A luxury yacht, said to belong to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, is in a shipyard in Hamburg. Then the “Graceful” surprisingly puts to sea.
Hamburg – A bizarre sight recently appeared in Hamburg. Two ships lay side by side in the Blohm + Voss shipyard. Actually nothing unusual, but one of the ships was apparently the private yacht of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the other the German warship “Emden”.
The Kieler Zeitung reported on Sunday (February 6th, 2022) that the luxury yacht, which is attributed to the Russian President, has been in Hamburg since September 2021. Shortly after the report appeared, the yacht set sail eastward. The Bild newspaper reported an “escape-like” departure “out of fear of being arrested”. Accordingly, the owner could be afraid of sanctions as a result of the Ukraine conflict. The Blohm + Voss shipyard has not yet responded to an inquiry by Spiegel.
Yacht of Russia’s President Putin leaves Hamburg
The giant white yacht, which apparently belongs to Vladimir Putin, was docked in September 2021, according to media reports. Previously she was traveling in the Black Sea. In May 2021, it served as Putin’s residence in Sochi, Russia, when he received Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko.
The Russian yacht was then shipped to Hamburg to the Blohm + Voss shipyard belonging to the Lürssen Group. However, there was no official information on this, according to Kieler Nachrichten, a spokesman for the Lürssen Group referred to discretion about the process. According to the report in the Kieler Zeitung, two large balconies were added to the “Graceful” in Hamburg, which were integrated into the hull on the main deck.
Putin’s yacht was in Hamburg next to the warship “Emden”, an 89 meter long corvette of the German Navy. At 82 meters long, Putin’s yacht is only a few meters shorter than the warship. (Sarah Neumeyer)
