In brief

• Italy spends millions of dollars a year maintaining yachts seized from Russian oligarchs under sanctions.
• The sailing yacht A, owned by Andrey Melnichenko, costs about $30,000 a day in Trieste.
• Upkeep covers crew wages, fuel, berthing, security and insurance, and recurs while the seizures last.

Public money goes into seized yachts

Italy has spent millions of dollars a year keeping luxury yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs in working condition after authorities seized them under sanctions imposed following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine (Italové platí miliony za zabavené jachty ruských oligarchů. Jen jedna stojí 654 tisíc korun denně – iROZHLAS) (Італія витрачає десятки мільйонів євро на обслуговування російських яхт, - CNN – UNIAN). Italian law requires the vessels to stay operational, so the state pays for crews, berthing, security, fuel, insurance and maintenance.

The cost of the sailing yacht A

The most expensive case is the sailing yacht A, owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. The 142-metre vessel, valued at about $600 million, was in maintenance at the port of Trieste in March 2022, when sanctions against Russian oligarchs began, and has remained under arrest since.

Trieste mayor Roberto Dipiazza said keeping the yacht afloat costs roughly $30,000 a day, or almost $11 million a year. The money goes largely to wages for 20 crew members, generator fuel and other upkeep. The same report puts the daily maintenance cost of one of the world's largest sailing yachts at about 654,000 Czech crowns, which is the same $30,000 figure converted.

Why the bill keeps growing

Because the vessels cannot be sold or left idle, the expenses recur every year for as long as the seizures last. Reports describe the burden as falling on Italian taxpayers while the legal status of the yachts remains unresolved.