In June 2017, YachtHarbour has reported that US Government moves to seize 91.5m Equanimity. In March 2017, 90-metre Equanimity seized as captain turned off 'AIS' system to avoid detection. In April 2018, US were blocked from seizing $250 million 91.5-metre superyacht Equanimity. In May 2018, Jho Low ordered to turn over his $250 million 91-metre yacht Equanimity to the US.
Now, 91.5-metre superyacht Equanimity moved to Malaysia after her detention by Indonesian authorities. The US authorities believe that the funds used to purchase Equanimity were siphoned off from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB between 2009 and 2015. On Monday, Malaysia’s finance minister Lim Guan Eng said the government intends to take an inventory of items on the yacht and open it for public viewing before auctioning it for “the highest price”. The Malaysian government intends to use the sale of the yacht, which is valued at $250 million, to recover some of the funds lost in the scandal.
Equanimity was built by Oceanco in Netherlands at their Alblasserdam shipyard and delivered to her owner in 2014. Equanimity is one of the largest yachts to be completed by the Dutch yard. She has become known for being the first superyacht designed and built to be fully Passenger Yacht Code (PYC) compliant. The yacht's interior has been designed by Andrew Winch. A beautiful combination of wenge wood, bamboo, marble and gold leaf create an Asian-inspired theme throughout Equanimity's interior.
The superyacht features a 20m squared pool on her deck with jets, a private hot tub outside the master suite and a beach club. An indoor-outdoor wellness area is open to all guests and includes a sauna, hammam, plunge pool and beauty salon. Experiential showers are also available on board as well as a helipad on her upper deck.
Equanimity's interior configuration has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 18 guests overnight in 9 cabins, comprising a master suite, 4 VIP staterooms, and 4 double cabins. She is also capable of carrying up to 28 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.
Propelled by twin MTU 20V 4000 M73L engines, Equanimity is able to reach a top speed in excess of 20 knots. This luxury yacht is also fitted with 'zero speed stabilizers' which work at anchor, increasing on-board comfort when the yacht is stationary, particularly in rough waters.
A spokesperson for Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd, the owners of the yacht, Equanimity, issued the following statement regarding the Malaysian Government’s precipitous taking of the yacht, bypassing judicial proceedings in the US and Indonesia.
"Through recent legal filings we have alerted the U.S. Court that on 2 August 2018, armed officers of the Indonesian National Police (INP) and Malaysian officials commandeered the yacht, reportedly at the behest of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. This is troubling because pursuant to an order of the Central District of California, the US Department of Justice (USDOJ) was the custodian of the yacht and paying for its maintenance and crew.
Given the claims put out by the Malaysian Prime Minister in recent days, we issue this statement to set a few facts straight:
As far as we are aware, this seizure by the Malaysian Prime Minister and the Malaysian government was not coordinated with the USDOJ in any way, but instead was done in opposition to the USDOJ, which had repeatedly asked that the Equanimity be handed over for return to US territory and had argued to the US Court that it, and only it, is capable of acting as a proper custodian of the yacht and preserving its value. The U.S. Court had accepted this argument by granting the USDOJ custody of the yacht.
Moreover, an Indonesian court ruled on 17 April 2018 that the yacht should be returned to Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd. – its rightful owners – not handed over to anyone else. Following this ruling the INP acknowledged that “as a legal responsibility... the Indonesian National Police shall obey the order of the South Jakarta District Court to immediately return the Equanimity to its owner,” and that “pursuant to the facts disclosed in the court hearings, it can be concluded that the legal owner of the Equanimity... is Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd. and there is no relations between the Equanimity Yacht with the 1Malaysian Development Berhad.”
The Malaysian government ignored all this and took the asset in direct violation of an existing Indonesian court decision and an order of the US court. This is apparently why more than a dozen armed Indonesian police and Malaysian officials boarded the yacht last week without prior notice and forced it to sail to Malaysia. Presumably, had they been cooperating with the US DOJ or intending to abide by either of the court orders in effect, this would not have been necessary.
Major news sources have reported that the Malaysian Prime Minister intervened personally with the Indonesian President through a phone call and/or in person, thereby injecting politics into ongoing legal proceedings in two sovereign nations.
Although the Indonesian and U.S. court proceedings had led to conflicting decisions regarding the status of the yacht, both proceedings at least had been open and transparent, with Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd. being given a fair opportunity to present its positions and arguments. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for whatever actions were undertaken by the Government of Malaysia to seize the yacht. "
Security matters and finding ways to protect their assets, crew, and guests from such dangers as pirates or paparazzi, have been in focus of the yacht owners for years. Security systems deployed onboard normally depend on the owner’s profile, the assets in question and the locations a system would be operating. Increasingly, the owners order security systems that can automatically monitor, detect, track, classify and alert operators to approaching objects in the proximity of a yacht. There are some technical devices, normally deployed for better protection.When it comes to paparazzi, one of the most helpful device would be anti-drone protection. Such equipment would detect and identify commercial drones within a 20+km range, providing GPS positioning of both drone & pilot together with the drone’s speed and heading. When a real drone has been detected, the system enables creation of a 500 metre plus electronic ‘exclusion zone’ around the yacht. Once the drone approaches this zone, its control/video signals would be blocked, forcing it to land or return to operator. One of the most popular examples of anti paparazzi protection on a superyacht, is Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich chosing to install a special shield system against paparazzi on his 162.5-metre Blohm+Voss superyacht Eclipse, built in 2010.According to The Times, the device is capable of fixing the activity of the photosensitive elements on digital cameras, and disables them with a direct laser beam. The system works under both automatic and manual modes.The fourth in his private fleet, Eclipse was famously built for Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich and the owner of Chelsea football club, as the largest yacht in the world (at that moment), a title that she held until the delivery of the 180-metre Azzam in 2013.M/Y EclipseEclipse also comes fitted with an underwater mini-boat and two helipads in case of emergencies. The initial price of the yacht was rumoured to amount to € 350 million, but additional equipment might have increased her value to € 800 million.According to Forbes interview with Johannes Pinl of superyacht privacy and protection company MARSS, nowadays onboard CCTV, access control (door locking systems) and deck mounted pressure sensors likely to ‘form the basis of most standard superyacht security packages.’These will be connected over an onboard network and managed from the bridge or a central control security room. Long-range daylight and thermal imaging cameras can have a dual function for both navigation and security use cases. Such cameras can be equivalent to military specification and are mounted on the mast to provide a long distance visual capability around a vessel.He also stresses out that the key important thing is ensuring awareness among the crew to increase reaction time and make better decisions based on a clear assessment of a situation.Meanwhile, one of the recent security devices installed by MARSS on a 100-metre plus superyacht, was NiDAR 360° degree surveillance system integrating multiple sensors to provide automated monitoring, detection, tracking and classification of objects in the vicinity of a vessel.Operating autonomously at 24/7, NiDAR tracks both known and unknown surface and air objects. Smart software algorithms automatically analyse and rank threats, triggering alerts to notify crew and security personnel as required.
July 23, 2019
French high fashion house Chanel has launched its own yacht club at Shelter Island, New York. The space was arranged to celebrate the 20th anniversary of iconic J12 watch by Chanel, whose original design had been inspired by the J-Class racing yachts.Photo: Dave Kotinsky/WireImageThe area lays within a famous Sunset Beach Hotel on Long Island owned by a real estate mogul André Balazs, along with The Chiltern Firehouse in London, Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, and The Standard hotel chain. Photo: Sam FrostThe press release states:The J 12 Yacht Club reflects a modern-day interpretation of a yacht club, as only Chanel could imagine it. From the shores of Shelter Island Sound, visitors will be immersed in Chanel's take on island living, complete with customised umbrellas, coolers, surf boards, badminton and ping pong.The area also comes fitted with a stylish games room featuring a selection of classic board games. The brand has also taken over the Sunset Beach boutique, creating a one-of-a-kind space for guests to discover the new J 12 collection. The yacht club was open to public from July 17 to July 21, 2019, while July 20 saw the celebration of the J 12's 20th anniversary with fashion celebrities on the guest list and a performance by a superstar musician Billie Eilish.Photo: Sam FrostThe high-fashion conglomerate Chanel S.A. is one of the most influential and commercially successful fashion houses in the world. With the brand value estimated at $ 9 billions, Chanel is ranked #79 in the list of World's Most Valuable Brands 2019 (Forbes). The company is privately owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, who was an early business partner of Coco Chanel.
July 23, 2019
Dutch builder Royal Huisman has revealed its latest superyacht concept ahead of Monaco Yacht Show 2019. The 88-metre sailing superyacht Project Lotus is conceived as a twin-mast Dyna-Rig vessel.The project features design by British ThirtyC Design, along with naval architecture by Dykstra Naval Architects, based in Holland.Project Lotus will be highlighted through complete customisation, open spaces, reduced complexity in terms of both rigging and crew as well as an engineering package that fits both luxury and agility on the water.More information on the project shall be expected at the start of the Monaco Yacht Show 2019, where some of the largest premieres of 2019 have already been confirmed for participation.In the meantime, the builder is busy constructing the 55-metre superyacht project Phi at Vollenhove facility.
July 23, 2019
Italian leading yacht builder Benetti has delivered the eighth hull in Benetti's Fast 125 Series, Project BF108, or Bangdang.The project has been overseen by Jim Evans, Managing Director of SuperYachtsMonaco. Bangdang features dynamic exterior profile with clean sporty lines by Benetti’s long-term collaborator Stefano Righini.The 38.1-metre yacht’s standout features will comprise a large sun deck with a spa pool surrounded by sunpads, a vast beach club venue with a bar area and multiple outdoor areas for dining and socialising in the sunshine.The interiors of Bangdang were developed from the boards od British design studio RWD, bringing modern minimalistic profile based on their contemporary Air theme, also complimented by light eucalyptus and bay wood throughout.Spacious and open, Bangdang will be able to house up to 11 guests across 4 cabins including and a full-beam master suite on the main deck, along with accommodation for a 7-person crew on the lower deck.One of the model’s trademarks, the state-of-the-art propulsion system with steerable carbon thrusters, was developed in collaboration with Rolls-Royce. The Azipull C65 system improves manoeuvrability whilst reducing fuel consumption for smooth and efficient sailing.Thus, Bangdang is a high-performance yacht, propelled by twin 2636hp MTU 12V2000 M96L engines to a top speed of 24 knots and a cruising speed of 12 knots under range of 1,750 nautical miles.
July 22, 2019
A renowned tennis player Rafael Nadal ranked 2nd in the men's singles rating, has commissioned an 80 Sunreef Power catamaran with Polish multihull specialist Sunreef Yachts. It has been earlier rumoured in the press, that Nadal has put on sale his 23.5-metre MCY 76 Beethoven asking £2.3million.While Nadal’s fully customised vessel is due for 2020 delivery, the first unit in the range will debut at Cannes Yachting Festival 2019.The model’s distinctive features comprise stainless steel portlights, high bulwarks and subtle ambient lighting. She comes equipped with a garage for a tender and Jet Ski, as well as numerous other water toys.The vessel comes with a number of options for the upper deck, including a waterfall-fed spa pool, upper helm position, bar area and retractable hard-top.The 23.5-metre provides accommodation for up to 12 guests and four crew members. Her power options can be chosen from either twin 575hp engines or twin 1,200 hp engines.Nadal commissioned the yacht after chartering a number of Sunreef catamarans and meeting yard founder and president Francis Lapp at last year’s Cannes Yachting Festival. Rafael Nadal expressed himself: As someone from an island as I am, the sea is part of our lives and it’s not a secret that I love the sea. Every time I am at home in Mallorca I try to go out and find that time where I can just enjoy my time on a boat. I am very happy to be on board of this Sunreef Yachts family.With 82 titles overall including 18 Grand Slam victories as well as a record 34 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, Rafael Nadal is one of the world’s most renowned and highest-paid athletes. The 3rd all-time leading tennis player in terms of earnings, Rafael Nadal earned $35 million in 2019 only, according to Forbes.
July 22, 2019