Russian superyacht seized in UK used Malta flag to hide its origins - UK authorities

The UK government seized a Russian-owned, Malta-flagged superyacht on Tuesday, the first ever detention of a superyacht in UK waters.

Officers from the UK’s National Crime Agency served a detention notice on the $38 million superyacht on Tuesday morning, after which Transport Secretary Grant Shapps ordered its detention.

“The ownership of the yacht was deliberately well hidden. The company the ship is registered to is based in the islands of St Kitts and Nevis and it carried Maltese flags to hide its origins,” the agency said in a statement.

The Malta flag is the sixth-largest worldwide and the largest in the EU. Malta also boasts the largest register of superyachts in the world, with 850 vessels bigger than 24 metres.

The 58.5 metre superyacht ‘Phi’ is owned by a Russian businessman, whose identity was not made known by the crime agency.

Phi is the third largest yacht built by Royal Huisman, boasting a patented fresh-water swimming pool and what the builders called an “infinite wine cellar”.

Malta’s flag is considered a ‘flag of convenience’ by the International Transport Workers’ Federation. A flag of convenience refers to a business practice whereby ship owners choose to register their vessel in countries that offer advantageous tax regimes, lax environmental regulations, or poor labour standards.

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