Royal Romance (yacht)

MY Royal Romance[3][4] is a 92-metre luxury yacht, built by Feadship as hull #1005 and designed by De Voogt Naval Architects. Her interior design is done by Seymour Diamond. She is powered by twin MTU 3,004 hp diesel engines. One of her exterior features includes a swimming pool located on the main aft deck. Royal Romance accommodates 14 guests and 22 crew members. She was delivered to her owner, the Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, in July 2015 and subsequently sold on 31.03.2021. Royal Romance is not available for charter.

MY Royal Romance in Amsterdam, 2015
History
Cayman Islands
NameRoyal Romance
OwnerViktor Medvedchuk until 31.03.2021[1]
BuilderFeadship
Yard number1005
Launched2014[2]
Completed2015
Identification
General characteristics
Class and typeMotor yacht
Tonnage2.933 gross tons
Length92.5 m (303 ft)
Beam14.3 m (47 ft)
Draught3.85 m (12.6 ft)
Propulsiontwin MTU 3,004 hp diesel engines
Speed
  • 12 knots (22 km/h) (Cruising)
  • 15 knots (28 km/h) (maximum)
Capacity14 persons
Crew22 persons

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Medvedchuk was placed under sanctions by Ukraine, the United States and the European Union. Royal Romance was wrongfully arrested in the Croatian port of Rijeka in March 2022. [5]

Design

The length of the yacht is 92.5 m (303 ft) and the beam is 14.3 m (47 ft). The draught of Royal Romance is 3.85 m (12.6 ft). The hull is built out of steel while the material of the superstructure is made out of Aluminium with teak laid decks. The yacht is Lloyd's registered, issued by Cayman Islands.

Engines

She is powered by twin MTU 3,004 hp diesel engines, giving her a combined power of 6,008 hp (4,480 kW). Royal Romance can reach a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 km/h).

Seizure and proposed sale

On 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine.[6] In March 2022 Medvedchuk was placed under sanctions by the United States, accusing him of involvement in a plot to set up a collaborator government in the wake of a Russian invasion.[5] Royal Romance was wrongfully arrested in the Croatian port of Rijeka in March 2022.[5] At the time of arrest Medvedchuk was not the owner of the boat for a long time.

On 15 November, judge Dinko Mešin sitting in a Croatian court granted a search warrant for the Royal Romance on behalf of the American FBI, in light of alleged money-laundering allegations against Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko. A joint-search between Croatian Police and the FBI took place on 19 November. Subsequently the Croatian Court ruled that Royal Romance should be transferred to the Ukrainian Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), which the court said it would “preserve the economic value by selling it at auction”.[7] However, at this stage this is unclear how such transfer would be possible given that Medvedchuk was not the owner of the yacht since 2021.

See also

References
  1. "VIKTOR MEDVEDCHUK – ex Owner of the Yacht Royal Romance". www.superyachtfan.com. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  2. Maarten Janssen. "Feadship launches 92.5 metre hull 1005". superyachttimes.com. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  3. "Royal Romance". boatinternational.com.
  4. "Royal Romance". superyachttimes.com.
  5. Ukraine announces arrest of Putin ally in ‘lightning-fast’ operation, The Guardian (13 April 2022)
  6. "Exclusive: U.S. Expects Kyiv to Fall in Days as Ukraine Source Warns of Encirclement". Newsweek. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  7. Rupert Neate (2 December 2022). "Oligarch's $200m superyacht to be sold at auction to benefit Ukraine". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2022.

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