Transportation

Take a closer look at Russian oligarch's $700 million superyacht that is one of the largest in the world

Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, next to his superyacht called Eclipse
Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, next to his superyacht called Eclipse Alexander Hassenstein - UEFA/UEFA/Ali Balli/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Read in app

Like other Russian oligarchs, Roman Abramovich had seemingly scrambled to avoid sanctions and that included quickly moving his superyachts to more friendly waters.

Many of the 55-year-old billionaire's assets — such as the Chelsea Football Club and several homes — have been sold or frozen since Russia launched an unprovoked war on Ukraine, Bloomberg reported

While Abramovich couldn't move the Premier League football club Chelsea FC and sold the $3 billion club, his yachts are another matter. 

Abramovich's 553-foot-long flagship is The Eclipse, estimated to have cost $700 million when built. After sanctions were initially dropped by the UK against Abramovich, his second "smaller" $600 million superyacht, Solaris, left Barcelona, Spain, and moved to friendlier waters in Turkey.

Solaris was joined in Turkey by The Eclipse, which arrived from the Caribbean.

While the superyacht Eclipse was photographed in Turkish waters in early August, it was once docked at Manhattan's Pier 90, and Robert Johnson was able to get some pictures. Take a tour of the superyacht below. 

Robert Johnson contributed to this post.

Just south of this public parking lot on the roof of the Pier 90 terminal in New York City sat Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's flagship yacht, the "Eclipse."

The Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

536-feet long and styled after military vessels.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 15
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

The 2010 Eclipse cost $700 million and was the world's largest yacht when built.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 13
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

The vessel has amenities to rival any ship on the sea — like its own mini submersible, perhaps similar to this— able to dive down 150-feet.

Deep Flight Mini Sub
Expedition News

The Eclipse has two helipads.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

Bulletproof glass and armor plates wrap the length of Roman's master suite and the bridge.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

And a German-built missile defense system.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

The ship's also supposed to have a laser defense against paparazzi trying to photograph the yacht's guests, but saw no evidence of the device when we were there.

Laser
Laser Point Forums

The Eclipse has three launch boats.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 12
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

That looked to be stocked with medical supplies and a variety of handheld radios.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

From the cruise ship parking lot it felt like we were almost on the Eclipse itself.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

But with little chance we'd be invited aboard through the ship's door here ...

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

... We hoped to find one of the 70 crew members required to sail the Eclipse and see if they'd tell us what ship life was like.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

But we found no one interested in talking.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

But we certainly didn't feel like paparazzi, or that we'd be lasered, when we were in the parking lot tourists use when they arrive to board their cruise.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 7
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

From up here, the ship was simply stunning and the amount of work required to keep her that way apparent.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 6
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

The Yacht Report says owning a superyacht costs about 20% of the ship's initial value every year.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

But experts believe that Roman probably pays $75 million a year to run the private cruise ship with 24-guest suites.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 11
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

Looking at the layout of the ship gets us talking about the two swimming pools inside, the disco, cinema, hair salon, and restaurant.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 10
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

The billionaire's guests would use this door to enter any fore part of the deck.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 9
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

Perhaps noting where the life rings were as they made their way about the ship.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 8
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

At 13,000 gross tons, the Eclipse was, at the time, the largest vessel to use a special stabilization system to keep it calm in rough waters while anchored or moving slowly through the sea.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

Roman faced a $150,000 tab for parking the Eclipse in New York City while possibly visiting his daughter and her new baby — about $2,000 a day.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

A large yacht like the Eclipse can hold over 100,000 gallons of fuel.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

Depending on the current price of fuel, a five-hour cruise each way could cost about $30,000.

Abramovich Eclipse Pier 90 NYC 16
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

None of those numbers are likely to concern Roman Abramovich, however, who has an estimated net worth of nearly $8 billion.

Roman Abramovich Yacht Eclipse
Robert Johnson/Business Insider

Source: Forbes

Here is some drone footage of the superyacht.

You can see interior photos of the luxury yacht at Boat International

The "Eclipse" belonging to Roman Abramovich.
The "Eclipse" belonging to Roman Abramovich. Ali Balli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

Read next

Cork was a correspondent for Insider's sports desk.Previously, he was a contributor at MLB Trade Rumors, and he has written for Yahoo Sports, Deadspin, and The Hardball Times. He has authored chapters in three books, including "The Hardball Times 2009 Season Preview." Cork's work has been featured on ESPN's "SportsCenter" and "Mike & Mike," "Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons," ESPN.com, BBC, Yahoo, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Drudge Report, the Washington Post, the Kansas City Star, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News, among others.He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and holds a doctorate from Fordham University.Here is a selection of his work:Under Armour hit the jackpot on its Jordan Spieth betGary Woodland once took his pants off to hit a shot and learned a funny lesson about product endorsementWe tried the alcohol diet Tom Brady put Rob Gronkowski on, and it was a lot harder than we imaginedThe University of Texas spent $7 million remodeling their football locker room and the results are jaw-droppingStephen Curry has replaced LeBron James as the best basketball player in the worldEx-NBA player who made $60 million explains what really happens to your money when you sign an 8-figure contractHere's Michael Jordan's 56,000-square-foot house in Chicago, and why it's still on the market after 6 yearsMayweather beat McGregor with a TKO in the 10th round! Here are the big moments everybody will be talking aboutPerfect conditions at Cowboys-Patriots game helped create incredible picturesWe've been using Alexa in a car for 6 months and it's the best infotainment system we've ever used.
At Insider, Taiyler wrote about a wide range of topics — including politics, entertainment, sex work, homelessness, policing, death row, and prisons. She also had a hand in breaking news, reporting on elections, covering multiple high-profile trials, and producing thought-provoking pieces about overseas issues — including interviewing sources who were inside the embattled countries of Afghanistan and UkraineTaiyler's coverage of the death penalty has been cited by The Death Penalty Information Center. Her reporting has also been referenced in multiple books such as "Reject Self-Serving Power: Helping Others Be Successful and Finding Selflessness in Business, Politics, and Life" by James Michael Matthew and "TikTok Cultures in the United States" by Trevor Boffone.In addition, Taiyler has appeared on LX News, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, to discuss her reporting on the heavy presence of cultural appropriation on TikTok.Featured stories:First, Tory Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion. But even more violence came in the years after, with a cascade of threats, vitriol, and textbook 'misogynoir' harassmentTo sex workers, navigating the world without medical access to abortions or reproductive care is nothing new. But the overturning of Roe V. Wade puts their livelihoods further at risk.Teyana Taylor tells us what it means to be the first Black woman Maxim named 'Sexiest Woman Alive'Takeoff's untimely death in November sheds light on the music industry's role in the unfortunate trend of Black men dying youngInmates across Alabama's notoriously macabre prisons are on strike: 'I'm just a slave'Lethal injection is supposed to be a 'peaceful' way to execute death row inmates, but experts say it violates the US ConstitutionTexas halts execution of Melissa Lucio as her attorneys say there is a broader issue of false confessions among womenEx-cult member Ginni Thomas may have fallen back into old habits with QAnon-backed conspiracy theoriesVanessa Bryant's lawsuit showed that 'death books' are still a disturbing custom in law enforcement