Beyonce’s Party Yacht Flying Fox
The hunt for Russian oligarch-owned superyachts has revealed many surprises and plot twists so far. One of the greater ones was probably the revelation regarding the infamous Flying Fox. Last summer, this jaw-dropping pleasure was making headlines not only as Beyonce and Jay-Z's birthday party boat but also as being the luxury toy of none other than Jeff Bezos. Turns out it actually belonged to yet another super-wealthy Russian.
When Beyonce shared photos of her and Jay-Z spending almost the entire month of September 2021 on board the Flying Fox, the media went crazy with rumors about it belonging to the space cowboy himself. It made sense, since the giant 136 meters vessel was one of the most impressive on the market, with an estimated worth of $400 million. But this year’s international sanctions against Russian oligarchs revealed its true ownership.
Dmitry Kamenshchik owns the second-largest airport in Russia and one of the largest in Eastern Europe. At 54, he’s among the younger oligarchs, with a fortune estimated at more than $2 billion.
His ultra-luxurious megayacht was faced with an entirely different experience this year. After Kamenshchik’s name was reportedly included on the U.S. sanctions list, the Flying Fox was detained in the Dominican Republic earlier this year. The yacht was not allowed to leave to country until the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) carried out a search over fraud allegations (among other things).
After spending an entire month in Port Don Diego, the infamous megayacht simply disappeared one day, with no official explanation for why it was able to leave or why it did it so late. The owner of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport seems to no longer be on the sanctions list. However, it rushed to get its luxury pleasure craft to a safe haven, just like the oligarchs who are at risk of losing their boats.
After a one-month trip from the Dominican Republic, vessel tracking platforms are now showing that the Flying Fox has recently stopped near Gocek, Turkey. Turkey has become a well-known safe haven for Russian superyachts since it has openly disagreed with the sanctions against Russia. Business Insider also confirmed that Flying Fox has joined the other targeted vessels stationed in this area.
Last year, it was making headlines as a $4 million-per-week party boat. Now it’s losing money (the prolonged stationing in the Dominican Republic cost it over $1 million) and simply trying to stay safe – the tides sure have turned.
