Luxury private yacht draws onlookers to Katajanokka

The Pelorus is apparently now the property of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's ex-wife

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Yep, it is BIG!
      The luxury yacht Pelorus, moored at the Katajanokka Quay, is all of 115 metres from bow to stern.
      It has a helicopter pad - or maybe two of them - on the deck, and one of those antennae or domes astride the funnel is probably something to do with the vessel's alleged onboard anti-missile defence system. There's also supposed to be a cinema on board, a disco, and even a mini-submarine.
     
The yacht, which tied up in Helsinki on Wednesday, has rapidly become an unofficial local sight.
      Dozens of curious onlookers are standing on the quay, possibly hoping to get a glimpse of the vessel's owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
      There's probably little chance of that.
      In July of last year, the Daily Express reported that Abramovich, whose enormous wealth came from the Russian oil business, was parting company with his second wife Irina.
      The breakdown of their 15-year marriage was described at the time as the world's most expensive divorce. According to the newspaper, the tycoon's former spouse received not only a tidy sum of money, country estates, and other properties, but also the keys to the 5,317 GT Pelorus.
     
Then again, Roman was not exactly left high and dry without a boat or boats to mess around in.
      In addition to a few luxury yachts he owned beforehand, he is having himself built an even bigger vessel, the 168-metre Eclipse, which will be the world's largest private yacht when it is completed, probably later this year.
     
A wire-mesh fence keeps the curious at least ten metres away from the vessel in Helsinki's South Harbour.
      The general opinion is one of admiration for the boat, though there are a few suggestions that such vulgar displays of Russian wealth sit uncomfortably with the fact that the country cannot get the St. Petersburg waste-water treatment plant to work so that it does not pollute the Gulf of Finland still further.
      One wag suggests the vessel was a rather bad investment at a couple of hundred million euros, when one could get Finnjet (quite a lot bigger, and a lot faster, especially if one doesn't need to worry about fuel costs) for just EUR 7 million and change.
     
A couple of the onlookers are dressed in Chelsea FC shirts, and have brought along VIP-cards for admission to the Helsinki watering-hole Sport Pub Chelsea.
      They slipped them to a crew-member through the fence, and he promised to pass them on to Abramovich, who - in case anyone does not know - also happens to own the London football club.
      Chelsea have been in the news once again lately because of the appointment of Portugal's Brazilian head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as the Premiership club's new manager, just as soon as he has finished the national team's Euro 2008 campaign.
      The Chelsea fans are apparently unfazed by the information that the vessel may no longer even be the property of Roman Abramovich, and believe that the cards will find their rightful owner somehow.
     
Maybe Abramovich's new yacht Eclipse will be the next source of wonderment to show up at the Katajanokka berth.
      The Pelorus will be weighing anchor and heading out on Sunday at the latest.


Links:
  Pelorus (Wikipedia)
  Specifications and photos of Pelorus (Superyacht Times)

Helsingin Sanomat