Dutch government places hold on 12 yachts ordered by Russian oligarchs

The Dutch government says it is making sure a dozen yachts ordered by super-wealthy Russians are not delivered to anyone as part of sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra writes in a letter to parliament that the oft-complicated ownership structures of such yachts are being actively investigated and that no such vessel will be allowed to leave its construction yard.

Many Russian oligarchs that are now targeted by European Union sanctions have looked to the Netherlands, a traditional seafaring nation, for the super-luxury yachts that the world’s wealthiest people sometimes covet.

“The situation is, at the moment, that in five yards there are 12 yachts under construction for so-called Russian ultimate beneficial owners,” Hoekstra says. “Because of the current export measures, these vessels should not be delivered.”