By Robert A Emmanuel
A second auction of the Alfa Nero superyacht – said last week to be in the pipeline – is now looking less likely.
Yesterday, Information Minister Melford Nicholas clarified previous statements made by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Lionel Hurst.
At Thursday’s post-Cabinet press briefing, Nicholas said the government was still hopeful that, following protracted legal proceedings relating to the vessel, a deal could still be reached with the second highest bidder in last year’s auction, US realty mogul Warren Halle.
“I am not aware that there is going to be a next auction; if at the end of the day, when there is clarity in terms of the position that the government has taken and the option is available to us, we had a secondary buyer on the first option.
“As to whether or not that secondary buyer would still be prepared to execute an agreement, that has to be a matter for consideration first, before we even contemplate another auction,” Nicholas replied to a question from Observer.
Last week, Hurst said that the government was considering executing a second auction as they were unsure whether an agreement was feasible.
US tech billionaire Eric Schmidt—who was the first bidder—withdrew his US$67 million bid citing legal delays preventing him from acquiring the right to the vessel.
Halle has sued the government over an alleged failure to adhere to its own auction rules which would have seen Halle named the preferred bidder after Schmidt failed to pay the money to the government within the agreed seven days, among other issues.
“We think that we’ll have to reopen the bidding because the second highest bidder had offered $65 million, and then of course he’s now attempting to lower that bid significantly in an effort to get it at a bargain,” Hurst said last week.
“We cannot account for the kinds of expenses to which we have been put, [to subsidise] a vessel for a wealthy owner.
“I think reason will prevail in the long run; [Halle] has the resources to own a $65 million yacht,” Hurst added.
The Alfa Nero has been languishing in Falmouth Harbour for almost two years with government claiming it poses both an environmental and a security risk. The boat came to attention when its alleged owner Andrey Guryev, a known close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, appeared on international sanctions lists after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.