‘Scaremongering’ over seized yachts damaging
Alfa Nero was seized by the Antigua government in 2022.
He’s an old hand at buying and selling yachts with chequered histories but Richard Higgins says “scaremongering” about possible implications is damaging the industry.
The Northrop & Johnson broker and his client bought the seized 82m Oceanco Alfa Nero from the Antiguan government in July 2024. They also snapped up Dunya Yachts’ showpiece 72m Axioma at auction in 2022.
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Now they are selling both, to move on to other projects and maybe even a larger boat. But Higgins denies it is because of any heat or challenges to ownership and rejects wider commentary that buying seized yachts is a recipe for trouble.
“It’s got nothing to do with the past history, far from it; the owner loves Alfa Nero, it’s just time for him to sell and move on to a bigger boat, nothing else,” Higgins tells us over the phone from Malta where he is conducting sea trials on another project.
“That could change but that’s the theory; two boats, regardless of whether you’re a billionaire, is quite a big running cost.”
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Richard Higgins is representing the seller of Alfa Nero and Axioma.
Alfa Nero has been the subject of constant headlines and speculation since she was seized in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua in 2022 because of links to US-sanctioned Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev. With clean title, she was eventually sold to Higgins’ client last year, but Guryev’s daughter Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov continued to contest ownership.
“We had a couple of issues early on, but since then it has been plain sailing,” says Higgins. “If anyone thinks we’re selling it because of pressure from Russia or the old family trying to challenge us, far from it. You couldn’t be further from the truth.
“He’s had a clean bill of title, we’ve had a super successful charter season and he’s used it really well.”
Nearly 14 months on, Alfa Nero is for sale with an asking price of €88.5m. “The reality is he had to spend a further €12m on the boat as it was far from perfect,” says Higgins. “But there was only one person who took that risk, he put down a guarantee and bought the boat.”
Axioma, built by Dunya Yachts, is Turkey’s largest superyacht at 72m.
The same client bought Axioma (originally named Red Square), Turkey’s largest yacht, at auction after it was seized in Gibraltar when its Russian owner defaulted on a $20m bank loan to JP Morgan, according to the BBC. Following an extensive refit at MB92 La Ciotat in France, the “super successful” charter yacht is now asking €65.5m.
“He’s a very astute businessman, he took the opportunity where others didn’t,” says Higgins. “He took the risks, he knew the consequences – the good and bad press – and he’s done very well out of it. It was his to gain and everyone else’s to lose.”
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From his experience, Higgins says that whoever buys the 106m Lürssen Amadea, seized under sanctions by the US government in Fiji in 2022 and set to be sold via a sealed-bid auction in September, need have no worries about future complications the minute she leaves US jurisdiction.
“Lots of boats have been bought at auction or were seized and have since been bought,” says Higgins. “I haven’t heard of any disaster to date.
“We’ve got to stop this scaremongering. It’s disrupting charter bookings.
“I’m sure whoever buys Amadea will have their concerns but they will have noticed boats like Alfa Nero can be bought and can be sailed on.”
Standout
As far as Higgins is concerned, Alfa Nero’s pedigree, plus her recent refit, makes her a standout on the market.
“There’s no issue, it’s a strong, Northern European vessel; it’s a super iconic boat,” he says. “If you look at the market, there’s very little inventory you can buy for €80m at 2,200 GT and 82m.”
For brokers, August was traditionally a time to relax while clients enjoyed their yachts but Higgins says the “tempo has changed”. He has his hands full with plenty of inquiries ahead of displaying the yachts at anchor during boat show season in Europe.
“I’ve got to sell them now, it’s all well and good listing them,” he says.
However, the market in general is “difficult” he explains.
“It’s a very frustrating market and that’s clearly because of the world economic situation, that’s had a knock-on effect for everyone,” he says. “Until now it’s been a slow year. Last year I had a fantastic year – I sold eight boats and suddenly you get to this year and it’s a bit of a shock.
“The higher tonnage market is definitely moving. I think you’ll see a lot more boats selling towards October, November. Let’s get these shows over with.”
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