One of the world’s most famous superyachts has arrived in London, mooring up alongside a historic British warship on the Thames in the centre of the capital.
There was no mistaking Motor Yacht A, owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, as it sailed into the heart of the capital at the weekend, mooring next to the D-Day warship HMS Belfast by Tower Bridge.
Over the years, the £225m yacht, which is 119 metres (390ft) long and boasts three pools and seven luxurious cabins, has been spotted in the playgrounds of the rich and famous and was reportedly put up for sale earlier this year by the wealthy industrialist.
Melnichenko, 44, listed by Forbes magazine as one of Europe’s youngest billionaires with a fortune estimated at $11.4bn (£8.6bn) is said to have made his money through investments in coal, fertilisers and banking.
VIDEO: M/Y A - the $300 million superyacht designed by Philippe Starck - arriving in London yesterday pic.twitter.com/JrcBITdB5E
— On The Thames (@ThamesPics) September 4, 2016
Melnichenko, whose 39-year-old wife Aleksandra is a former model and pop singer from Serbia, has reportedly commissioned the even grander Sailing Yacht A from the same designer, Philippe Starck.
Motor Yacht A boasts an unusual upside-down hull among its range of features, which also include three swimming pools that create currents to swim against, with a glass roof looking up into one of the pools, according to superyachts.com.
The vessel has a helipad and master suite encased in bomb-proof 44mm glass, and can accommodate 14 guests and up to 37 crew.
The yacht was named A in order to make the vessel appear first on shipping registries.
When completed in 2008, Motor Yacht A was the sixth-largest privately owned motor yacht in the world, though now is lower down in the top 25.