This yacht makes a Bond villain’s boat look like a dinghy.
Vladimir Putin, whose forces continue to attack Ukraine, has spared no expense for his alleged $700 million superyacht, which includes its own dance floor – and even gold toilet paper holders. Rumors that the boat belonged to him have been circulating since its construction; however, anti-Kremlin activists have recently claimed that it was indeed Putin.
“It’s like a mini-city”, an anonymous worker would have participated in its construction said to the sun of the 495ft luxury vessel, which is moored in Marina di Carrara in Italy. “There are countless pools, spa, sauna, theater, ballrooms, gym, two helipads.”
Known as the Scheherazade – named after the iconic Persian queen of literature – the opulent watercraft is said to have been valued at £500 million ($6.6 million), although insider sources say value closer to £750m ($990m).
And it looks like Putin has put his money where his boat is: Photos obtained by the Sun show the actual maritime mansion and its six floors of chic amenities. They include a 16ft aquarium, multiple TVs – including a 15ft beast spanning an entire wall – and a self-leveling pool table so guests can play even when the seas get rough.
There are also bathrooms outfitted with gold faucets and toilet paper holders evoking King Midas, plus a tiled dance floor that turns into a pool. Scheherazade is believed to be one of only two ships in the world with this feature, the Sun reported; the other is Putin’s second yacht, Graceful.
In addition to the standard bling, the Russian president has decorated the superyacht with personal touches, including a judo room with framed photos of black belts, as well as various books showcasing the autocrat’s cult of wealth.
“Every surface is either marble or gold,” an unnamed boatbuilder told The Sun of the glitzy vessel, which the worker finds particularly obscene in light of current events.
“It’s hard to swallow the fact that the most incredible ship in the world belongs to a man determined to bomb civilians in Ukraine,” he continued. “And that’s unimaginable wealth when the average Russian salary is £5,000 a year and people there are struggling to eat.”
The luxurious ship is not only built for pleasure cruises. A little like the superyacht of the villain in the movie “Thunderball”, Scheherazade can supposedly transform from a party boat to a battleship in a flash with a state-of-the-art security system that is said to be capable of shooting down drones.
If that wasn’t ostentatious enough, the superyacht-aircraft carrier also contains two helipads and a hangar that can accommodate a helicopter, six jet skis, five dinghies and eight Seabob underwater scooters.
Scheherazade was built more than two years ago. However, the ship’s alleged links to Putin came to light recently after activists affiliated with jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny claimed some of the crew worked for the Federal Security Service, which handles the leader’s security. Russian.
“To sum up, a dozen personal guards and servants of Vladimir Putin permanently maintain one of the largest yachts in the world moored in an Italian port,” said the investigative journalist and ally of Navalny. Maria Pevchikh wrote on Twitter on Monday.
Meanwhile, in a speech to the Italian parliament on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky implored Italy to confiscate the assets of Putin and his supporters, who he said traveled to Italy frequently, the watchman reported.
“Don’t be a resort for murderers,” he said, urging Italian authorities to seize all yachts “from Scheherazade to the smallest.”
The vessel is currently being investigated by authorities for potential links to sanctioned Russians.
Despite the accusations, the British captain of the Scheherazade, Guy Bennett-Pearce, denied that Putin ever owned or even set foot on the ship.
” I never saw it. I have never met him” he told the New York Timesadding that the owner of the vessel was not on any sanctions list.
Earlier in March, Italian officials seized several superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs, including Alexey Mordashov’s 213-foot vessel, Gennady Timchenko’s 132-foot personal watercraft and the $578 million, 469-foot superyacht Audrey Melnichenko.
The seizures are part of the latest attempts to hit Putin and his associates during Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine, which began on February 24.
