ice bear yacht

Late Billionaire and Berkshire Hathaway Board Member’s Yacht ‘Ice Bear’ Heads to Auction

I ce Bear, the 52-meter yacht that belonged to the late billionaire businessman Walter Scott Jr., will be sold to the highest bidder in October.

The online auction will commence on Oct. 10 via Boathouse Auctions, who are collaborating with Burgess Yachts, and the hammer will fall on Oct. 15. Bidding is expected to open between $3 million and $4 million.

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Delivered in the late 1980s by the Dutch shipyard Feadship De Vries, “Ice Bear has only ever been used privately, never chartered, and has always been professionally maintained so she’s in excellent condition,” lead broker Kevin Kramer of Burgess said in a news release. “If it wasn’t for her classic styling, which is so emblematic of Feadship, you’d never guess she was delivered in 1988.”

Scott, a lifelong friend of Warren Buffett, was worth an estimated $4.2 billion and owned more than 6% of Berkshire Hathaway Energy when he died in 2021 at the age of 90. He sat on the board of Berkshire Hathaway.

Scott’s ownership of Ice Bear has been widely reported over the decades, though it’s not clear when he acquired the ship. A representative for Burgess declined to comment on any details regarding the ownership.

Ice Bear, which can sleep a total of 10 guests across five cabins, has plenty of spacious lounges and communal areas.

There’s a primary suite with a seating area and private study, a sky lounge, a main saloon, an upper deck observation lounge and two fixed fishing chairs on the exterior main deck.

“She is one of the few sport fishing Feadships I’ve ever seen,” Kramer said. “If sport fishing is your passion, this is the only yacht for you, absolutely tailor-made for the job and designed around that visceral connection with the ocean.”

The vessel can reach speeds up to 15 knots, and 13 knots cruising. It can also take trans-Atlantic trips with a range of 4,850 nautical miles.

This article first appeared on Mansion Global.

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This 170-Foot Sportfishing Superyacht Is One of the World’s First—Here’s a Look Inside

The 1988 feadship ice bear has a cockpit with fighting chairs, a tuna tower, and even an observation lounge for watching the action., kevin koenig, kevin koenig's most recent stories.

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The yacht spent much of its 36-year-old life traveling up and down the West Coast, summering in Alaska, where the owners spent most of their time catching halibut and salmon. During the winters, it moved to Costa Rica as a mothership to a smaller, more conventional sportfisherman that chased big pelagics like sailfish and marlin.

Ice Bear ’s cockpit replicates that of a large convertible, with two teak fighting chairs, livewells, fishboxes, an ice chipper, and rocket launchers. A large compartment on the mezzanine deck reveals enough rod stowage to last a lifetime. The yacht also has a tower with a full helm station, designed so the captain has a clear line of sight to the cockpit down below, a key element for a fishing boat.

The interior is the other half of the boat worth mentioning. It underwent a partial refit in the early 2000s to replace the 1980s furniture, but it still remains dated with a formal, wood-rich, and sometimes ornate style that is way out of fashion with today’s minimalist interiors. On Ice Bear , however, the look works.

The full-beam, master suite feels palatial, especially with the adjoining office and lounge. The space is defined by the wood trimming. The bridge deck sky lounge might look like your grandparents’ living room, with the formal furniture and wainscot walls, but it’s warm and inviting with excellent views. Even the stairwell and foyer down to the guest staterooms, typically an afterthought on most yacht designs, is paneled in light woods, with a signature oval design on the ceiling.

Most likely a new owner will redo most of these sections, along with the light woods and cream marbles in the bathrooms. (The superyacht is listed for $9.95 million after a $1.55 million price drop.) But the bones are there, says its brokerage firm Burgess, as well as a hull that, given its age, remains in good shape.

One element that remains timeless is the observation lounge. The upper-deck space is dotted with plush, leather chairs and surrounded by windows. A wetbar in the rear section handles the refreshments. Overhead, the leather blue-covered oval on the ceiling adds a stately look. Perched in a chair, one can easily imagine what it must be like to pull into sub-arctic waters of northern Alaska, with a drink in hand, enjoying the sweeping vistas of the state’s rugged coastline. That is a feature that will stand the test of time.

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52m Feadship ICE BEAR for auction

Published 16 September 2024

In a rare collaboration, Burgess and Boathouse Auctions will put ICE BEAR under the hammer on 10 October   for a  multi-day auction . 

52m ICE BEAR was delivered in 1988 by the distinguished Dutch shipyard, Feadship De Vries, with exterior styling by De Voogt. Measuring 614 gross tonnes with a beam of 9.3m (30.5ft), ICE BEAR boasts plenty of spacious lounges and communal areas ideal for relaxing and enjoying time spent at sea.

Lead broker, Kevin Kramer , describes what makes ICE BEAR such a unique purchase opportunity:

‘ICE BEAR has only ever been used privately, never chartered, and has always been professionally maintained so she’s in excellent condition. If it wasn’t for her classic styling, which is so emblematic of Feadship, you’d never guess she was delivered in 1988.

‘What makes this yacht so rare, though, is that she is one of the few sport fishing Feadships I’ve ever seen. If sport fishing is your passion, this is the only yacht for you, absolutely tailor-made for the job and designed around that visceral connection with the ocean.’

How the auction works

ICE BEAR underwent a Patton Marine Survey on 9 September 2024, with reports posted to the auction listing. Buyer due diligence is conducted during a four-week preview period, and prospective buyers are prequalified to bid by placing a deposit into an escrow account.

Once the bidding opens, bids are shown in real time on the website for interested parties to watch. The sale to the highest bidder is final and unconditional. Upon the conclusion of the auction, the auction house moves immediately to closing, so you can sail away in 30 days or less. Perfect for the start of the Caribbean season.

Bidding commences at 16:00 EDT (21:00 BST) on 10 October 2024 via Boathouse Auctions , but registration is already open. So what are you waiting for?

To find out more about Burgess’  yachts for sale and  yachts for charter , please  contact a Burgess broker . Alternatively, get in touch with one of our offices directly:  London ,  Monaco ,  New York ,  Miami ,  Singapore or  all other locations .

- Yachts, prices and availability are correct at the time of publication.

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• Ice Bear - 171ft Feadship 1988

171ft Feadship  1988  Palm Beach, Florida

Auction info, bidding information:, bidding opens:, fees & commission:, "ice bear" vessel overview.

The 52m (170.6ft) yacht ICE BEAR was delivered in 1988 by the distinguished Dutch shipyard, Feadship De Vries, with exterior styling by De Voogt. At 614 gross tonnes, with a beam of 9.3m (30.5ft), the yacht offers plenty of spacious lounges and communal areas for guests to relax and enjoy quality time at sea.

There are 5 cabins onboard which sleep a total of 10 guests. The master suite on the main deck is full beam and features a comfortable seating area, private study and large windows providing plenty of light. The four remaining cabins on the lower deck have colorful themes and are spacious with seating areas and en suite bathrooms.

Guests can relax while underway in the sky lounge or gather for a meal in the main saloon, where they will find a soothing neutral color pallet balanced by large windows for an airy feel. An observation lounge is also located on the upper deck, where guests can congregate over cocktails and take in the views after a long day on the water. The exterior main deck offers two fixed fishing chairs, a range of seating, and a flybridge deck with lounge areas.

Fitted with two 1,175hp Caterpillar engines ICE BEAR offers complete comfort at sea while reaching speeds up to 15 knots, and 13 knots cruising. She is also trans-Atlantic with a range of 4,850 nautical miles.

AUCTION PROCESS: To register, click the “Register To Bid” button and place the required bid deposit of $100,000. This is a no reserve auction with bidding expected to open between $3m – $4m.

Auction Sale Terms

KYC Requirements

Escrow Wire Instructions

Opening Bid Incentive

Patton Marine Survey Sept. 2024

Survey Recommendations Sept. 2024

Marine Diesel Survey Sept. 2024

Audio Gauge Jan. 2023

Vessel Specifications

Amenities & Features

• Professionally maintained by full-time crew  
• Private usage only, never chartered
• Recent ABS inspection complete
• Vintage Feadship details and timeless design
• 28ft Shamrock sportfisher & 18ft RIB

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Time is running out! Last chance to register to bid.

• Yacht Search
• ICE BEAR 1988 FEADSHIP Motor Yacht Yacht MLS #328315

ICE BEAR - 1988 170' 8" FEADSHIP West Palm Beach Florida United States $9,950,000 USD

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Bill Snyder Michael Rybovich & Sons Yacht Sales, Inc.

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$1.55M price drop on 52m Feadship yacht Ice Bear

A $1,550,000 price drop has been announced on the 52-metre motor yacht Ice Bear , listed for sale with Kevin Kramer of Burgess.

Built in The Netherlands, she was delivered by Feadship De Vries in 1988. Exterior design of this classic Feadship is by Frits De Voogt who also did the naval architecture. Her interior is by Paola D. Smith and Associates in Design .

Five cabins accommodate a party of ten, with a full-beam master suite on the main deck and four more spacious and "colourful themed" cabins – two twins and two doubles – on the lower deck, aft of the engine room. The broker pointed out that the cabins have only been privately used and the yacht has never been chartered. There are quarters for a crew of 11.

Guests have plenty of places to congregate or find solitude, from the main deck dining room to a unique sky lounge and observation deck. On the aft deck are two fixed fishing chairs complemented by a range of seating.

An ABS classification society inspection has recently been completed. The 614GT yacht for sale is powered by twin 1,175hp Caterpillar diesel engines that push her to a top speed of 15 knots and a cruising speed of 13 knots. Her range is 4,850 nautical miles.

Ice Bear is now asking $9,950,000 and will be on display at the Palm Beach International Boat Show.

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Hot on the trail of 56 superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs and subject to seizure

• Published: Mar. 06, 2022, 2:04 p.m.

French authorities have seized the yacht Amore Vero linked to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, as part of EU sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The boat arrived in La Ciotat on Jan. 3 for repairs and was slated to stay until April 1 and was seized to prevent an attempted departure. (AP Photo/Bishr Eltoni) AP

• The Associated Press

The massive superyacht Dilbar stretches one-and-a-half football fields in length, about as long as a World War I dreadnought. It boasts two helipads, berths for more than 130 people and a 25-meter swimming pool long enough to accommodate another whole superyacht.

Dilbar was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more than $648 million. Five years on, its purported owner, the Kremlin-aligned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, was already dissatisfied and sent the vessel to a German shipyard last fall for a retrofit reportedly costing another couple hundred million dollars.

That’s where she lay in drydock on Thursday when the United States and European Union announced economic sanctions against Usmanov — a metals magnate and early investor in Facebook — over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

“We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets,” President Joe Biden said during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, addressing the oligarchs. “We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”

But actually seizing the behemoth boats could prove challenging. Russian billionaires have had decades to shield their money and assets in the West from governments that might try to tax or seize them.

Several media outlets reported Wednesday that German authorities had impounded Dilbar. But a spokeswoman for Hamburg state’s economy ministry told The Associated Press no such action had yet been taken because it had been unable to establish ownership of the yacht, which is named for Usmanov’s mother.

Dilbar is flagged in the Cayman Islands and registered to a holding company in Malta, two secretive banking havens where the global ultra-rich often park their wealth.

Still, in the industry that caters to the exclusive club of billionaires and centimillionaires that can afford to buy, crew and maintain superyachts, it is often an open secret who owns what.

Working with the U.K.-based yacht valuation firm VesselsValue, the AP compiled a list of 56 superyachts — generally defined as luxury vessels exceeding 79 feet in length — believed to be owned by a few dozen Kremlin-aligned oligarchs, seaborne assets with a combined market value estimated at more than $5.4 billion.

The AP then used two online services — VesselFinder and MarineTraffic — to plot the last known locations of the yachts as relayed by their onboard tracking beacons.

While many are still anchored at or near sun-splashed playgrounds in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, more than a dozen were underway to or had already arrived in remote ports in small nations such as the Maldives and Montenegro, potentially beyond the reach of Western sanctions. Three are moored in Dubai, where many wealthy Russians have vacation homes.

Another three had gone dark, their transponders last pinging just outside the Bosporus in Turkey — gateway to the Black Sea and the southern Russian ports of Sochi and Novorossiysk.

Graceful, a German-built Russian-flagged superyacht believed to belong to Putin, left a repair yard in Hamburg on Feb. 7, two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. It is now moored in the Russian Baltic port of Kaliningrad, beyond the reach of Western sanctions imposed against him this past week.

Some Russian oligarchs appear to have not gotten the memo to move their superyachts, despite weeks of public warnings of Putin’s planned invasion.

French authorities seized the superyacht Amore Vero on Thursday in the Mediterranean resort town of La Ciotat. The boat is believed to belong to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, which has been on the U.S. sanctions list since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

The French Finance Ministry said in a statement that customs authorities boarded the 289-foot Amore Vero and discovered its crew was preparing for an urgent departure, even though planned repair work wasn’t finished. The $120 million boat is registered to a company that lists Sechin as its primary shareholder.

On Saturday, Italian financial police in the port of San Remo seized the 132-foot superyacht Lena, which is flagged in the British Virgin Islands. Authorities said the boat belongs to Gennady Timchenko, an oligarch close to Putin and among those sanctioned by the European Union. With an estimated net worth of $16.2 billion, Timchenko is the founder of the Volga Group, which specializes in investments in energy, transport and infrastructure assets.

The 213-foot Lady M was also seized by the Italians while moored in the Riviera port town of Imperia. In a tweet announcing the seizure on Friday, a spokesman for Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the comparatively modest $27 million vessel was the property of sanctioned steel baron Alexei Mordashov, listed as Russia’s wealthiest man with a fortune of about $30 billion.

But Mordashov’s upsized yacht, the 464-foot Nord, was safely at anchor on Friday in the Seychelles, a tropical island chain in the Indian Ocean not under the jurisdiction of U.S. or EU sanctions. Among the world’s biggest superyachts, Nord has a market value of $500 million.

Since Friday, Italy has seized $156 million in luxury yachts and villas in some of its most picturesque destinations, including Sardinia, the Ligurian coast and Lake Como.

Most of the Russians on the annual Forbes list of billionaires have not yet been sanctioned by the United States and its allies, and their superyachts are still cruising the world’s oceans.

The evolution of oligarch yachts goes back to the tumultuous decade after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, as state oil and metals industries were sold off at rock-bottom prices, often to politically connected Russian businessmen and bankers who had provided loans to the new Russian state in exchange for the shares.

Russia’s nouveau riche began buying luxury yachts similar in size and expense to those owned by Silicon Valley billionaires, heads of state and royalty. It’s a key marker of status in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and size matters.

“No self-respecting Russian oligarch would be without a superyacht,” said William Browder, a U.S.-born and now London-based financier who worked in Moscow for years before becoming one of the Putin regime’s most vocal foreign critics. “It’s part of the rite of passage to being an oligarch. It’s just a prerequisite.”

As their fortunes ballooned, there was something of an arms race among the oligarchs, with the richest among them accumulating personal fleets of ever more lavish boats.

For example, Russian metals and petroleum magnate Roman Abramovich is believed to have bought or built at least seven of the world’s largest yachts, some of which he has since sold off to other oligarchs.

In 2010, Abramovich launched the Bermuda-flagged Eclipse, which at 533 feet was at the time the world’s longest superyacht. Features include a wood-burning firepit and swimming pool that transforms into a dance floor. Eclipse also boasts its own helicopter hangar and an undersea bay that reportedly holds a mini-sub.

Dennis Cauiser, a superyacht analyst with VesselsFinder, said oligarch boats often include secret security measures worthy of a Bond villain, including underwater escape hatches, bulletproof windows and armored panic rooms.

“Eclipse is equipped with all sorts of special features, including missile launchers and self-defense systems on board,” Cauiser said. “It has a secret submarine evacuation area and things like that.”

Eclipse was soon eclipsed by Azzam, purportedly owned by the emir of Abu Dhabi, which claimed the title of longest yacht when it was launched in 2013. Three years after that, Usmanov launched Dilbar, which replaced another slightly smaller yacht by the same name. The new Dilbar is the world’s largest yacht by volume.

Abramovich, whose fortune is estimated at $12.4 billion, fired back last year by launching Solaris. While not as long as Eclipse or as big as Dilbar, the $600 million Bermuda-flagged boat is possibly even more luxurious. Eight stories tall, Solaris features a sleek palisade of broad teak-covered decks suitable for hosting a horde of well-heeled partygoers.

But no boat is top dog for long. At least 20 superyachts are reported to be under construction in various Northern European shipyards, including a $500 million superyacht being built for the American billionaire Jeff Bezos.

“It’s about ego,” Cauiser said. “They all want to have the best, the longest, the most valuable, the newest, the most luxurious.”

But, he added, the escalating U.S. and EU sanctions on Putin-aligned oligarchs and Russian banks have sent a chill through the industry, with boatbuilders and staff worried they won’t be paid. It can cost upwards of $50 million a year to crew, fuel and maintain a superyacht.

The crash of the ruble and the tanking of Moscow stock market have depleted the fortunes of Russia’s elite, with several people dropping off the list of Forbes billionaires last week. Cauiser said he expects some oligarch superyachts will soon quietly be listed by brokers at fire-sale prices.

The 237-foot Stella Maris, which was seen by an AP journalist docked this past week in Nice, France, was believed to be owned by Rashid Sardarov, a Russian billionaire oil and gas magnate. After publication of an earlier version of this story, AP was contacted Sunday by yacht broker Joan Plana Palao, who said his company represents a U.S. citizen from California who purchased the Stella Maris last month. He declined to disclose the name of the buyer or the person from whom the boat had been purchased.

On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a new round of sanctions that included a press release touting Usmanov’s close ties to Putin and photos of Dilbar and the oligarch’s private jet, a custom-built 209-foot Airbus A340-300 passenger liner. Treasury said Usmanov’s aircraft is believed to have cost up to $500 million and is named Bourkhan, after his father.

Usmanov, whose fortune has recently shrunk to about $17 billion, criticized the sanctions.

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“I believe that such a decision is unfair and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity and business reputation,” he said in a statement issued through the website of the International Fencing Federation, of which he has served as president since 2008.

Abramovich has not yet been sanctioned. Members of the British Parliament have criticized Prime Minister Boris Johnson for not going after Abramovich’s U.K.-based assets, which include the professional soccer club Chelsea. Under mounting pressure, the oligarch announced this past week he would sell the $2.5 billion team and give the net proceeds “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, location transponders showed Solaris moored in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday. Eclipse set sail from St. Maarten late Thursday and is underway in the Caribbean Sea, destination undisclosed.

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VESSEL REVIEW | Sinichka – Electric commuter boats designed for Russia’s Moskva River

A series of three new electric monohull commuter ferries have already begun operational sailings on the Moskva River in the Russian capital Moscow.

Built by Russian shipyard Emperium, sister vessels Sinichka , Filka , and Presnya – all named after rivers in Moscow – are being operated by the Moscow Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development (Moscow Deptrans). They are the first units of a planned fleet of 20 vessels that will serve the capital city and other nearby communities. The new ferry system will be the water transport system to be operated on the Moskva River in 16 years.

Each vessel has a welded aluminium hull, an LOA of 21 metres, a beam of 6.2 metres, a draught of only 1.4 metres, a displacement of 40 tonnes, and capacity for 80 passengers plus two crewmembers. Seating is available for 42 passengers on each ferry, and the main cabins are also fitted with USB charging ports, wifi connectivity, tables, toilets, and space for bicycles and scooters. The cabin layout can be rearranged to allow the operator to adjust the distances between the seats and to install armrests of varying widths.

An open upper deck is also accessible to passengers and is the only area on each ferry where smoking is allowed.

The ferries are all of modular construction with each ferry's wheelhouse, main cabin, and other structural elements being built as complete, separate components. This enables the ferries to be easily dismantled for transport to anywhere in Russia by rail and then quickly re-assembled within seven days.

The ferries are also ice-capable. Recently completed operational trials on the Moskva showed that the vessels can also easily navigate under mild winter conditions with broken surface ice, though year-round operations are planned for the entire fleet.

The ferries are each fitted with 500kWh lithium iron phosphate battery packs that supply power to two 134kW motors. This configuration can deliver a maximum speed of 11.8 knots, a cruising speed of just under 10 knots, and a range of 150 kilometres.

Emperium said the transfer of rotation of electric motors to the propeller is carried out by direct drive. As a propulsion installation, a pulling rotary propeller-steering column with double screws is used. The installation of double pulling screws, with similar power, allows an operator to increase the efficiency of the propulsion system to deliver a slightly higher speed or to reduce energy consumption. This arrangement also provides the ferries with enhanced manoeuvrability necessary for navigating in close quarters.

The batteries themselves have projected service lives of 10 to 12 years and are fitted with safety features such as built-in fire extinguishers and gas vents. Quick-disconnect features allow the batteries to be easily removed for replacement or maintenance.

Some of our readers have expressed disquiet at our publication of reviews and articles describing new vessels from Russia. We at Baird Maritime can understand and sympathise with those views. However, despite the behaviour of the country's leaders, we believe that the maritime world needs to learn of the latest developments in vessel design and construction there.

Click here to read other news stories, features, opinion articles, and vessel reviews as part of this month's Passenger Vessel Week.

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• Guided tour

River Cruise on Luxurious Radisson Boat

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Equipped with ice-breaking technology, these huge fancy yachts are the only river cruisers running all year around. The round trip journey takes two and a half hours and floats past all the big sights like the White House, Novodevichy monastery and the Kremlin. There’s a large open air observation deck up top, while the main body of the ship houses a restaurant with a dance floor for a romantic post dinner dance. For a particularly romantic experience take one of the evening boats and admire the bright lights of the city skyline at night.

The most relaxing and picturesque tour that Moscow can offer: a great way to see the city center and its main attractions. This is a perfect alternative to exploring the city by car, if you only have time to do sightseeing during weekday rush hours.

Your English-speaking guide is eager to share every bit of their knowledge about the surrounding landscape, the architecture and historical details.

We conduct Moscow river tour on Radisson Flotilla boats all year around!  It’s warm inside during winter months, while there’s air conditioning during hot summer days. You may also treat yourself to drinks, lunch or dinner on board (drinks and food are not included in tour price).

The cost of an excursion with a personal guide for 1 person

Quay at Radisson Collection Hotel

Government Headquarters ("the White House")

Kievsky Railway Central

Novodevichy Convent

Luzhniki Stadium

Academy of Sciences

Monument to Peter I

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Moscow Kremlin

St.Basil's Cathedral

Novospassky Monastery

U-turn and back to Quay at Radisson Royal Hotel

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Who's going.

• Excursion River Cruise on Luxurious Radisson Boat
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See photo of the meeting point