Due to unpaid bills, Spanish government authorities have arrested the superyacht Meridian A in Barcelona.
Bloomberg reported the arrest last week, and subsequently additional media outlets have picked up the story. According to Bloomberg, personnel with the Spanish transportation authority, Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana (MITMA), carried out the arrest on November 3. It followed orders from a Commercial Court No. 5 Barcelona judge on November 2. The arrest occurred because the 279-footer (85-meter) failed to pay MB92 for services. Meridian A—then bearing the name Valerie—arrived at MB92 in February of this year. She remained at the refit and repair yard until late September, when transportation officials moved her to Marina Vela. A transport ministry source tells Reuters that after Spain placed the yacht under “provisional retention” in March, payments stopped.
When we contacted MB92 regarding the arrest, a spokesperson said that due to confidentiality agreements, “we can’t provide any information regarding past or present contracts.” No one from MITMA or the Barcelona court responded to our request for comment by press time.
The superyacht Meridian A has been under detention in Spain because her owner is under international sanctions. While Spanish authorities have not named the owner, the investigative journalists who published the Pandora Papers last year did. They identify her as Anastasia Ignatova, the stepdaughter of Sergei Chemezov. Chemezov is the CEO of Rostec, a Russian state-owned military-industrial company. Chemezov has been under U.S. and European Union sanctions since 2014 and British sanctions since 2020. Both stem from Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Chemezov’s ties to Putin dating to their days in the KGB. The United States placed him and Ignatova, along with his wife and son, under further sanctions in March, related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite Valerie changing her nameboards and registered identity to Meridian A a few weeks ago, her ownership has not changed. The British Virgin Islands company under Ignatova’s control remains the officially documented owner.
The name change preceded an apparent attempt to depart Spain without authorization. On October 20, the superyacht Meridian A requested permission to depart Marina Vela. While she initially received the all-clear, it was revoked before she could leave the dock. Authorities learned that she was the same vessel as Valerie, and therefore still under provisional retention. The Guardia Civil national police later arrived to board the yacht. No one from the police agency has commented publicly about the incident.
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