BUSINESS

The Eclipse will become the world's longest yacht owned by a private citizen when it is delivered to none other than Roman Abramovich this December. It will overshadow the unconventionally designed "A," Alexey Melnichenko's superyacht, which grabbed headlines last month. This trend shows that despite the global credit crunch, rich Russians are still prepared to splash on the ultimate luxury accessory.

It isn't just superyachts that are being bought; somewhat ‘poorer' Russians are also purchasing smaller, less extravagant yachts.

"The Russian yacht market has increased by 50-70 percent every year for the last three years" says Denis Berezkin, CEO of Alpha Yachts and president of the National Marine Industry Association.

Despite growth in the market, yachting still remains the privilege of the mega-rich, with the 46-foot Pershing (in comparison, Abra­movich's yacht, Pelorus, is 377 feet long) costing $1,130,000 (28 million rubles) before taxes. In addition, VAT and custom duties in Russia can increase the costs considerably, amounting to 41.9 percent of the price.

"Certainly, such duties essentially reduce the opportunity for Russians to buy boats, especially yachts," said Andrey Boyko, director of Bure­vestnik, the largest importer of yachts in Russia.

There are already lots of yacht clubs, and last year a new one opened in landlocked Moscow, interestingly called the Royal Yacht Club. There is a growing society of yacht owners, and rivalry between them, as between Abramovich and Melnichenko, helps to drive the market.

"A yacht still remains a status symbol. Frankly speaking, a competition between yacht owners over who has the best yacht really exists," said Petr Soldatkin, the head of the Royal Yacht Club.

Real competitions even exist, and Berezkin praised a recent tournament in the Tverskaya region called the "poker run," where competitors first raced in their small "cutters" and then played poker.

"In Russia this type of event was held for the first time, it wasn't flawless, but it was a pretty good beginning," he said.

For some, yachts are more than a status symbol. Some spend the summer season living in them or even conducting business on the water.

"They organize different meetings and discussions with their partners or sign treaties on board the yacht rather than in the office. I personally think it's a good idea," said Berezkin.

Despite substantial growth in the market in the last few years, Russia still lags behind Europe and America. Five years ago, only representatives and owners of large companies could afford yachts, but the market has widened now, according to Boyko.

"However, with the popularization and development of yachting's infrastructure, it has attracted wider layers of the population," he said.

Foreign firms are also beginning to target Russians as they believe they will make up a significant part of the market in the near future.

"We have already sold several yachts into the Russian market over the last few years, but naturally it is an area that we would like to develop further, particularly with the launch of the new Oyster Superyachts," said Liz Whitman of Oyster Marine, the UK's leading builder of luxury cruising yachts. "Despite the current financial climate, we are continuing to find sales holding up well," she added. 

By Ed Bentley