Indian Empress saga over at last after 95m superyacht sold for €45 million under value

Abandoned superyacht Indian Empress has finally been sold after the Maltese Court approved a €35 million private bid for the superyacht from Sea Beauty Yachting Limited.

The company made the bid just one day before the vessel’s second scheduled public auction. The 95-metre (311-foot) superyacht was due to be reauctioned on 19^th September, after the previous winning bidder Crediyacht, which was representing an Iranian buyer, failed to stump up the €43.5 million price in time.

However, Barclays (the mortgagee) appealed to the Maltese Court after identifying a private buyer.

Indian Empress was originally ordered for sale by the Civil Court (first hall) of Malta in May, on the application of Melita Power Diesel following the arrest of previous owner Vijay Vittal Mallya in London in October 2017 at the request of the Indian government.

It requested his extradition to stand trial over an alleged debt of more than ₹ 90 billion (Indian rupees; approximately €1.13 billion).

Indian Empress was left abandoned after Mallya’s arrest, leaving the 40-plus-strong crew aboard the superyacht with months of unpaid wages totalling in excess of €860,000. Maritime workers union Nautilus International has confirmed it is hoping to use the funds raised from the sale of the vessel to pay the outstanding wages.

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