Barring her owner removing her from local waters by March 31, Antigua and Barbuda’s government plans an Alfa Nero auction. The intentions, however, are not without controversy.
The possibility of Alfa Nero up for auction arose earlier this month. Cabinet officials revealed the 269-footer (82-meter) had been in a local marina for more than a year. “Its staff has not been paid and neither has the provider of its fuel (that it has consumed, since arriving),” meeting notes indicate. Crew head count had dwindled to a skeleton staff, from 26 to five. The government therefore declared her an environmental and security hazard. (On a related note, Alfa Nero is currently uninsured and without a flag state.) Following the cabinet meeting, Information Minister Melford Nicholas informed the media that the owner had effectively “abandoned” the yacht.
The vote to declare her relinquished and pave way for the possible Alfa Nero auction wasn’t a smooth process, however. It required an amendment to the Port Authority Act. Some Lower House parliamentary officials walked out of the proceedings on March 16, opposing short notice for the amendment. Despite the walkout, the amendment passed. It further passed a Senate vote.
In accordance with pre-existing regulations, the government must provide a notice of intent to sell the superyacht. The notice, released on March 21, appeared in local media, with copies sent to the registered owner, too. Specifically, it reveals, the yacht will become state property within 10 days if the owner fails to emerge with verifiable documentation. “It will then cease being the property of a sanctioned person; nor will the vessel be sanctioned property,” the Prime Minister’s office says.
The owner, according to Antiguan officials, is Andrey Grigoryevich Guryev and his daughter, Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov. Guryev is under international sanctions for being an associate of Russian President Vladmir Putin and a former Russian government official.
While Guryev seemingly has until March 31 to act, Antigua and Barbuda officials say bidders need not be concerned. “The Government wishes to ensure that (the purchaser’s) ownership under the law will be free of any liabilities,” the Prime Minister’s office says.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne himself has asserted the government has the right to arrange an Alfa Nero auction. “We had every right to sell it, but we did not,” he tells the Antigua Observer. “We waited a year. And part of the reason for that, too, is we didn’t want to become caught up in the geopolitical issues between, let’s say, the Europeans, North Americans, and Russia, even though we stand by our partners in North America and Europe against Russia and the aggression and Ukraine.”
“The vessel sitting there is a significant hazard, a potential security risk,” he adds. “What are we supposed to do? Do nothing now after we would have sold this vessel?”
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