunningham said:

Proves money doesn't buy happiness though, a lot of them seemed to commit suicide.
e.g. Boris Berezovsky

Defenestration disease.

[marky1]

hidetheelephants said:

Popularly it's used for people who colluded with corrupt govts to systematically loot the former soviet states, took bribes, paid bribes, assassination, etc. It's a euphemism for gangster, although it's fair to say that's not the dictionary definition.

I know, I was taking the pi55 :-). The title makes me laugh as the OP then goes on to say his owner isn't an Oligarch!

[shopper150]

Slightly off topic, but a solicitor told me that they’ve been advised to report all transaction involving any Russian individuals or companies. I’m not sure how accurate this information is.