Roman Abramovich’s £1bn superyacht Eclipse with missile defence system sails through the Med amid sanctions hunt
ROMAN Abramovich's £1bn superyacht Eclipse, which has its own missile defence system, has sailed through the Mediterranean - amid a sanctions hunt for the billionaire's assets.
The luxury ship may be making its way to Montenegro to join the Chelsea boss's other super yacht after he had his assets frozen by the UK.
It comes as EU officials freeze the assets of oligarchs funding Vladimir Putin's bloody war in Ukraine.
Montenegro and the Maldives do not have extradition treaties with the US, meaning that it is a safe haven for the yachts.
The Eclipse could be joining its £430m sister yacht the My Solaris, which was spotted in Tivat, Montenegro, on Saturday.
The Eclipse was last seen in the Caribbean sailing away from St Martin, and has moved through the Strait of Gibraltar, according to tracking data.
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Staff on the ship have refused to say where it is going.
They told the Canarian Weekly: "[We] never give out any of this kind of information.
"We haven't done it before and we won’t start now. Not only regarding yachts but also other means of transport owned by him."
The vessel has no end destination and its status is set to "cruising", according to Marine Traffic.
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Abramovich's £50m private jet touched down in Tel Aviv on Sunday after taking off from Moscow.
It's not known if Abramovich, who is an Israeli citizen, was on the luxury Gulfstream G650ER jet - registered LX-Ray - when it arrived at Ben Gurion airport on Sunday night, in what was viewed as a bid to avoid his plane being confiscated by Western officials.
Israel has been criticised for not joining the US in imposing harsh economic sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
But the Israeli government has vowed not to be a safe haven for Russian billionaires.
The Eclipse cost just shy of £300million when he ordered it in 2010 – and at the time it was the biggest private yacht in the world.
But by the time the Russian billionaire finally got the keys, the luxury extras and security measures had trebled costs to close to £1billion.
The giant ship 533ft long and has fuel tanks said to be able to hold a million litres, meaning it can travel 6,000 miles before it needs topping up.
Eclipse boasts nine decks, the top one containing two helipads and a garage, and has a beauty salon, sauna, and massage room.
Abramovich’s baby also comes with armour-plated to repel bullets and is protected by an anti-ballistic missile defence system installed by German experts AST.
The Eclipse is also equipped with a three person submarine that can descend to a depth of 160ft, should the oligarch need to make a hasty get-away.
Solaris, which was built for the billionaire in 2021, is 458ft long - and it's taller than Buckingham Palace.
Staff on the megayacht reportedly claimed that scaffolding was ripped from the ship while it was undergoing repairs in a shipyard in Barcelona in an attempt to ensure the boat could leave quickly.
The £430million vessel was most recently tracked off the coast of Lecce, in Southern Italy, after leaving Spain.
Abramovich's superyacht joined a scramble of Russian-owned vessels hastily leaving European ports on Wednesday.
It comes as the UK impounded a private jet connected to the Russian oligarch at Farnborough Airport, according to CNBC.
The government also seized £3.2billion of Abramovich's UK assets and stopped him from selling his share of Chelsea Football Club.
Abramovich is worth £10.4billion, according to Forbes, and owns a £150million mansion in Kensington, a £33milliion West London penthouse and yachts, private jets, helicopters and supercars worth more than £1.2billion
Chelsea on Friday had their accounts frozen, after sanctions came in to ban the club from selling tickets and merchandise.
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Telecom firm sponsors Three pulled out of their £40million-a-year deal with the club, and the team has two weeks to find a new buyer who can fork out the £28million per month wage bill or go into administration.
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The Government said it is prepared to approve the 117-year-old club’s sale as long as Abramovich does not receive a penny.
