Debts topping US$28,000 a week are being accrued by the Alfa Nero superyacht as government awaits the lifting of US sanctions to facilitate its sale.
The eye-watering figure – disclosed by the Prime Minister in Parliament yesterday – for keeping the 267ft luxury vessel docked in Falmouth Harbour does not even include fuel or crew wages.
The vast boat was officially acquired by the Antigua and Barbuda government a week ago after it was deemed abandoned and a threat to both the marine environment and other vessels.
It is believed to have been owned by sanctioned Russian fertiliser tycoon Andrey Guryev – a claim Guryev has denied.
Government wants to sell the Alfa Nero – said to be worth around US$80 million – but must first await the official lifting of sanctions imposed on Guryev and his assets by the US.
“The government acquired ownership of the vessel, the vessel cannot be left unmanned and as a consequence we have to pay the captain and the crew and the monies are paid to the marina. The marina in turn will pay the captain and crew on behalf of the state,” Browne told Parliament on Monday.
“The amount will not cover fuel. The fuel will be credited from the West Indies Oil Company,” he explained.
“All expenses will be duly covered when the boat is actually sold. We have a number of buyers already and we are pretty sure that in due course, within short order, the boat will be sold and those liabilities settled,” the PM added.
The country’s ambassador to the US, Sir Ronald Sanders, told Observer last week that removing sanctions was a “painstaking process” but one that had to be fulfilled. He said the Alfa Nero’s case was caught in a backlog of requests for the lifting of various sanctions.
“We are working with the US treasury department who have been very helpful. They have no wish to stop this going forward, they simply have to do it in a manner that satisfies the rules,” Sir Ronald explained.
“If you go ahead with a sale prematurely and people start transferring money, that money can be frozen.”
