Antigua happy to remove ‘major liability’ with sale of Alfa Nero
Alfa Nero was seized by the Antigua government in 2022.
Antigua officials insist they took the “best price they could” to remove a “major liability” with the $40m sale of abandoned superyacht Alfa Nero.
The 82m Oceanco sold last week to a European buyer following two years laid up in Falmouth Harbour after being seized by the Antiguan government because of links to a sanctioned Russian owner.
The yacht posed “grave concerns” to Antigua’s economic, environmental and social well-being and officials were keen to remove the vessel from their jurisdiction, said Darwin Telemaque, CEO, Antigua and Barbuda Ports Authority.
“I was the one who negotiated the sale. Obviously, I had cabinet approval to proceed,” Telemaque told Superyacht Investor.
“We attempted to get the best price we could. We had a few offers on the table somewhere in the early 30s, mid 30s, nothing as high as the price we got which was 40 million. Once we got that, it was ‘Let’s go’.
“We were looking for better but we got the best that was on offer at the time and we took it.”
‘Cost is not just revenue’
The buyer was represented by Northrop & Johnson broker Richard Higgins, who said it came down to a “numbers game”. “The buyer was willing to take the risk if the numbers were right. Luckily, they were,” he told Superyacht Investor.
Alfa Nero was seized, and then deemed abandoned, from the sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev in March 2022. The government of Antigua and Barbuda was forced to foot the ongoing bill, including crew wages, but the US Department of the Treasury lifted sanctions to allow it to be sold last year.
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt made the winning bid of $67m at auction, but Guryev’s daughter Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov then filed a lawsuit claiming it was hers. Schmidt withdrew as lawyers got to work but the case was dismissed and the yacht was given clean title, allowing a sale to proceed.
“We’re very happy that we’ve been able to remove ourselves from a major liability, in addition to ridding ourselves of a potential disastrous outcome,” added Telemaque. “I would have been happy to have $100m but I’m also aware cost is not just revenue.”
He cited ongoing maintenance costs and the risk of further “damage and deterioration” which could “negate” some of the potential returns on the yacht as an asset.
He also said the vessel was considered a risk to one of Antigua’s most pristine harbours. “She was not properly prepared,” he said, citing issues with power, maintenance and the potential for leaks and spillage. Authorities were also concerned by the threat of damage and grounding after a hurricane, such as the unprecedented major event which occurred in June, which could have blocked the harbour and compromised Antigua’s “very vital yachting industry”.
The nation was also suffering reputational damage in terms of “our inability to liquidate the vessel”, according to Telemaque.
Alfa Nero was assigned an Antigua flag when it was seized but it is in the process of being re-flagged to Malta and has Class surveyors on board with a view to leaving Antigua “in the next week or 10 days”.
