A Ukrainian sailor stands accused of partially sinking a luxury yacht belonging to his employer, Alexander Mikheev. Mikheev is former CEO of defense contractor JSC Russian Helicopters and current CEO of Rosboronexport, Russia’s state-owned weapons export conglomerate.
Chief engineer D. Taras O., 55, was arrested on Saturday, 27 February 2022 for partially sinking the luxury yacht in Port Adriano, Spain which he fully accepted the facts of the case and assumed total responsibility for what transpired. The Lady Anastasia sails under the flag of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
He told authorities that he is a Ukrainian national and had worked aboard Mikheev’s luxury yacht for ten years. He decided to take action against Mikheev’s property in retaliation for the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and he opened a valve to introduce water into the engine room.
Appearing in court on Sunday, he told the judge: “I watched the news about the war. There was a video of a helicopter attack on a building in Kyiv. The armaments used are produced by the yacht owner’s company. They were attacking innocents.”
Taras O. said he asked the rest of the crew which are also Ukrainian to abandon ship and allow the vessel to sink, but they declined and instead worked to stop the flooding. Their quick action prevented the vessel from sinking.
When Spanish police arrived, the engineer took full responsibility stating that, “My boss is a criminal who sells weapons that kill the Ukrainian people,” he told a judge at his arraignment hearing, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin. The engineer added that he had no regrets about what he had done.
Luxury yacht LADY ANASTASIA, IMO 8742496, GT 476, built 2001 (refit in 2018), flag St Vincent and the Grenadines, 5 cabins for 10 guests, crew 9, and 5,600 hp powerplant propels her at speeds up to 23 knots.
Contribution: Fleetmon
