Three years after the British government detained a superyacht in London, a Supreme Court hearing will review previous court decisions. The appeal by the owner of the yacht Phi will go before judges on January 16.
The 192-footer (58.5-meter) has remained tied to the dock in London’s Canary Wharf Harbour since March 2022. The UK government detained the yacht in relation to Russian sanctions. Grant Shapps, the then-Transport Secretary, ordered the move, executed by the National Crime Agency. Among the information cited at the time, her beneficial owner is of Russian heritage. While the agency didn’t disclose his name, it did acknowledge a registered owning company based in St. Kitts and Nevis. Additionally, Shapps told the BBC that the owner, who wasn’t under sanctions, had “close connections” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The sanctions regulation that Shapps used permits detaining a vessel owned, controlled, chartered, or operated by individuals connected to Russia. Sergei Naumenko, the beneficial owner of Phi, filed a lawsuit for unlawful detainment in May 2023. He co-filed with Dalston Projects Limited, the company registered in the Caribbean. The lawsuit, before the London High Court, stated that Naumenko had no connection to Putin and didn’t engage in political activities. Furthermore, the suit claimed detainment restricted his rights to “peaceful enjoyment of possessions,” provided by the European Convention on Human Rights. The judges, however, rejected the claims, indicating that the Secretary of State has a broad margin of discretion.
This followed two prior court challenges, under which judges upheld the ongoing detainment, too. The first court decision came in April 2022, while the other was in January 2023. Naumenko and Dalston Projects Limited lost yet another decision in July 2023.
Once again, as the owner of the yacht Phi, Naumenko, along with Dalston Projects Limited, challenged that ruling. They filed with the UK Court of Appeal in January 2024. Among the reasons for the appeal, they stated the detention was based on Naumenko’s citizenship. They lost the appeal over the yacht’s detention one month later. The High Court in July 2023 and the Court of Appeal in January 2024 both ruled the yacht was the target of detention. Notably, both also criticized Shapps for stating Naumenko was connected to Putin. However, the High Court stated, and the Court of Appeal agreed, that it was “excusable political hyperbole” and not the basis for the detention.
The arrest of the yacht Phi, delivered by Royal Huisman in 2021, was the first detention of a superyacht in UK waters stemming from the sanctions. The upcoming Supreme Court hearing is the last such challenge that Naumenko and Dalston Projects Limited can pursue.
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