A superyacht linked to Chelsea soccer club owner and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich docked in the Turkish tourist resort of Marmaris on Tuesday, a port source said, a day after another of his yachts arrived in nearby Bodrum, also in the county's southwest.
The Eclipse, which is one of the world's biggest at 162.5 meters (533 feet) long and sails under a Bermuda flag, arrived in Marmaris after cruising southeast of the Greek islands of Crete and Rhodes, according to Marine Traffic data.
The data also showed the superyacht Solaris remained moored in Bodrum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) away, having skirted the waters of European Union countries that have sanctioned the oligarch over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
There was no indication that Abramovich was aboard either of the vessels. He was among several wealthy Russians added last week to a European Union blacklist, and EU governments have acted in recent days to seize yachts and other luxury assets from them. Abramovich had already been punished in Britain.
The Eclipse is reported to have two helipads, nine decks, a swimming pool and built-in missile defenses.
World governments are seeking to isolate President Vladimir Putin and his allies over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation.”
NATO-member Turkey has close ties to both Russia and Ukraine. It has criticized Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine but has also positioned itself as a neutral party trying to mediate between the two.
Turkey has closed the Turkish Straits connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to most Russian warships but has not imposed sanctions on Russia or shut down its airspace to Russian flights.
Last week, Abramovich flew to Moscow from Istanbul in his private jet. According to flight-tracking data, it was the second trip by a jet linked to Abramovich between the Turkish city and the Russian capital in three days.
The 140-meter yacht Solaris, which also sails under a Bermuda flag, according to Marine Traffic, docked in Bodrum on Monday afternoon, just over a week after it left Montenegro's Adriatic resort town of Tivat on March 13.
A group of Ukrainians carrying Ukrainian flags with the words “No War” emblazoned on them boarded a small motorboat and tried to prevent the yacht from docking, the media reported.
Both the Eclipse and the Solaris were built in German shipyards. They are among a string of yachts owned by Abramovich, according to reports in luxury goods publications SuperYachtFan, SuperYacht and Forbes.
Several groups have been confirmed as bidders to buy English soccer club Chelsea from Abramovich, who was also hit by British government sanctions after Russia's invasion.
