The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that it has detained a brand new £38m SuperYacht owned by a Russian businessman. It is the first time that UK authorities have detained a SuperYacht in UK waters.
SuperYacht ‘Phi’ had entered UK waters with its AIS switched off. AIS is an electronic system that identifies vessels to marine traffic datacentres.
According to a video posted in January by SuperYacht YouTube vlogging channel ‘Yacht Buoy‘ SuperYacht Phi was last in UK waters in December, having spent the Christmas period in the capital.
When she was last docked in Canary Wharf, the vessel had its AIS system switched on.

Officers from the National Crime Agency’s ‘Combating Kleptocracy Cell’ have served a detention notice on the superyacht this morning (29th March), meaning that it cannot be moved and is not allowed to leave UK territorial waters.

A spokesperson for the NCA said that following some fast-paced work by intelligence officers in the Cell – supported by colleagues from Border Force Maritime Intelligence Bureau – the ultimate owner of the vessel Phi was identified.
Following the detention of the vessel, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson told reporters that the UK government “will continue to take robust action against anyone benefitting from Russian links”.
“For the first time ever in UK waters, we have detained a Russian superyacht – the £38 million, Phi,” he said.
“The Department for Transport has worked closely with the National Crime Agency and Border Force Maritime Investigation Bureau to intercept the superyacht and will continue to take robust action against anyone benefitting from Russian links”
The government later clarified that the owner of the vessel is not currently subject to UK sanctions.
More information is in the video below:
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories & videos which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services & NHS by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' back in 2018 was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services & NHS which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of you, our readers.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.