Mass: At the dry dock in the city of Tuscan Seaside of Massa stands “Scheheraazade”, the most famous cruise ship in Italy at this time because the speculation could belong to Vladimir Putin.
With the arc facing the Mediterranean, 140 meter crafts worth an estimated $ 700 million is the subject of investigating its ownership by Italian Finance Police.
Some cruises belonging to Russian Oligarchy have been confiscated in Europe since Moscow invaded Ukraine last month. However, the foreclosure of “Scheherazade”, however, would be the most spectacular it was a coincidence indeed traced to the President of Russia.
For several months, it has been parked for maintenance work at the Italian Sea Group Shipyard at the Marina in Carrara, in the city of the West Coast Massa not far from the famous Carrara Marble mine in Tuscany.
On Wednesday, a AFPTV journalist watched no signs of clear activity, although some men worked nearby.
A source close to the probe that was ongoing by Italian finance police told AFP that the investigation could be wrapped in a few days.
“We are in the phase of studying deeper and generally more complicated,” the source said. “It’s not always easy to associate ownership.”
Crew changes
Built by Lurssen Germany by 2020, this cruise ship has two helipads, swimming pools and cinemas, according to the Superyachtfan website, which researches cruise ships and its owners.
News report said “Scheheraazade”, the flying flag of the Cayman Islands, owned by a company registered in the Marshall Islands.
The captain was England, but the entire crew was Russia, according to researchers at the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation Alexei Navalny, which on Monday posted a video on the yacht that connected the cruise ship.
The researchers quoted a list of crew they had which included several members of the Russian Federal Protective Service, which was charged with Putin’s security.
But on Wednesday Paolo Gozzani, the head of the local CGIL Union, which included shipyard workers, said the “Scheheraazade” crew suddenly changed in the past few days.
“The crew exclusively consists of Russian personnel,” Gozzani told AFP.
“And suddenly all staff were replaced with an English crew, and the reason was still unclear.”
The New York Times has reported that the US authorities have gathered evidence that connects Putin to luxury vessels, which made two trips, in 2020 and 2021, to the Sea Black Sochi resort.
The Italian Sea Group said in a statement that the cruise ship was “not caused by the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin”.