Ukrainian Protesters In Tiny Dinghy Attempt To Stop Roman Abramovich's Superyacht From Docking In Turkey

Protesters have attempted to stop one of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s yachts from docking in the Turkish port of Bodrum.

The Bermuda-flagged luxury yacht 'Solaris', which is reportedly worth around £450m, departed from Montenegro last week and attempted to dock in the Turkish resort on Monday.

A group of Ukrainian protesters boarded a small dinghy and tried to prevent the yacht from docking.

The group were carrying Ukrainian flags, which had the phrase 'No War' printed on them.

However, the yacht was eventually able to dock despite the protests.

Abramovich has been sanctioned by both the UK and EU (Image: PA)

Abramovich has been sanctioned by the EU as part of its response to Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

It is not known if Abramovich was on board the yacht or if it was moved to Turkey to avoid the sanctions.

Montenegro is not part of the EU but is expected to become a member by as early as 2025. It agreed to join the sanctions on Russia earlier this month, possibly putting Solaris at risk of being seized if it had remained in the port of Tivat.

Turkey, on the other hand, has not imposed sanctions on Russia and has positioned itself as a neutral party in the conflict.

Abramovich is not the only Russian oligarch to have had his yachts targeted as part of the sanctions.

According to the Daily Mail, the owner of steel group TMK, Dmitrievich Pumpyansky, had his 'Axioma' yacht seized while it was moored in Gibraltar on Monday. 

Alexei Mordashov, who is reported to be Russia's richest man, had his yacht 'The Lady M', seized by Italy earlier this month.

The Russian oligarch is in the process of selling Chelsea (Image: PA)

Other oligarchs, including Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko and Igor Sechin, have also reportedly had yachts seized in recent weeks.

Abramovich, meanwhile, remains in the process of selling Chelsea after also being sanctioned by the British government.

A shortlist of interested bidders is expected to be announced this week and the process of selling the club is likely to take at least another month.

Topics: Chelsea, Football, Roman Abramovich

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan