By Robert A Emmanuel
As the legal process continues to delay the consummation of the sale of the Oceano superyacht Alfa Nero, the government is continuing to incur expenses to keep the vessel in good sailing condition.
While the initial belief on June 16 was that an auction of the vessel would see a swift end to the protracted saga surrounding it—considering it has been in Antigua’s waters since February 2022—it has so far proven difficult to actualise the sale, as the daughter of Russian businessman, Andrei Guryev, has initiated several legal challenges.
The latest legal move was a counter-appeal by the government claiming that Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov had no proprietary right or interest to the vessel.
Speaking more on the matter, Prime Minister Gaston Browne in Parliament explained that negotiations were still ongoing with the winner of the auction, US billionaire Eric Schmidt who bid US$67 million for the 267ft vessel.
“Lawyers on both sides are negotiating on how to move forward, and I believe that this matter will be resolved very shortly,” the Prime Minister said.
Currently, the government continues to pay US$28,000 a week to cover the full cost of the vessel’s upkeep, including fuel, salaries to its crew, and other expenses.
Considering the government assumed full ownership of the vessel on April 11, the minimum expense incurred thus far would amount to US$448,000 or EC$1.1 million.
“We continue to make the payments that are necessary to keep the crew and the vessel in a position that it can move the moment that the resources are transferred to the government of Antigua and Barbuda, and we hope that it will be soon because the hurricane season is upon us,” Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ambassador Lionel Hurst told reporters last week Thursday.
“We hope to have some of these [legal cases] dismissed quickly; the only thing is that those who are claiming ownership have determined that they will do everything to slow down the process, and the lawyer [for Schmidt] is unwilling—even though we are willing to give a guarantee—to move forward with the completion process unless the claims have dissipated,” Hurst added.
