The 88.5-metre superyacht Barbara built by Dutch yard Oceanco in 2017, has been captured in the waters of Monaco last week. The vessel is rumoured to belong to a Russian billionaire and the president of the world's largest producer of refined nickel, Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin. Still, Barbara has been listed for sale via Fraser since August 2018, asking € 165,000,000.
Barbara is trademarked with clear and simple exteriors and interiors by Sam Sorgiovanni Designs, granting her the Best Interior Design 2018 award (BI Design & Innovation Awards). Architecture was supervised by Azure Yacht Design and Naval Architecture.
For Barbara, the owner wanted to create his own custom plan of the layout, not based on any existing platform. The bridge, plus several crew cabins are on the same deck as the superyacht office with 3.5-metre high ceilings and the upper saloon, but are completely separate.
The key point aboard Barbara is a spacious owner’s suite with a central skylight. The superyacht offers accommodation to up to 16 guests catered by 32 crew members. Two guest cabins can be converted to a large VIP or second Master Cabin for versatility during chartering.
Barbara comes with touch-and-go helicopter capability. Among numerous amenities on-board, the Upper Deck aft sits an expansive informal dining and food buffet with an additional lounge seating.
Naturally, Barbara features a superyacht beach club, a garage filled with toys, including custom Vikal tenders and a private spa pool. There are also a fully equipped gymnasium on the sundeck, the wellness area with a beauty salon and massage treatment room on the lower deck.
At the same time, one of the most striking features indoors, is the glass staircase with an elevator. The latter represents a silvered root system of an ancient tree rising continuously through two decks and took one year to build.
Fitted with stabilisers when at anchor, the yacht reaches a top speed of 19 knots and cruises at 16 knots to 4,850 nautical miles when on the move.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Potanin’s net worth is currently estimated at $19.2 billion by Forbes, ranking him #58 in the world billionaires list. Except for his presidency at the Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin owns 34.6 percent of Dudinka, Russia-based company, which had revenue of $11.7 billion in 2018, according to Bloomberg. His other investments comprise a ski resort in Sochi, Russia, and a controlling stake in Petrovax Pharm, a pharmaceutical company.
Photos by Dutch Yachting