Upon first glance, pictures of a huge sailing vessel shared on Reddit look like it might be from a national superpower's navy. But after further investigation, it turns out to be a lavish superyacht built for one of the world's richest people.
The Starck Sailing Yacht A's menacing exterior and excessively enormous size might suggest that the owner is a Bond villain, but it appears to have been commissioned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, who may not be a movie villain but has said he cannot travel to the U.S. or European Union due to sanctions.
In 2022, Reuters reported the yacht had been seized by Italian police after Melnichenko was put under EU sanctions following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. The outlet reported the boat is 143 meters long (469 feet) and came at a cost of $578 million.
According to Luxurylaunches, the boat needs 54 crew members to service it, with annual running costs coming at 10% of the vessel's purchase price. However, while docked in Trieste's port, it is costing the Italian government $900,000 a month to maintain.
The publication detailed that Sailing Yacht A has eight floors and three 300-foot sailing masts. For those with an interest in engineering, they can watch the ship's propellers in one of the underwater viewing pods.
Aerial images also show a pool on the deck and what looks like two additional bathing pools near the rear of the boat.
At least the boat does have sailing capabilities, meaning it can utilize the wind and perhaps reduce the need for a dirty fuel-powered motor. But that's a very small case for forgiveness for what appears to be an unnecessary, polluting vessel, and much of that nearly $1 million monthly maintenance bill is due to fuel costs to run generators even while docked.
According to the charity Oxfam, an ultra-rich European on a yacht would release nearly 585 years' worth of the carbon annually produced by the average European. Those sails won't make a massive dent in that figure.
The organization pointed out that the actions of the super-rich have also increased the chasm of global inequality and hunger, and are increasing mortality rates. On the latter, Oxfam noted that pollution from "the richest 1 percent in the EU are causing excess heat-related deaths of nearly 80,000 people between 2020 and 2120."
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Definitely 👍 This yacht is just a symbol of all of those issues. Redditors weren't impressed, either.
"It's super ugly," one comment read, with them and another agreeing that "it's like the Cybertruck of yachts."
"Sailing?" added another. "Jesus that thing is huge."
"That may be the ugliest thing I've ever seen afloat," was another commenter's assessment.
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