With Russian-owned superyachts being sold at auction after they were seized, and many of them literally running away to safe havens, you’d think that most oligarchs are trying to hold on to their floating mansions. But Russians are surpassed only by Americans when it comes to the number of superyacht owners, statistics show, so there are a lot of these luxury toys out there. One of them is a rarely-seen beauty, Sibelle.
Sibelle was built in 2015, but it’s the first time that the public gets the chance to take a closer look. This sophisticated custom superyacht, one of the many Heesen successful models, had only one owner so far and was only used privately.
That owner is allegedly the former father-in-law of Roman Abramovich and one of the many Russian millionaires with ties to the oil and gas industry. Alexander Zhukov made his fortune as an oil τɾɑԀєr and was once related to Abramovich, who was married to Zhukov’s daughter, Dasha Zhukova.
Truly fit for a millionaire, Sibelle is a 164-foot (50 meters) vessel with a striking appearance. Frank Laupman from Omega architects, together with Mikhail Labazov and Andrei Savin from the Architectural Bureau A-B Studio, designed Sibelle’s exterior with contrasting bands of glass wrapped around the superstructure.Heesensums it up as “complex simplicity.”
A balanced yacht, Sibelle is small enough to be able to anchor in remote bays that are more difficult to access, while also offering all the luxury amenities of bigger superyachts. This includes a state-of-the-art wellness area and a huge foredeck where the tєɴԀers are kept, also doubling as an entertainment area.
Fitted with twin MTU engines, it’s also surprisingly fast, able to reach 18.5 knots (21 mph/34 kph). When cruising at half that speed, it can ensure a medium range of 3,150 nautical miles (3,620 miles/5,800 km).
For unknown ɾєɑȿօɴs, the Russian oil τɾɑԀєr has apparently decided this would be a good time to part with this customsuperyachtthat’s been mysterious until now. It’s listed for sale atOcean IndepєɴԀencefor €27.5 million ($27.3 million) and will also make an appearance at the upcoming Monaco Yacht Show.
