It’s hard to miss. If you’ve spent any time near the National City marine terminal lately, you’ve probably seen it: a 348-foot behemoth of steel, glass, and gold-plated excess. This isn't just another luxury boat. It’s the Amadea, the infamous Russian yacht San Diego locals have been staring at for years now. It’s a floating monument to international law, billionaire ego, and the sheer logistical nightmare of the U.S. Department of Justice trying to play repo man on the high seas.
Most people think a seized yacht just sits there like a parked car. It doesn't. This boat is costing you—well, the U.S. taxpayer—roughly $600,000 to $1,000,000 every single month just to keep it from rotting or sinking. Think about that. Every thirty days, several hundred thousand dollars go toward air conditioning, a skeleton crew, and routine maintenance for a boat the U.S. government doesn't even technically own yet.
The saga of the Russian yacht San Diego is honestly a bit of a legal comedy of errors, if you ignore the grim geopolitical backdrop.
How a $300 Million Superyacht Ended Up in a San Diego Dock
The story didn't start in California. It started in Fiji. Back in May 2022, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. went on a global hunt for assets belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs. The FBI and local Fijian authorities swooped in on the Amadea because they believed it belonged to Suleiman Kerimov. Kerimov is a gold tycoon with close ties to the Kremlin. He’s been on the U.S. sanctions list for years.
But here’s the kicker: someone else claimed they owned it.
Eduard Khudainatov, the former CEO of Russian state oil giant Rosneft, stepped forward through a web of shell companies. He claimed he was the rightful owner and that he wasn't on any sanctions list. The legal battle in Fiji was intense. It lasted weeks. Eventually, the Fijian Supreme Court cleared the way for the U.S. to take the boat because, frankly, the cost of keeping it in their waters was bleeding them dry. The U.S. Marshals Service didn't waste time. They sailed that massive vessel right across the Pacific, through the Panama Canal's neighborhood, and docked it right here in San Diego.
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The San Diego "Ghost Ship" Reality
Since June 2022, the Russian yacht San Diego has been a permanent fixture of the skyline. You can see its distinct tiered decks and that massive helipad from the bridge. It’s a Lurssen-built masterpiece. If you were to walk inside—which, trust me, you can't—you’d find a hand-painted Pleyel piano, a massive lobster tank, and a gym that would put most Equinox locations to shame.
It stays in San Diego for a very practical reason. This port has the infrastructure. You can’t just tie a 300-foot superyacht to a rotting wooden pier in a small marina. It needs deep water, heavy-duty power hookups, and high-level security. National City provides all of that.
The Staggering Cost of Doing Nothing
Let's talk about the money. Most people assume that once the government seizes something, the spending stops. With a house, maybe. With a yacht? Never.
The Russian yacht San Diego requires "warm layup" maintenance. You can't just turn the engines off and walk away. Saltwater is incredibly corrosive. If the air conditioning stops, mold will destroy the multi-million dollar interior in weeks. The DOJ is paying for:
- A full-time crew (engineers, security, deckhands).
- Massive amounts of fuel just to keep the generators running.
- Port fees and dockage.
- Insurance (ironically, the government has to insure the very thing they are trying to take).
Court filings from 2024 showed that the government has already spent over $20 million on this boat since it arrived. That’s why the DOJ filed a motion to sell the thing. They argued that the "excessive" costs of maintenance were a waste of resources.
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The Legal Tug-of-War
Why haven't they sold it yet? Because the law is slow.
Eduard Khudainatov is still fighting. His lawyers argue that the U.S. has no right to sell a boat that doesn't belong to a sanctioned individual. They’ve turned this into a massive civil forfeiture case. If the U.S. sells it and then loses the court case later, they could be on the hook for the full $300 million value of the ship plus damages. It's a high-stakes gamble.
The DOJ’s Task Force KleptoCapture is leading the charge. They’ve got mountains of evidence—supposedly—showing that Kerimov used layers of offshore companies in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands to hide his tracks. They’ve even pointed to "maintenance logs" and "crew emails" that mention the Kerimov family’s personal preferences.
Basically, the government is trying to prove the boat is a "proceed of a crime" or was used to violate sanctions. Until a judge gives the final green light, the Russian yacht San Diego stays exactly where it is.
What This Means for San Diego
For locals, the yacht has become a bit of a morbid tourist attraction. It’s a reminder that global politics has a way of washing up on our shores. It also creates a strange niche economy. Local contractors, fuel suppliers, and specialized maritime engineers are the ones actually doing the work to keep the Amadea afloat.
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Is it a security risk? Not really. It’s under constant surveillance. Is it an eyesore? Depends on who you ask. Some think it’s a beautiful piece of engineering; others see it as a symbol of greed and the slow gears of bureaucracy.
The most likely outcome? A court will eventually authorize an interlocutory sale. This means the boat gets auctioned off to the highest bidder, and the cash—not the boat—is held in an escrow account until the legal case is finished. If the government wins, the money stays with the U.S. (often used to aid Ukraine). If Khudainatov wins, he gets the cash.
Actionable Insights for Following the Saga
If you’re interested in the fate of the Russian yacht San Diego, here is how you can stay informed and what you should look for in the coming months.
- Monitor PACER for Case Updates: The legal battle is happening in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (where the seizure warrant originated), even though the boat is in California. Look for filings under "United States of America v. M/Y Amadea."
- Check Port of San Diego Public Records: You can often find mentions of dockage agreements or specialized maintenance permits in the Board of Port Commissioners’ archives if you're willing to dig through the PDFs.
- Look for the "Notice of Sale": Once the court grants the motion for sale, the U.S. Marshals Service will list the vessel on their official seizure site. This is usually the signal that the boat will finally leave San Diego waters.
- Understand the Precedent: This case is setting the standard for how the U.S. handles "non-traditional" assets like superyachts. What happens with the Amadea will likely dictate the fate of other seized vessels currently sitting in ports around the world, like the Nord or the Tango.
The boat isn't going anywhere tomorrow. But the legal walls are closing in. Whether it ends up in the hands of a new billionaire or continues to sit as a $300 million paperweight in National City, the Amadea has already carved out a strange, expensive spot in San Diego history.
Keep an eye on the horizon. The day that helipad disappears from the skyline is the day the government finally won—or finally gave up on the tab.