By Robert A. Emmanuel
The superyacht Alfa Nero may soon have a new owner after the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority confirmed that an auction to sell it will be held this Friday.
Port Manager Darwin Telemaque told Observer media that the auction will take place at the Treasury Building’s conference room at 10am.
“It is proper to ensure that in the interest of transparency and to ensure that we are presenting Antigua in the best possible light, we want to make sure we do this well,” he said.
Telemaque also confirmed that several bidders have already passed the due diligence process.
The government has been taking on debts related to the vessel—including fuel, crew salaries and other fees—of around US$28,000 per week since assuming ownership in April. Following the recent High Court decision allowing the sale to go through, despite protestation from its apparent owners, the Port Authority is eager to liquidate the vessel it deems an environmental danger.
Telemaque explained that the authority was currently crafting a document with more information about the auction process which it would release today.
Meanwhile, two overseas companies with interest in the vessel—Flying Dutchman Overseas and Vita Felice—will now have to decide whether to proceed with filing for judicial review into whether the Port Authority acted fairly towards them.
The two entities claim to have been battling to remove sanctions associated with the yacht, and say their attempts to communicate with the Antiguan and Barbudan government were ignored.
Both companies are said to be managed by Guernsey-based fiduciary services firm Opus Private Ltd.
Observer has approached Opus Private’s CEO Shane Giles for comment.
The Alfa Nero – which has been linked to sanctioned Russian businessman Andrey Gurvey – has been the subject of worldwide interest since it appeared in Antiguan waters over a year ago.
