Superyachts offer space for leisure and guests, and can serve as highly visible displays of wealth. Those are possible uses, rather than proof of why any particular person bought a yacht. The ownership question also needs more than a famous name: a builder’s specification, a company holding legal title and a person exercising ultimate control are different kinds of evidence.
This page examines five yachts that have been linked to Russian business figures in investigative reporting, government statements or legal proceedings. The case files show the basis of each link, the relevant dates and what remains unverified. They contain no vessel positions.
What do these yachts offer?
Lürssen describes Clio as a yacht delivered in 2004, approximately 73 metres long, and originally named Queen M. Its Pacific X, originally Pacific, was delivered in 2010 and measures approximately 85 metres. These builder descriptions document substantial private vessels; they do not tell us who owns them today or what their owners’ motives were. Lürssen: Clio, Lürssen: Pacific X.
Why is ownership difficult to establish?
A ship’s IMO number is designed to remain with the ship through changes of name, flag and ownership. It helps match records to one vessel, but does not identify a beneficial owner. Corporate records, dated investigations and court findings must be examined separately. International Maritime Organization.
For example, OCCRP reports a corporate chain connecting Clio to Oleg Deripaska, while Forbes Italy linked Pacific to Leonid Mikhelson in a report dated 7 October 2022. Those accounts do not establish continuing ownership in October 2026. The detailed articles explain the evidence and its gaps: Deripaska and Clio and Mikhelson and Pacific X. OCCRP asset record, Forbes Italy.
What changes when authorities intervene?
Freezing an asset, seizing it and obtaining a forfeiture order are different steps. A completed sale is another event. In the Amadea case, the auction memorandum scheduled an auction for 10 September 2025, but the Justice Department’s audited financial report records a completed sale on 10 October 2025 for USD 187 million. That report does not identify the buyer. Auction memorandum, page 1, DOJ/OIG Report 26-013, Note 22, printed page 56 / PDF page 62.
The five case files below retain those distinctions. A reported historical link to a person is not a statement that the same person owns the yacht today.
Five yachts · Evidence review · 10 October 2026
Yachts and the ownership evidence
Explore documented historical links, vessel records and legal events. Current registered and beneficial ownership remain unverified for all five yachts.
Names below are the names used in the cited sources. They are not certified current registry names. This register contains no location data.
5 of 5 yachts
No yachts match these filters. Try another search or reset the filters.
CLIO
- Historical link reviewed
- Oleg Deripaska
- IMO
- Not published — primary confirmation pending
- Current ownership
- Registered and beneficial owners not verified
CLIO is the builder’s display name. The current registered name has not been verified.
Builder record
Lürssen describes a yacht delivered in 2004 at approximately 73 metres, originally named Queen M. The builder identifies neither a current owner nor the dates of later registered name changes.
Delivery year: 2004. Builder page undated.
- Lürssen · CLIOAbout section and original-name caption; document date not stated.
Reported ownership link
OCCRP’s Russian Asset Tracker links the yacht to Oleg Deripaska through a corporate chain. Its public asset page gives no publication date, underlying register extracts or ownership validity intervals. This does not establish ownership today.
Investigative attribution: publication date not stated.
- OCCRP · Clio asset recordOwner information, both bullets; no publication or update date stated.
PACIFIC X
- Historical link reviewed
- Leonid Mikhelson
- IMO
- 9569293
- Current ownership
- Registered and beneficial owners not verified
PACIFIC X is the builder’s display name; Pacific was its original name. The legal date of the registered name change is unverified.
Builder record
Lürssen describes the yacht as delivered in 2010 at approximately 85 metres, with exterior design by German Frers and interior design by Bannenberg & Rowell. Its page does not identify an owner.
Delivery year: 2010. Builder page undated.
- Lürssen · PACIFIC XAbout section and original-name caption; document date not stated.
Historical IMO evidence
Primary insurer records identify Pacific as IMO 9569293. Skuld’s matching entry records cover from 26 October 2021 to 15 June 2022. An insurance period does not establish ownership or flag-registration intervals, or why cover ended.
Insurance entry: 26 October 2021–15 June 2022.
- Skuld · Employers’ Liability RegisterPDF page 1901, policy 20942460; publication date not stated.
- Steamship Mutual · 2011 registerPDF page 42; policy-year list does not establish cover for the entire year.
Reported ownership link
Forbes Italy associated Pacific with Leonid Mikhelson in October 2022. That dated journalistic attribution does not establish a continuing beneficial interest or the present title holder.
Report published: 7 October 2022.
- Forbes Italy · yacht report7 October 2022; Nuove bandiere table, Pacific row.
DILBAR
- Historical link reviewed
- Alisher Usmanov
- IMO
- 9661792
- Current ownership
- Registered and beneficial owners not verified
DILBAR is the name in the reviewed Treasury and court records. Present ownership is not certified here.
US identification and blocking
On 3 March 2022, Treasury identified Dilbar, IMO 9661792, as blocked property in which it attributed an interest to Alisher Usmanov. That US designation is distinct from German seizure, forfeiture and civil ownership.
Treasury announcement: 3 March 2022.
- US Treasury · Dilbar identification3 March 2022; section on Usmanov and the superyacht Dilbar.
Trust and ownership roles
The EU General Court distinguished trust-beneficiary status from ownership in its 2024 judgment. Historical trust roles do not establish the yacht’s current registered or beneficial owner.
Judgment: 8 May 2024.
- EU General Court · Ismailova v CouncilT-234/22, paragraphs 137–142 and 172; historical sanctions proceedings.
Latest reviewed appeal report
A dpa report described a BAFA appeal concerning the German proceedings in September 2026. The full June 2026 first-instance judgment was not verified in this review. No present appeal outcome or final release is established here.
Latest reviewed appeal report: 4 September 2026.
- dpa via t-online · appeal report4 September 2026; report citing a Hessian VGH spokesperson. Subsequent court developments not verified.
AMADEA
- Historical link reviewed
- Suleiman Kerimov
- IMO
- 1012531
- Current ownership
- Registered and beneficial owners not verified
AMADEA is the name in the reviewed US legal and disposal records. The current registered name and buyer are unverified.
Seizure and disputed attribution
The US Justice Department announced the seizure of Amadea, IMO 1012531, in May 2022. Its later complaint alleged a Kerimov acquisition; Khudainatov’s competing ownership claim was disputed. These are historical legal accounts, not a current ownership certificate.
Seizure announcement: 5 May 2022; civil complaint: 23 October 2023.
- US Justice Department · seizure announcement5 May 2022; announcement and explicit IMO identification. Announcement date is not a verified exact seizure date.
- US civil forfeiture complaint23 October 2023; paragraphs 29–36, PDF pages 11–13. Allegations distinguished from current title.
- Second Circuit · ownership claims and standing1 June 2026; PDF pages 4–6 describe the disputed historical ownership and control.
Completed sale
DOJ’s audited financial report records that Amadea was sold on 10 October 2025 for USD 187 million. The scheduled September auction date was not the completed-sale date. The report does not identify the buyer; later proceeds distribution is not verified here.
Sale completed: 10 October 2025. Financial report: February 2026.
- DOJ/OIG · completed saleReport 26-013, Note 22; printed page 56 / PDF page 62.
Scope of the appeal decision
The Second Circuit affirmed the ruling that Khudainatov and Millemarin lacked standing to contest forfeiture. That decision does not establish the yacht’s present owner or that every possible later remedy has been exhausted.
Appeal judgment: 1 June 2026.
- Second Circuit · standing judgmentNo. 25-869-cv; PDF pages 2–3 and 14. Later proceedings not verified.
AMORE VERO
- Historical link reviewed
- Igor Sechin
- IMO
- Not published — primary confirmation pending
- Current ownership
- Registered and beneficial owners not verified
AMORE VERO is the historical name in the reviewed French proceedings. The current registered name is unverified.
Contested historical link
Reuters reported the French ministry’s association of the yacht with Igor Sechin in March 2022. The yacht’s manager expressly denied his connection. The reported attribution and denial do not settle beneficial ownership today.
Reuters report: 3 March 2022.
- Reuters via The Business Standard · disputed attribution3 March 2022; ministry attribution and Imperial Yachts response.
French customs and court record
The Conseil d’État documents a customs seizure on 3 March 2022. Its 2024 decision distinguishes the EU asset freeze from the customs action and rejects administrative claims on jurisdiction and admissibility grounds. It does not establish criminal guilt, final forfeiture or current ownership.
Customs seizure: 3 March 2022. Administrative judgment: 4 January 2024.
- Conseil d’État · customs seizure and jurisdiction4 January 2024; nos. 474631/474632, paragraphs 4 and 8–9, operative part.
About this review
Reviewed on 10 October 2026. We use builder descriptions for specifications, primary documents for the legal events they record, and clearly dated reporting for historical attributions. Each case file links to its evidence. “Not verified” identifies a gap in this review; it does not prove that a historical relationship continued or ended. A review date is not the date of an ownership transfer or a guarantee of present legal status.