SeapixOnlineDisplaying 38 of 11172 A (2008/5959grt, known as PROJECT SIGMA or SF99 during construction) - a Philippe Starck/Martin Francis-designed superyacht built in Keil, Germany at the Blohm + Voss shipyard makes her maiden call at the Port of Auckland, New Zealand. Estimated to have cost a cool US$300m, the 119m vessel is one of the largest of the world's ever increasing fleet of superyachts. Owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko and his wife Aleksandra, a former Serbian model and pop singer, 'A' has a top speed of around 23 knots and has a range 6500nm while cruising at 19.5 knots. 'A' can accommodate up to 14 guests in the owners suite plus six guests suites as well as her 37 crew members. During her stay in Auckland she will be drydocked for some routine maintenance before cruising the NZ coastal waters for an undisclosed period. Melnichenko, sold the yacht and as of 2022 owns the sail-assisted motor yacht, again named simply, 'A'. News of Melnichenko's new 'A' and many other Russian-owned superyachts being seized came to light in early March 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Keywords: luxury yachts, private yachts, motorboats, motor launches, mega yachts, megayachts, auckland, new zealand, nz, city of sails, ports of auckland, port of auckland, passenger craft, passenger vessel, guests, superyachts, seized, superyachts, ukraine, invasion | 
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