Russian Billionaire's Philippe Starck - Designed Superyacht Startles San Diego

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Sep 2nd 2010 at 6:01AM

It caused quite a kerfuffle when 38-year-old Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's megayacht A (above), designed by Philippe Starck, weighed anchor off San Diego the other day while its owner drove off to check out Hearst Castle. The 390-ft. craft which resembles a sci-fi submarine cost over $300 million to build to the quirky designer's specs at Blohm + Voss, where Roman Abramovich's Eclipse was also constructed. With a crew of 35 (all outfitted in Starck-designed uniforms) to run it, the A's twin diesel's kick down 24,000 hp for a maximum speed of 24 knots, impressive for a ship this size. The interior features $40,000 bath faucets and $60,000 stair banisters.

The all-white, 2,583-sq.-ft. master suite wrapped in bulletproof, 44-milimeter glass is accessed by a silver-plated staircase with a fingerprint scanner at the door. Elsewhere Starck scattered Baccarat crystal tables, alligator skin and Kudu horn chairs, stingray skin upholstered walls and hand-stitched leather paneling. Some of the companies involved in constructing the unique sea beast went bankrupt due to the difficulties in executing Starck's design dictums. Filling the A's gas tanks alone costs $500,000 a pop and running costs come to about $20 million a year. Check out a video of the eye-popping yacht after the jump:

Tags: alligator, Andrey Melnichenko, Baccarat, Blohm + Voss, bulletproof, design, leather, megayacht, Philippe Starck, Roman Abramovich, Russian billionaire, San Diego, silver, stingray, superyacht, yacht

Filed under: Decor, Yachts & Sailing, Wealth, Architecture & Design

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)

chinamom Sep 2nd 2010 10:32AM

strange to dock in San Diego and go check out the Hearst Castle which is probably an 8 hour drive from there.

William Sep 2nd 2010 4:09PM

I was just about to comment the same; I believe it's about a 6-7 hour drive.

BIG AL SVID Sep 3rd 2010 11:12AM

You can drink a lot of Stoli shots in 8 hrs., pal ... This guy didn't get to where he's at by being stupid-o, no??

Javed Mode Sep 3rd 2010 1:11PM

Drive? He is a billionaire. He probably took his personal jet which got him there in 30 minutes.

Jason Sep 3rd 2010 1:57PM

With that kind of money, I think you would find something better to do then go check out Hearst Castle, been there, it's kind of boring.

Jay Morgan Sep 5th 2010 9:34PM

Probably drove off to a waiting helicopter....

Laura Lynn Sep 6th 2010 3:29AM

One would think that if he had enough money to purchase a yacht like that, he would be able to afford a captain that would know which port was closest to Heart Castle. If he had laid in at Monterey, he could have been there in less that two hours. Maybe he wanted to hit all the wineries on the way up.

al schrader Sep 6th 2010 6:03AM

All of that, but no KFC or Pizza Hut way out at sea. Borsch ? Yuk.

Daniel Sep 2nd 2010 3:01PM

They actually stopped in Morro Bay for the visit to hearst castle.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/08/18/1254637/russian-yacht-morro-bay.html

jerry Sep 2nd 2010 7:35PM

The guy was here in the San Francisco Bay Area for over two weeks. He didn't invite us over for drinks or anything else and left without saying thank you or good by. Frankly I'm not impressed. The deck looks cramped, and the pool too small and an add on. Thank god P. Starck didn't touch the exterior, that is sleek. Maybe the interior not shown is not so bad, but might be too Nouveau Rich.

viennabud1 Sep 29th 2010 11:37AM

I believe that is one of those pools where you swim in place...I forget what they're called bu they're pretty cool...it has an upstream workout and you sswim like crazy...and go no where...sorta like one of those stationary bikes or unicycles...my sister wanted one of these pools, they're about $15K, not bad but nice they take up no space and you can swim til you can't swim no mo!

LES HENDRICKSON Sep 3rd 2010 12:27PM

That's not a pool, dit, it's a swim-spa.

tychoaonghus Sep 3rd 2010 6:41AM

Well, as long as he keeps running that ugly thing, people will continue to work. Maybe he'll continue to share the wealth a little in the form of wages and expenses. He should've named it M. T. Pockets. But that's obviously not the case here.

ttrexxx Sep 3rd 2010 7:14AM

I wonder where they mount the 50 cal. stern or bow or both..I'm sure all crew members are military trained.

ttrexxx Sep 3rd 2010 7:17AM

he could have leased a whole cruise ship

rugzaggy Sep 3rd 2010 7:50AM

It looks like the "Nautilus" from "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". Full speed ahead Capn' Nemo.

Papi Sep 3rd 2010 4:23PM

he likes to buy NOT lease

al schrader Sep 6th 2010 6:07AM

What, no Ferris wheel ?

Frank Sep 3rd 2010 7:55AM

What an epiphany....usually when Russians travel abroad they go by tank.

tom Sep 5th 2010 11:08PM

i thought the same thing about the nautilus, hearst castle of all places, like he needs lessons in how to be crass. this obscene oligarchy of the ruskies is so much like the american robber barons, the vanderbilts and such. although i will say, larry ellison has a pretty nice boat too.

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