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Yacht Dilbar: Who Is the Billionaire Owner of the Superyacht?

The 156m Lurssen superyacht  Dilbar  is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage.  Dilbar  is worth a fortune and filled with countless luxuries, but who is the owner of the yacht, and how did they amass their fortune? Read on to find out.

Who is the owner of Yacht Dilbar?

The owner of  Dilbar  is Alisher Usmanov, one of Russia’s richest men. The Uzbek-born billionaire has a staggering net worth of £13.706bn. It’s with this immense fortune that he bought the 156m  Dilbar in 2016 . Based on her gross tonnage of 15,917,  Dilbar  is estimated to have a worth of between $800 and $1bn, making her one of the highest value superyachts in the world.

How did Alisher Usmanov get rich?

Alisher Usmanov is amongst the wealthiest citizens of Russia. He stands alongside billionaires like Roman Abramovich and Vladimir Putin ( who owns a whole fleet of yachts himself ). Over the years, Usmanov has accumulated his wealth through various ventures, ranging from selling plastic bags to being an early investor in Facebook. However, his high net worth is mostly due to his involvement in the mining and investment industries. Usmanov has shown no sign of slowing down, with his worth increasing by a substantial 1.726bn between 2020-2021. Importantly he makes sure to use his money to benefit others – of everyone on the  Sunday Times Rich List  he is by far the most charitable, giving almost £500m in the past year alone.

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10 Things you’re Wondering about Dilbar Yacht (price, location, owner…)

Introducing Dilbar, an awe-inspiring superyacht stretching an impressive 157 meters (512 feet) from bow to stern! Crafted by the esteemed German shipbuilder Lurssen and making her grand debut in May 2016, Dilbar isn’t just about her grandeur; she boasts the title of the largest yacht by interior volume. 

Sure, Azzam may have a lengthier frame, but when it comes to sheer space and luxurious living quarters, Dilbar steals the spotlight with unmatched opulence. Step aboard and experience the pinnacle of nautical extravagance!

How much does the Dilbar superyacht cost?

Delivered in 2016, Lürssen ‘s Dilbar is the world’s largest motor yacht in terms of gross tonnage. It’s also the most expensive, with an original price tag approaching $800 million. Weighing in at 15,917 tons, this 512-foot monolith is one of the most complex and demanding vessels ever built by the German yard. Dilbar features a classic profile and a light ivory hull with bronze accents. According to the US Treasury Department, the yacht is now worth between $600 and $700 million, with annual maintenance costs of around $60 million.

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Who owns the Superyacht Dilbar?

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Ukraine invasion — explained

The roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep. The current conflict is more than one country fighting to take over another; it is — in the words of one U.S. official — a shift in "the world order." Here are some helpful stories to make sense of it all.

Germany seizes the world's largest yacht (at least according to volume)

Rachel Treisman

The luxury superyacht Dilbar sails off the coast of Monaco in 2017. Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

The luxury superyacht Dilbar sails off the coast of Monaco in 2017.

German authorities have seized the world's largest yacht by volume after determining that a Russian oligarch had transferred its ownership to his sister — who is also facing Western sanctions.

Dilbar, the yacht in question, measures some 511 feet and 15,917 tons, which shipbuilder Lurssen says makes it the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage. It has two helipads and one of the biggest indoor pools ever installed on a yacht, according to the U.S. Treasury Department , which puts its estimated worth between $600 and $735 million.

Why so many Russian billionaires are called oligarchs

The superyacht is named after the mother of its original owner: Alisher Usmanov, one of Russia's wealthiest billionaires and a known close associate of the Russian president. Usmanov was sanctioned by the U.S., United Kingdom., European Union and Switzerland in March, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Germany's federal police tweeted Wednesday that it found, "through extensive investigations despite offshore concealment," that the yacht currently belongs to Usmanov's sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova. Authorities impounded the yacht, which remains at the port of Hamburg , after confirming with Brussels that its owner is under sanctions.

A Russian billionaire's superyacht has been impounded in Hamburg, Germany. Harsh sanctions in response to the invasion of #Ukraine brought the estimated $600-750 million yacht Dilbar out of 'offshore concealment', and into the hands of authorities. pic.twitter.com/GYkH6SmQk2 — German Embassy (@GermanyinUSA) April 14, 2022

Ismailova was sanctioned by the U.K. on Wednesday and the EU last week. Both entities said Usmanov had indirectly transferred assets to his sister, including leaving her as Dilbar's only beneficial owner.

"The owner of the yacht 'Dilbar' is Navis Marine Ltd. (Cayman Islands), whose shareholder is Almenor Holdings Ltd. (Cyprus). All shares in that holding company are held by PomerolCapital SA (Switzerland) in trust for the benefit of 'The Sisters Trust,' " EU officials explained, adding that Usmanov has not been a shareholder of that trust company since 2017.

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A russian oligarch's $90 million yacht is seized as part of u.s. sanctions.

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Ismailova has also been linked to luxury real estate in Italy and Latvia associated with Usmanov, the EU said, and therefore has "actively supported materially or financially Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine."

Dilbar made headlines in early March , when Hamburg officials denied conflicting reports that they had seized the superyacht and said any such move would have to come from higher federal customs authorities.

According to Boat International, Dilbar is also the fourth-longest yacht in the world. It can accommodate up to 96 crew members as well as 24 guests in a large living space, which includes fold-out balconies, an onboard garden (with "a specifically developed variety of grass that tolerates salt air") and more than 1,000 custom-made sofa cushions.

This story originally appeared in the Morning Edition live blog .

• Russia sanctions

Germany seizes $594 million 512-foot super yacht that Russia’s sixth-richest man named after his mother

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s superyacht, the world’s largest by volume, was seized by German authorities in Hamburg, according to Forbes.

The German government has frozen the Dilbar, Usmanov’s 512-foot yacht, the publication said, citing three unidentified industry sources. Built in 2016 and named after his mother, the boat is estimated to be worth $594 million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The European Union adopted  sanctions  on six of Russia’s wealthiest individuals on Monday, including Usmanov, who called the decision “unfair” and “defamatory.” The Dilbar had been undergoing refitting in the northern German city.

Superyachts and other opulent displays of wealth among Russia’s elite have drawn intense scrutiny since the country’s invasion of Ukraine, even making it into U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

“We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets,” Biden  said  during Tuesday’s address.

Five other individuals were named in the latest EU sanctions: Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, Alexey Mordashov, Gennady Timchenko and Alexander Ponomarenko. Mordashov owns two superyachts: the Nord, which is in the Seychelles, and Lady M, anchored in Imperia, Italy. 

Some Russian tycoons also still have superyachts docked in Europe. Roman Abramovich’s Solaris is in Barcelona; Iskandar Makhmudov’s Predator is in Genoa, Italy; and Vagit Alekperov’s Galactic Super Nova is in Montenegro, among others, according to data tracked by Bloomberg.

Usmanov, 68, owns a major stake in USM, a Russian investment group with holdings in Metalloinvest, one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, and telecommunications company MegaFon. He’s the sixth-richest Russian with a fortune of $19.5 billion, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index, though that figure includes the Dilbar. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been sanctioned by U.S., EU and U.K. authorities. He has been linked by news organizations including Business Insider to the superyacht Graceful. 

That boat left Hamburg Feb. 7, about two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. It’s now in Kaliningrad, Russia. 

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Making Superyacht DILBAR: The World’s Largest Yacht

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By Rebecca Bradbury   23 June 2016

A new time-lapse video of the 156m/512ft superyacht DILBAR , confirmed as the world’s largest yacht in terms of volume, has been released to celebrate her recent delivery to the Mediterranean .  

The spectacular footage provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of DILBAR under construction at the Lurssen shipyard as well as aerial shots of her 2,000nm delivery passage to the Mediterranean .

DILBAR is now the world’s largest yacht with a gross tonnage of 15,917 tons, surpassing superyacht ‘Al Said’, a fellow build from the shipyard measuring in at 15,850 tons.  

Indeed, as she takes shape, viewers can see her sheer scale as well as the huge amount of labor involved in her 52-month build as welders and other craftsmen get to work on her hull and superstructure.

Lurssen also revealed that the motor yacht was ‘one of the most complex and challenging yachts that has ever been built, both in terms of dimension and technology'. 

The video unveils the curved and fluid lines which make up DILBAR's timeless profile

As luxury yacht DILBAR gets underway and smoothly cuts through the water, the video unveils the curved and fluid lines which make up her timeless profile as well as her expansive foredeck and sundeck aft, both home to helipads.

She is also said to ‘provide spaces in the interior which have never been seen on a yacht before’. But the superyacht world is left guessing what these could be as the Andrew Winch-styled interior remains a heavily guarded secret.

In terms of length, M/Y DILBAR is the fourth largest yacht in the world.

For more information on other Lurssen superyachts, please contact your preferred charter broker .

Alternatively, take a look at all yachts similar to DILBAR that are available to charter .

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156m Lurssen 2016

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Alisher Usmanov’s Yacht Dilbar: Everything You Want To Know

Dilbar can be translated a few ways but, in general, it means “lover” or “one with a blossoming heart” and other things along those lines. It was also the name of the yacht owner’s mother. The yacht bearing the name has become one of the most famous yachts in the world thanks to its size, its price and its stunning amenities. 

She was built by Lürssen, a German shipyard, and designed by English yacht designer Andrew Winch on the interior while Espen Øino International handled the exterior. The designers have gone on record saying it was one of the most challenging yachts they have ever built thanks to the size and all the custom elements including exclusive luxury materials. It took nearly four years for the yacht to be built. Over 680 miles of cable and wiring was used in the construction to ensure power is provided to all corners of the vessel. The yacht’s owner had it registered in the Cayman Islands.

Dilbar features a steel hull and an aluminum superstructure. 

Who Owns the Dilbar Yacht

The yacht Dilbar was launched back in 2015 and is owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, president of the International Fencing Federation. A Russian oligarch, Usmanov became a billionaire after the fall of the Soviet Union in the metal and mining industries. Since then he’s gotten into communications, publishing and much more. He’s currently one of the 100 richest people in the world.

Usmanov previously owned a much smaller yacht called Dilbar as well but he changed the name of the smaller vessel to Al Raya when he upgraded to this particular one.

In March 2022, Dilbar was seized by German authorities. Numerous international assets owned by Russian oligarchs, most notably yachts, have been taken into custody by international authorities as a part of sanctions against Russia for their aggressions in the Ukraine War. It is unclear if the yacht will be returned once the war has ended or if something else is in store.

There is also some talk that Usmanov himself may not technically be the owner of Dilar and that ownership, on paper, may actually be linked to his sister. This is potentially related to some illegal activity and was being investigated by German authorities. 

How Big is the Dilbar Yacht?

One of the reasons Dilbar is so well known is because it’s one of the largest yachts in the world . It currently ranks as the sixth longest at a staggering 511’10” long. The yacht has a gross tonnage of 15,917 and a beam of just over 77 feet. The draft is nearly 20 feet. This makes her the third largest yacht in the world by volume.

Inside Dilbar Yacht 

There is a total of 3,800 square meters of living space inside the yacht for 24 guests. This can actually be increased by the use of a number of fold out balconies. There is additional room for the 80-person crew as well. The crew can also be increased to 96 if there is need as the space is available to accommodate so many.

The average apartment in New York is 866 square feet. Dilbar’s 3,800 square meters works out to about 40,900 square feet. That means this yacht is equal to roughly 47 average New York apartments in terms of living space.

In terms of luxury amenities, the Dilbar has some unusual ones. Aside from the giant swimming pool, there’s even a full garden. The grass is a variety designed to handle living in salt air and all of the plants are native to the regions of Europe that Dilbar travels between so it can avoid sanctions about bringing foreign plants from one country to another. 

Comfort was the order of the day for interior as exemplified by something as simple as cushions. There are over 1,000 custom made cushions on board, each designed to match the interior of the rooms they were designed for. Accents in many parts are bronze and light ivory. It’s said that many materials were rare or luxury items but the fine details of what went into the overall interior design have been mostly kept under wraps.

While many superyachts have a helipad these days, Dilbar features two of them. Oneis located near the bow while the second is closer to aft on the top deck flybridge.

There is a beach deck on board as well as a floating observation bay for guests to enjoy. As expected you can also enjoy amenities like a gym, a sauna and a spa. There are several tenders including a limo tender available to ferry passengers to and from shore.

Helicopter Tender

Many superyachts have tenders for guests and Dilbar is no different as we’ve seen. However, one major difference is that Dilbar also has an AirBus Tender. That’s a large, $20 million custom helicopter tender with room for 7 passengers. The interior is designed with a lounge seating area. There’s a forward lounge that can hold 4 passengers. It faces a gallery and the sofa-seating area where three more passengers can be seated. 

The windows of the helicopter can be electronically dimmed for privacy and there’s also mood lighting inside. In-flight entertainment system can be accessed with touch screens as well.

How Fast is the Dilbar Yacht

Dilbar can get up to a top speed of 22.5 knots and a cruising speed of about 16 knots. It’s powered by an electric-diesel hybrid power source that provides 30,000 KW of power. According to the builders, this was the largest power plant ever installed on a yacht.  She runs on 4 Wärtsilä engines each producing 8,158 HP.

What’s Special About the Dilbar Yacht Pool?

The pool on the Dilbar is the largest pool ever installed on a yacht. It measures 25 meters in length which is just over 82 feet. It holds 180 m³ of water which is 47,551 gallons. A gallon of water weighs just over 8 lbs so if that pool is filled, it increases the total weight of the yacht by 396,575 pounds or nearly 200 tons.

What Was the Price of the Yacht Dilbar?

It’s not 100% clear what Usmanov paid initially for the Dilbar but its value has been assessed at $600 million to $735 million by the US Treasury department. That makes it one of the most expensive yachts ever. With a crew of about 80, the estimated annual running cost of the yacht is as much as $50 million to $80 million.

Based on some reports the yacht has a capacity for 1,000,049 liters of fuel or about 220,000 gallons. Diesel for a yacht can cost around $3 per gallon so the cost of a full refuel would be around $660,000. Apparently refueling a beast like this requires a firetruck be on hand in case something goes wrong. 

How Much Does it Cost to Charter Superyacht Dilbar?

The yacht is currently in the custody of German authorities and no one at all besides the government has access to it. That said, even before the yacht was seized it was not made available for yacht charter and was only used by its owner as far as anyone knows. 

The Bottom Line

Dilbar hit the seas in 2016 and is owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, though the German government has since seized it. It is the largest motor yacht in the world by volume and the sixth longest in the world overall. The value of the yacht, according to US authorities, could be as much as $735 million. It’s unknown if the Dilbar yacht owner will be getting custody of the yacht again anytime soon.

Many of the features of the yacht are only partially known but what is known is that the yacht has the biggest swimming pool on the sea. It also has a custom made garden with plants designed to handle the salt air. There is a massive living space on board unlike any other yacht on the sea as well. Guests also have access not just to tender boats but a helicopter tender as well. 

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Delivered in 2016, Dilbar is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage. She is one of the most complbuilt as and challenging yachts ever built, in terms of both dimensions and technology. At 15,917 tons, the 156-meter superyacht features entertainment and recreation spaces never before seen on a yacht. These include a 25-meter swimming pool that holds an incredible 180 m³ of water, the largest pool ever to have been installed on a yacht. The exterior design, a classic profile with a light ivory hull and bronze accents, was developed by Espen Øino International. Her spectacular interior, created by the Winch Design team, uses rare and exclusive luxury materials.

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10 facts about Lürssen's 156m superyacht Dilbar

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Launched by German shipyard Lürssen in 2016, Dilbar is a record-breaking superyacht. Her builder has even claimed that she “is one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built, in terms of both dimensions and technology.” This standout superyacht was delivered to her owner Uzbekistani billionaire Alisher Usmanov as a replacement for Usmanov’s previous yacht of the same name, which has since been renamed Al Raya . Information about the super-secretive yacht is scarce but the figures that have been revealed are impressive. Read on to discover the 10 most incredible facts about Dilbar …

1. Dilbar is the fourth longest yacht in the world

At 156 metres, the Espen-Øino designed Dilbar is one of the longest superyachts in the world. She was a step up from Usmanov’s previous Dilbar yacht, now renamed Al Raya , which measured only 110 metres.

2. She can accommodate almost 100 crew members

Dilbar is normally run by a crew of 80 that help maintain the superyacht and wait on her guests. When necessary, this crew capacity can be increased to a maximum of 96 crew members, meaning Dilbar can carry as many as 120 people at full capacity.

3. The largest yacht in the world by gross tonnage

While the title of largest yacht in the world by length goes to the 180.61 metre Azzam , the 156 metre Dilbar has the greatest interior volume of any yacht ever delivered, boasting an impressive gross tonnage of 15,917. This translates into 3,800 square metres of living space for 24 guests styled by Winch Design with rare and exclusive luxury materials and extended by fold-out balconies.

4. Dilbar has the largest swimming pool ever installed on a superyacht

Measuring 25 metres long, the swimming pool on board Dilbar can hold an impressive amount of water – 180 cubic metres of water in fact. The swimming pool on Dilbar is reportedly the largest pool to ever be installed on board a superyacht.

5. There is a garden on board

For guests missing the shore, Dilbar is equipped with an expansive garden complete with a specially developed variety of grass that tolerates salt air. The designer of the garden, German architect and founder of Yacht-Green Axel Massmann, disclosed that plants from “Mediterranean areas” were chosen because “ Dilbar tends to be between the South of France, northern Spain and sometimes Cyprus.” By choosing plants grown within EU waters, Dilbar was also spared the headache of customs regulations that forbid the import of foreign plants.

6. The yacht is powered by a 30,000KW electric diesel power plant

Opting for an electric-diesel hybrid power source helps reduce Dilbar’s emissions while still providing a top speed of 22.5 knots. Her builder Lürssen claims that the 30,000 KW power plant on which Dilbar runs is the most powerful to ever be fitted on a superyacht.

7. Over 1,100km of cables were installed on board

Dilbar was a technical feat. A total of 1,100 kilometres of cabling (almost the same length as the total land borders of the country of Bhutan) was stretched throughout the interior to power all of the amenities and facilities on board.

8. There are two helipads

Helipads are a key asset to helping owners and guests make smooth and swift journeys from ship to shore. Dilbar however is equipped with not one but two helipads where the H175 helicopter can land to drop off or pick up. The first is located forward at the bow of the yacht, while the second is situated aft on the top deck flybridge.

9. Dilbar was built in just 52 months

From the time of signing the contract to delivering the superyacht to her owner, Lürssen and the designers working on the project managed to construct and complete Dilbar in just over four years.

10. The interiors feature over 1,000 sofa cushions

The amount of living space on board meant that Winch Design had to decorate the interiors with plentiful soft furnishings. Dilbar has been outfitted with over 1,000 custom-made sofa cushions on board, with each and every one uniquely designed to fit the interior scheme.

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Germany Impounds the World’s Largest Yacht After Establishing Links to a Russian Billionaire

"dilbar" has been linked to sanctioned russian billionaire alisher usmanov. meanwhile, 20 yachts in the netherlands are now prohibited from leaving the country., michael verdon, michael verdon's most recent stories.

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German authorities impounded the superyacht Dilbar on Wednesday in Hamburg, according to a tweet from the federal police. The vessel has been linked to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, and is the world’s largest by volume. It was built by Germany’s Lürssen Yachts.

The national police said in the tweet that, “through extensive investigations despite offshore concealment,” it found Dilbar is owned by Gulbakhor Ismailova, Usmanov’s sister. The US Treasury Department said that it was named after Usmanov’s mother, according to the Washington Post . The department estimates its value to be between $600 million and $700 million, with annual maintenance costs of about $60 million.

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The Treasury Department said that Usmanov has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as to Dmitry Mevedev, former president and prime minister. Usmanov has “vast holdings across multiple sectors,” according to the statement, including a 49 percent stake in USM, a holding company that controls Russia’s largest iron-ore producer.

The 350-ft Amadea, owned by Russian bilionaire Suleiman Kerimov, also on the sanctions list, has entered Fijian waters.  Robb Report File

The Netherlands has also reported that Dutch authorities have impounded 20 yachts at shipyards in that country. The country has added four new yachts to its list this week. It did not specify the names of the yards or which yachts are impacted, but said that 14 are now under construction, two are in storage and four are being refitted. They said the vessels’ lengths range from 30 to 400 feet.

“For two of these yachts, it has been established that they are linked to a person on the EU sanctions list,” the statement said, adding that none could be delivered, sold or exported.

Meanwhile the 350-foot yacht Amadea , owned by Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, has landed in Fiji after a long Pacific crossing. Kerimov is on the sanctions list from the US, UK and EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Fiji’s Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete said his department would need clarification when asked about the arrival of the yacht on Tuesday, adding, “We don’t do Russians.” The US Embassy in Suva and the EU’s delegation in the Pacific said they have already been in touch with the Fijian government over the yacht’s presence.

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From Russian oligarchs to tech CEOs, here's who owns 10 of the most expensive luxury yachts in the world

• Rising Sun superyacht is valued at $200 million and was purchased by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in 2004.
• Dilbar, seized by German police from a Russian oligarch, is valued at $735 million.
• These are 10 of the most expensive yachts in the world.

Rising Sun, valued at $200 million

Rising Sun superyacht is valued at $200 million and was purchased by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in 2004, according to Robb Report .

Rising Sun was later purchased again by Geffen Records executive David Geffen in 2010, according to Club Yacht . Geffen also owns another yacht called Pelorus and his yachts have been frequented by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, according to the outlet.

Aviva, valued at $250 million

Aviva, valued at $250 million is 323 feet long and was built in 2017, according to Robb Report . The boat is so large that it has a paddle tennis court that doubles as an indoor soccer field in its interior, according to the outlet.

Andreas Hering, the project manager of the shipyard where the boat was constructed, told Boat International that "in three years" to "build a big yacht around a padel tennis court was the main brief, I guess."

Octopus, valued at $200 million

Octopus, a 414-foot superyacht owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is valued at $200 million, according to Robb Report.

The boat can accommodate 12 guests in 13 different cabins, according to Yacht Charter Fleet . The boat also has a dance floor and a movie theatre, according to the outlet.

Radiant, valued at $300 million

Radiant, a superyacht built for Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky in 2010, is 360 feet long and worth $300 million, according to Robb Report.

The boat can accommodate up to 20 guests and 44 crew and sports a beauty salon, gym, pool, and jacuzzi, according to the outlet.

Dubai, valued at $400 million

The "Dubai" megayacht, owned by United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is 532 feet long and is worth around $400 million, according to Architectural Digest .

Topaz, valued at $527 million

Topaz was built in Germany for the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to Dubai realtor LuxuryProperty.  

The nearly 500-foot yacht has a helicopter pad, gym, pool, and cinema hall, according to the realtor. Mansour owns Abu Dhabi United Group, which acquired Manchester United FC in 2008. 

Eclipse, valued at $600 million

The 533-foot Eclipse superyacht is valued at $600 million, according to the luxury magazine Robb Report .

The Eclipse is owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, one of 16 yachts and vessels that he owns, according to Forbes .

Azzam, valued at $600 million

Azzam is the largest and one of the fastest yachts in the world, according to Architectural Digest.

The boat took around three years to build and sits at 590 feet long and can travel at a speed of 35 miles per hour, according to the outlet.

Azzam is owned by the family of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was the Second President of the United Arab Emirates before his death in May 2022.

Al Said, valued at $600 million

The 508-foot Al Said sits in the Lürssen shipyard in Germany and was purchased by the former Sultan of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 2008 for $600 million, according to Robb Report.

The yacht can travel up to 25 miles per hour and has a concert hall that can accommodate a 50-person orchestra, according to the outlet.

Dilbar, valued at $735 million

Dilbar, owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, is the largest superyacht in the world and it's valued at $735 million.

In April 2022, the yacht was impounded in Germany . German federal police said they seized the yacht after an investigation into "offshore concealment" and determined that Usmanov's sister is the owner of the yacht. The boat remains at a shipyard in Hamburg, Germany.

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The 5 tragic minutes that sank a superyacht

PORTICELLO, Italy — Survivors of a storm that sank a superyacht off the coast of Sicily recounted their ordeal to one of the doctors who rushed to their aid, with some saying it took mere minutes for the 180-foot ship to go down. 

Dr. Fabio Genco, head of the Palermo Emergency Medical Services, told NBC News on the phone Thursday that he arrived in the seaside village of Porticello before dawn Monday, about an hour after the $40 million Bayesian sank in the violent and sudden storm.   

Of the 22 people onboard, 15 survived despite storm conditions and darkness, climbing onto a lifeboat before being rescued by a nearby sailboat. The crew members have made no public statements so far, though some have been interviewed by investigators.

“They told me that it was all dark, that the yacht hoisted itself up and then went down,” Genco said, recounting what the survivors told him. “All the objects were falling on them. That’s why I immediately made sure, by asking them questions, if they had any internal injuries,” he said. 

It appears they had just minutes to abandon the sinking ship, Genco said. 

“They told me that suddenly they found themselves catapulted into the water without even understanding how they had got there,” he said, “And that the whole thing seems to have lasted from 3 to 5 minutes.”

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini Navi that built the Bayesian, told Sky News that there were no flaws with the design or construction of the yacht. He said their structure and keel made boats like that “unsinkable bodies.”

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he disavowed responsibility, blaming instead the actions of the crew. “Mistakes were made,” he said. 

Genco said one of his colleagues who arrived at the scene before him initially thought that only three people survived, but the coast guard reported there were other survivors and more emergency services were called in. 

When Genco arrived, he found scenes of panic and despair. 

“Unfortunately, we are used to such panic scenes because we are used to the shipwrecks that happen on Lampedusa ,” Genco said, referring to the island southwest of Sicily, where the wreckage of boats carrying migrants on the sea journey from North Africa to Italy are often found . 

Six of the passengers were declared missing Monday, and by Thursday, the bodies of five had been recovered from the wreck , some 160 feet underwater.

Among those who survived is Angela Bacares, wife of the British tech mogul Mike Lynch , whose body was recovered Thursday. 

Another survivor has been identified as Charlotte Emsley, 35. She told the Italian news agency ANSA that she had momentarily lost hold of her year-old daughter, Sofia, in the water but managed to retrieve her and hold her over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were pulled into safety.

Dr. Domenico Cipolla at the Di Cristina Children’s Hospital in Palermo is also part of a team of medical professionals treating the shipwreck survivors. He told the BBC on Wednesday that Emsley and her daughter, as well as the father of the child, who Cipolla said also survived, are continuing to receive psychological help. 

“Psychological support was constant and is constant even today, because basically it is the wounds of the soul that are the most in need of healing in these cases,” Cipolla said.

Genco also told NBC News that he was especially concerned about the child. “She did not understand anything. She was soaking wet and cold,” he said. 

Karsten Borner, the Dutch captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, a yacht that was anchored near the Bayesian, said by phone Wednesday that he saw a thunderstorm come in at around 4 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET) Monday, followed by what looked like a waterspout, a type of tornado that forms over water. 

The International Centre for Waterspout Research noted on X that there was a “waterspout outbreak” off the coasts of Italy on Monday, the day the Bayesian sank. 

“I turned on the engine and made maneuvers so that we wouldn’t collide with the Bayesian, which was anchored about 100 meters from us,” Borner said. “Then all of a sudden it disappeared. Then the wind calmed down, we looked around, and saw a red flare.”

Borner said he got into his boat’s tender and saw a life raft with 15 people on it. Members of the crew were administering first aid. 

“I don’t know why it sank so quickly, but it may have something to do with the mast which was incredibly long,” he said. Questions have been raised about whether the mast was to blame for the accident as tall masts, even with the sails down, have more surface area exposed to the wind, which can contribute to tipping a vessel in a storm.

The CCTV footage that emerged Tuesday showed the yacht’s 250-foot mast, believed to be one of the tallest aluminum sailing masts in the world, lashed by the storm as it appears to tilt to one side before disappearing.

Claudia Rizzo is an Italy based journalist.

Claudio Lavanga is Rome-based foreign correspondent for NBC News.

Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.

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Yacht Sank in Sicily Due to ‘Endless Chain of Errors,' Ship Maker's Owner Speculates: ‘Everything Was Predictable’

"A series of activities should have been done to avoid finding oneself in that situation," argues Giovanni Costantino, who owns the firm that built the vessel in 2008

• Giovanni Costantino — who is the CEO of The Italian Sea Group, the company that now owns Perini Navi, which built the  Bayesian  in 2008 — blames an "endless chain of errors" for the luxury yacht’s sinking on Monday, Aug. 19
• "Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here," Constantino told Italian newspaper  Corriere della Sera  of the storm the boat was caught in
• "An unsinkable ship but from the crew an endless chain of errors," the CEO claimed to the outlet

The sinking of the luxury Bayesian  yacht off the coast of Sicily this week  resulted from an "endless chain of errors" by the crew, the ship maker's CEO is speculating.

"This episode sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," Giovanni Costantino — who leads The Italian Sea Group, the company that now owns Perini Navi, which built the  Bayesian  in 2008 — said,  according to CNN .

While speaking to  Italian newspaper  Corriere della Sera , Costantino said he believes those on board should not have been in their cabins, as he claims they were, when the Bayesian sank in the early hours of Monday, Aug. 19. 

Many details of why the yacht went into the water so quickly remain unclear and it's not yet known what the passengers and crew were doing before tragedy struck.

The 183-foot British vessel sank around 5 a.m. local time on Monday after a "violent storm" while near Porticello, the Italian coast guard said in a statement that was previously obtained by PEOPLE.

"Everything that has been done reveals a very long sum of errors. The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor. And then why didn't the crew know about the incoming disturbance?" Costantino said in his interview, translated from Italian.

PERINI NAVI PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

"The passengers reported an absurd thing, namely that the storm came unexpected, suddenly. It's not true. Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here. Nothing came suddenly ... Ask yourself, why was no fisherman from Porticello out that night? A fisherman reads the weather conditions and a ship doesn't? The disturbance was fully readable in all the weather charts. One could not not know," he argued.

"An unsinkable ship but from the crew an endless chain of errors," the CEO asserted.

The coast guard has said 22 people were aboard the  Bayesian  when it sank — 12 passengers and 10 crew — and that 15 of those were subsequently rescued.

The body of the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered nearby. 

ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty

Costantino's comments came as it was reported that five bodies had been found in the search for the missing six people as of Wednesday, Aug. 21, a source close to the rescue operations confirmed to PEOPLE. Authorities have said that their work is ongoing. 

An Italian government official, Massimo Mariani, reportedly named one of the dead as British tech tycoon Mike Lynch . The other bodies have not yet been publicly identified by authorities. 

Lynch was celebrating with family and friends on the yacht following his acquittal in a fraud trial in June, PEOPLE previously reported.

Costantino offered his view of how the tragedy could have been avoided: "To begin with, in a weather alert situation it was inappropriate to have, as I read, a party. Not that evening. The hull and deck needed to be secured by closing all doors and hatches, after putting the guests at the ship's meeting point as per emergency procedure. Then start the engines and pull up the anchor or release it automatically, put the bow to the wind and lower the keel.

"The next morning they would have departed with zero damage." 

Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty

When discussing whether the crew were at fault, Costantino reiterated to the Italian outlet that he believes "errors were made."

"A series of activities should have been done to avoid finding oneself in that situation," he said. "I as the ship's captain would have moved, but even if for some reason I had to stay there, I would have managed those weather conditions which then, let's face it, weren't so crazy."

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.  

Costantino contended that there would have been "a zero risk if the correct maneuvers had been made and if situations that compromised the ship's stability had not occurred," adding to the newspaper that reports that the boat went down in seconds is "nonsense." He believes the yacht would have "went down" after water "started to enter" within "six minutes."

The remaining missing  Bayesian  passengers are Lynch's daughter Hannah as well as Chairman of Morgan Stanley International  Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy , and New York City-based lawyer  Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda , sources have said.

Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued, PEOPLE previously reported.

Related Articles

Sailing yachts like Mike Lynch's are 'unsinkable bodies', CEO of boat manufacturing firm says

Bayesian superyacht which sank off Italy is an "unsinkable" vessel, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, said.

By Ashna Hurynag, news correspondent and Eleonora Chiarella, producer

Thursday 22 August 2024 15:27, UK

Vessels like Mike Lynch's stricken superyacht are "unsinkable", according to the chief executive of the firm which makes and sells them.

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, told Sky News there are no flaws with the design and construction of the Bayesian superyacht which capsized in a storm off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Monday.

Five bodies were found by divers on Wednesday - taking the number of confirmed dead to six.

The Italian Sea Group also owns the firm that built British tech tycoon Mr Lynch's Bayesian, and Mr Costantino said the vessels "are the safest in the most absolute sense".

"Being the manufacturer of Perini [boats], I know very well how the boats have always been designed and built," he said.

"And as Perini is a sailing ship... sailing ships are renowned to be the safest ever."

He said their structure and keel made them "unsinkable bodies".

Read more on this story: Why search of superyacht wreck has been so difficult Hero mum 'slept with baby on deck when storm sank yacht'

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Mr Costantino said news of the sinking "put me in a state of sadness on one side and of disbelief on the other".

"This incident sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," he said.

It is understood Italian prosecutors investigating the incident are continuing to hold interviews with the survivors.

On Tuesday they questioned the captain for more than two hours to help reconstruct what happened and provide useful technical details.

Four British inspectors are also in Porticello and have begun a preliminary assessment of events.

It is understood they will look at all relevant aspects of the incident, including the design, stability, and operation of the vessel. They will also examine the effects of the weather conditions experienced.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Twenty-two people were on board the vessel, 15 of whom were rescued - including Briton Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter Sofia.

Divers will resume efforts on Thursday morning to bring ashore a body they found earlier. One more person remains missing.

Related Topics

• Superyacht sinking

Who are the six missing in luxury yacht disaster off Sicily?

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MIKE LYNCH AND DAUGHTER HANNAH

Jonathan bloomer and wife judy bloomer, christopher morvillo and wife neda morvillo.

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Reporting by Catarina Demony; Additional reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, Andres Estebaran and Sam Tobin; Editing by Sharon Singleton

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Catarina is a UK-based breaking news correspondent. She previously worked as a multimedia journalist in Portugal and Spain, where she covered everything from elections to natural disasters. Catarina has previous experience in TV and local journalism, co-founded a project telling the stories of Portuguese-speakers living in London, edited a youth-led news site and worked for several NGOs. She recently produced a documentary about transatlantic slavery and its legacies in today's society.

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The Hardest Sell in American Car Culture

Ford is pivoting to small electric cars. Will a country of SUV-lovers actually buy them?

Ford didn’t invent the car, but it might as well have. The Model T—cheap, simple, and small—brought the automobile to the masses. By the early 1920s, about half of the world’s cars were made by Ford. But these days, Ford is only nominally in the car business. Of the 1.9 million vehicles that Ford sold in the U.S. last year , a mere 48,636 were listed as “cars.” (Ford sells just one in America, the Mustang.) The rest were SUVs and trucks, such as the ubiquitous F-150.

It’s the same deal at the other “Big Three” automakers, General Motors and Stellantis (the vaguely pharmaceutical-sounding conglomerate that now owns Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, and Dodge). Although all once had lineups of sedans, station wagons, coupes, and hatchbacks, they now primarily focus on trucks and SUVs. Companies keep making bigger and bigger cars, and Americans keep buying them. Visit another country and you’ll quickly realize how exceptionally chunky the vehicles are stateside: By one measure , cars in the U.S. are 20 percent heavier than those in Europe.

And yet in June, Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, said something almost heretical coming from an American auto executive: “We are just in love with these monster vehicles, and I love them too, but it’s a major issue with weight.” Americans, he added, need to “get back in love” with smaller cars. This can feel a bit like hearing the CEO of Anheuser-Busch say, You know, Americans are just drinking way too much beer . Farley’s primary concern with weight is not pedestrian safety ( though that is a problem ) but electric-vehicle batteries. Bigger electric cars require heftier batteries—and because batteries represent the most expensive part of any EV , those come with a higher price tag. Asking customers to foot the bill hasn’t worked out. Yesterday, Ford punted on its EV strategy , canceling a large, three-row SUV. “We could not put together a vehicle that [would] be profitable in the first 12 months,” the Ford executive John Lawler said on a conference call.

Ford is making a similar calculus as many other car companies: With EVs, smaller may be better. But that strategy only pay off if people actually buy these cars. Persuading drivers to go electric has already proved to be a tough ask. Persuading them to go smaller may be even tougher.

A large part of why Americans prefer bigger cars is that carmakers have been very successful at pushing them on us. It’s a matter of basic economics: With gas cars, bigger vehicles aren’t much more expensive to build than smaller ones. But the former are sold at much higher prices. For that reason, since the end of World War II, American car companies have never been particularly good at, or interested in, making puny compacts.

For decades, the full-size luxury sedan—functionally land yachts loaded with creature comforts—was the pinnacle of American carmaking. Over time, the emphasis shifted to big trucks and SUVs, with features that push profit margins even higher. “Look at the evolution of the F-150 from work truck to luxury barge on wheels,” Ivan Drury, the director of insights at the car-buying website Edmunds, told me. The F-150 ranges from spartan $37,000 workhorses to fully loaded tanks that cost $90,000 and mix luxury with intense towing and hauling power. You’d be hard-pressed to find such expensive add-ons with smaller cars. To goose profits, Farley’s predecessor began axing small cars and sedans from Ford’s U.S. lineup in 2018 to focus on trucks and SUVs.

All of this has gone a long way in shaping the way that Americans now tend to equate “small” cars with “dinky” or even “unsafe.” Maybe you want a Mini Cooper, but wouldn’t you feel safer putting your child in a giant Ford Expedition? Car buyers have learned to want more than they need. “We really do buy vehicles for the future and not the now,” Drury said. “Like the occasion where you have family members visiting: ‘Well, I gotta have a seven-seater,’ even if you drive by yourself 99 percent of the time.”

Recently, rising prices and interest rates have meant that some smaller and more affordable cars are gaining momentum, but America is still overwhelmingly a truck and SUV country. You can find lots of small cars for sale, but not typically from the biggest American automakers. Over time, they largely ceded the sedan and small-car market to companies such as Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai. Today, Toyota sells more cars in the U.S. than Ford does.

So far, Ford and GM have approached the EV era by making battery-powered versions of the big trucks and SUVs that buyers know so well. At the end of last year, GM stopped production of its sole small EV, the Chevy Bolt. But sales of many big EVs have lagged behind expectations, in large part because of the price tags. Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning retails for at least $10,000 more than its gas-powered counterpart. The only Chevy Silverado EV pickup truck you can buy retails for almost $97,000, thanks to its giant battery, and that’s two or even three times the cost of a gas Silverado.

Over time, as lithium-ion batteries get cheaper, big EVs should also come down in price too; GM, for one, seems to be banking on this . But the basic economics of building a car are simply different in the electric age. For the foreseeable future, bigger EVs will be much more expensive to make than bigger gas cars—and much harder to profit from. But America’s carmakers have another reason to start downsizing. They face a potentially devastating wave of Chinese competitors selling EVs that are smaller, cheaper, more technologically advanced , and actually profitable . If Ford can’t compete with the Toyota Camry, how can it keep up with BYD’s acclaimed $11,500 Seagull ? The Chinese company has already introduced its models in many countries, and it globally sold more EVs than Tesla last year.

Right now, the only things keeping Americans from flocking to options from BYD, Nio, or Zeekr are tariffs and geopolitical tensions. But those are a Band-Aid at best, especially as Chinese carmakers build factories in Mexico with the likely aim to eventually sell vehicles in the U.S. Or maybe they’ll just build cars in Ohio. Donald Trump now says that if he wins a second term, he wants Chinese automakers to set up factories in America too . Farley has been unusually candid about the stakes: “If we cannot make money on EVs, we have competitors who have the largest market in the world, who already dominate globally, already setting up their supply chain around the world,” he has said . “And if we don’t make profitable EVs in the next five years, what is the future?”

For Ford, the answer is a new EV program tasked with designing a new family of electric models that are smaller, more efficient, profitable, and hopefully priced from $25,000. GM and Stellantis have similar moves planned, like the soon-to-be-reborn Chevrolet Bolt and Jeep Renegade, both of which could cost $30,000 or less. To convince Americans that small isn’t bad anymore, automakers may have to bank on the inherent strengths of EVs: Without an engine to account for, these smaller cars can be designed with much more space inside. Great compact EVs may just result from engineers being forced to rethink how to make them newly appealing, Edmunds’ Drury said. “Put the handcuffs on some of the product designers, product planners, engineering ... Necessity is the mother of invention, right?”

Still, American buyers have to learn that, no, they might just not need the biggest SUV possible for the one weekend a year their sister-in-law and her kids come to visit. Environmental concerns take a back seat to convenience, real or imagined. In one survey, American buyers claimed that they couldn’t go electric until EVs have 500 miles of range or more and can fully recharge in minutes; we always seem to be on the verge of some imaginary long-distance road trip and yet we drive 40 miles a day or less on average. Removing such deep-seated ideas from our collective consciousness may be harder for automakers than pivoting their businesses toward cars that run on batteries and software.

But scolding people about their driving habits is no substitute for making great EVs. China’s car companies have already done that, and now they’re posting up just south of Texas. If Ford and other companies can’t do things differently, American jobs and technology might not be the only things that suffer. U.S. carmakers may have no choice but to respond to affordable foreign cars by doing what they’ve always done: leaning further into gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs.

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World News | Mike Lynch’s body recovered from sunken superyacht off Sicily; 1 woman still missing

22 people including the tech magnate were aboard the bayesian.

Rescue crews brought the body bag ashore at Porticello port while divers continued to search for the sixth missing person, whom the coast guard identified as a woman. The agency confirmed that the recovered bodies included that of British tech magnate Mike Lynch .

Also among the six missing passengers were Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter and associates who had successfully defended him in a recent U.S. federal fraud trial.

“We would need a crystal ball to know when we’ll be able to find the next body,” said Luca Cari, spokesperson for the fire rescue service.

“It’s very difficult to move inside the wreckage. Moving just one meter can take up to 24 hours,” Cari said.

The Bayesian, a 184-foot British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about half a mile offshore. Civil protection officials said they believe the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Fifteen people escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. One body was found shortly afterward.

Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office investigators were acquiring evidence for their criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy despite no formal suspects having been publicly identified.

Questions have abounded about what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to rapidly sink, when the nearby Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat was largely spared and managed to rescue the survivors.

Giovanni Costantino, head of The Italian Sea Group, which owns the ship maker, blamed human error for the disaster, which he said took 16 minutes. “The ship sank because it took on water. From where, the investigators will say,” he told RAI state television after he met with prosecutors.

Costantino cited AIS ship tracking data which he said showed the Bayesian had taken on water for four minutes when a sudden gust of wind flipped it and it continued taking on water. The ship straightened up slightly and then went down, he said.

But was it merely the case of a freak waterspout that knocked the ship to its side and allowed water to pour in through open hatches? What was the position of the keel, which on a large sailboat like the Bayesian might have been retractable to allow it to enter shallower ports?

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to whether it had a lifting keel and whether it might have been up,” said Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and the editor of the Journal of Sailing Technology. “But if it had, then that would reduce the amount of stability that the vessel had, and therefore made it easier for it to roll over on its side,” he said in an interview.

The captain of the sailboat that rescued survivors said his craft sustained minimal damage — the frame of a sun awning broke — even with winds that he estimated reached 12 on the Beaufort wind scale, which is the highest hurricane-strength force on the scale.

He said he had remained anchored with his engines running to try to maintain the ship’s position as the forecast storm rolled in.

“Another possibility is to heave anchor before the storm and to run downwind at open sea,” Karsten Borner said in a text message. But he said that might not have been possible for the Bayesian, given its trademark 250-foot-tall mast.

“If there was a stability problem, caused by the extremely tall mast, it would not have been better at open sea,” he said.

Yachts like the Bayesian are required to have watertight, sub-compartments that are specifically designed to prevent a rapid, catastrophic sinking even when some parts fill with water.

The underwater search continued in dangerous and time-consuming conditions. Because of the wreck’s depth, which requires special precautions, divers working in pairs could only spend about 12 minutes at a time searching, though reinforcements outfitted with special equipment to enable longer dives were on the wreck Wednesday.

In all, some 27 divers took rotations, including four who helped with recovery after the 2012 Costa Concordia disaster off Tuscany. They called the Porticello wreck a “little Concordia,” fire crews said in a statement.

The limited dive time was aimed in part at avoiding decompression sickness, also known as the “bends,” which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly, allowing nitrogen gas dissolved in the blood to form bubbles.

“The longer you stay, the slower your ascent has to be,” said Simon Rogerson, the editor of SCUBA magazine. He said the tight turnaround time suggested the operation’s managers were trying to limit the risks and recovery time after each dive.

“It sounds like they’re operating essentially on no decompression or very tight decompression, or they’re being extremely conservative,” he said.

Divers were also working with debris floating around them, limited visibility and air tanks on their backs.

“We are trying to advance in tight spaces, but any single thing slows us down,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the fire rescue service. “An electric panel could set us back for five hours. These aren’t normal conditions. We’re at the limit of possibility.”

Winfield reported from Rome and Kirka from London. Associated Press journalists Trisha Thomas in Rome; Andrea Rosa in Porticello; and Anika Kentish in St. John’s, Antigua, contributed to this report.

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