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Sailing yacht «A» Andrey Melnichenko arrested in Gibraltar

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The sailing yacht «A» did not reach its customer, the Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko: the Gibraltar authorities arrested her on her way to the Mediterranean Sea at the request of her builder, the German shipyard Nobiskrug.

Hours before the 142.81-metre motor-sailer arrived in Gibraltar, Nobiskrug sued the yacht's owner in the Supreme Court for breach of contract. The shipyard said Bermuda-listed Valla Yachts Limited, which is the legal owner of the vessel, was late in paying the final sum of €9.8 million. According to the contract, the money was to be received by the shipyard by January 27.

This is not the first time Nobiskrug has sued Valla Yachts Limited over the latter's outstanding monetary obligations. The customer owes €2.6 million on invoices issued by subcontractors and €2.9 million on orders for additional work.

In total, the shipyard is demanding €15,298,297.05 plus interest from the megayacht owner, according to Gibraltar law firm Triay Stagnetto Neish, representing Nobiskrug.

A spokesman for the owner of the sailing yacht «A» told the Gibraltar Chronicle that «disputes» are not uncommon in projects of this scale. He added that the €9.8 million amount claimed to be payable by the shipyard is the subject of ongoing discussions between the owner and the shipyard.

«We find the act of arresting the sailing yacht 'A' in Gibraltar astounding for a shipbuilder of the size of Nobiskrug," said an owner's spokesman. - We concluded that the dispute is close to a settlement, as on 5 February Nobiskrug happily handed over the yacht to the owner's project team for further work to be carried out in Spain. The owner transferred all the money into an escrow account the very next day, pending resolution of the dispute».

The arbitral tribunal will consider the disputed cash payments on Tuesday this week. Nobiskrug declined to comment on the situation. For now, the sailing yacht «A» is anchored in Gibraltar in the custody of maritime court officials.

The total value of the sailing yacht «A» is rumored to be €417 million.

The 1,424-tonne steel megayacht is powered by a diesel-electric propulsion system. Her two diesel engines each have 4,800 hp and her two electric engines have 4,300 kWh of power.

Three giant 91-metre high carbon-fibre masts carry sails with a total area comparable to that of a football field. The sails unfold and retract at the touch of a button. Cruising speed is 18 knots with a maximum speed of 24 knots.

The eight decks of the mega-yacht «A» will be able to accommodate up to 20 guests. The yacht requires a crew of 54.» The motosailer has an interior volume of 12600 BRT, 4.6 times that of the second largest sailing yacht after «A - Project Solar.

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