A £500million superyacht rumoured to belong to Vladimir Putin has been moved out of dry dock and back into the ocean, sparking fears it could be about to flee European waters to escape sanctions on Russia.
The Scheherazade been out of the water at the Porto di Carrara marina near Massa, in northern Italy, since late 2020 when it arrived just months after being launched to undergo a re-fit.
But it has now been moved back into the ocean, according to the Daily Telegraph, which also reports that crew members have been spotted taking large tarpaulins off of her deck and inspecting the vessel.
That has sparked speculation among locals that the ship - 450ft long and equipped with its own spas, swimming pools, a gym and two helipads - could soon depart the marina.
And it appears the Italian coast guard would have no power to stop it because its owner has still not been firmly established, meaning it cannot be seized under sanctions on Putin's regime over the Ukraine war.
If the vessel does indeed belong to Putin, it is likely the crew would try to flee EU waters to the relative safe haven of Turkey, following in the wake of vessels belonging to Roman Abramovich and Alexander Abramov.
From there, it could transit the Suez canal to the Indian Ocean, Indonesia, or even the port of Vladivostok - thousands of miles away in the Russian far-east. Boats belonging to the likes of Victor Rashnikov, Oleg Deripaska, Alexei Mordashov and Andrey Kostin have already made that journey.
The Scheherazade, a £500million superyacht that has been in dry dock in northern Italy for the past two years, has now been returned to the water - sparking fears it could flee in an effort to escape sanctions
Investigators for Putin arch-rival Alexei Navalny say the boat - which features a dancefloor that lowers to reveal a swimming pool - belongs to the Russian despot because it was almost entirely staffed by secret service agents
An Italian probe into the owner of the boat - which features huge entertaining spaces equipped with a grand piano - has yet to conclude, meaning coast guard are currently powerless to stop it from leaving
Vladimir Putin claims that he is only moderately-wealthy, but is suspected of secretly harboring a $100 billion fortune.
A smaller, older vessel, the Graceful, has long been suspected of belonging to Putin.
Alone among the world's superyachts, the Graceful's hull was laid at a Russian naval shipyard, before being finished in Germany, an industry source told DailyMail.com.
The Graceful left port in Germany about two weeks before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and is currently docked at Russia's Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, safely out of the reach of Western sanctions.
The Scheherazade, however, is stuck in drydock in Italy undergoing repairs, and a person familiar with the matter said that it would be impossible for it to sail before the end of March.
A smaller, older vessel, the Graceful (seen leaving Hamburg last month), has long been suspected of belonging to Putin
The Graceful left port in Germany on February 7 (above), about two weeks before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and is currently docked at Russia's Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, safely out of the reach of Western sanctions
Advertisement
Gabriele, the manager of a yacht club within sight of the Scheherazade, told The Telegraph on Thursday: 'We heard that it was going to leave the marina last night but maybe it was delayed because of bad weather.
'It's not been seized by the authorities so I guess it's free to go any time.'
Speculation about the Scheherazade's owner has swirled for years but was alleged to be Putin by an investigative team led by his arch critic Alexei Navalny back in March.
A probe into the vessel's crew revealed that almost all of them worked for either the FSB or FSO - Russian secret services that are charged with protecting Putin - and routinely flew to and from Moscow on shift rotations.
The only member of the crew who did not work for the secret service was British captain Guy Bennett Pierce, who confirmed that the vessel is Russian-owned but refused to say who the owner is.
Documents for the Scheherazade seen by Navalny's team show the official owner is an offshore company from the Marshall Islands - a tactic commonly used by the super-rich to conceal their wealth.
Putin is also known to list family or friends as owners, with his name almost never used on official documents.
Shortly after the results of Navalny's investigation were published, the entire Russian crew vanished and were replaced by Britons. No reason for the replacement was given.
Workers taking part in the vessel re-fit have described it as a miniature floating city - complete with 'countless swimming pools, a spa, a sauna, a theatre, ballrooms, a gym, [and two helipads.'
The boat even houses its own hospital, workers said, amid rumours that Putin's health is failing.
The yacht arrived at the port at the end of last summer under the steerage of Captain Bennett-Pearce, who denies that Putin is the owner or has ever been on board.
Paolo Gozzani, of the local CGIL Union, spoke to MailOnline in late March when the Russian crew were suddenly recalled from the Scheherazade. He said: 'From what I have heard the Russian crew were all replaced during the last few days and now they are all British.
'It was all a few days, the word from inside is that they were called back to report for military service and now there are armed guards surrounding it as well. You can't get anywhere near her and the level of security is unbelievable.'
A source at the marina said: 'You could spot the Russians a mile off they were in the local bars most night, drinking vodka and beer.
'They were big looking guys and then one day they all just disappeared. To be honest for me they didn't look like a yacht crew they looked like a small army or security detail.'
The six-deck Scheherazade is one of the largest and most-expensive privately-owned boats in the world - with space equivalent to two apartment blocks.
The yacht has room for 18 guests in nine luxury cabins in addition to a crew of 40, residing in 20 cabins and boasts two helipads, a royal suite, a swimming pool, a spa and a beauty salon.
But since its launch in 2020, the yacht's true ownership has been cloaked in absolute secrecy.
Currently docked for repairs at the Italian Sea Group shipyard in Marina di Carrara, Italy, the Scheherazade is protected by measures that are extreme even by the ultra-private standards of the superyacht world, with covers hiding its nameplate and a metal barrier erected to partially block the vessel from public view.
For more than a year, workers at the shipyard have speculated that the ship belongs to Putin himself, a source there told MailOnline on March 8. 'All the whispers were it belonged to Putin,' the person said.
The source said that the Scheherazade's crew appear to be Russian, and that a team of Germans working on repairs to the vessel were recalled by their home office after the EU announced its sanctions in early
