LE GRAND BLEU

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Russian billionaire’s yacht can’t dock because it is illegal

The "Le Grand Bleu" has been mored in Gravesend Bay for more than a month and was sitting idle because it was illegal for the vessel to dock. The yacht is owned by Russian-born billionaire and oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler — who became a U.S. citizen in 1994 — and flies the Bermuda’s flag. Because the vessel is not a U.S.-flagged ship, was not constructed in the U.S., and is not crewed exclusively by U.S. citizens, federal law prohibits the boat from directly sailing from one American port to the next. Shvidler’s ship set sail from Florida on April 13, 2017, and cast anchor in Gravesend Bay on April 16, where it has and will remain for as long as he’s in town, unless he wants to incur a hefty fine for docking in New York Harbor or run the risk of the government towing away hisyacht. It’s unclear how long Shivdler plans to anchor in the bay and what business has brought him to New York, and we could not reach him for comment or even to get a free tour of the yacht. Report with photo and video: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/40/21/all-russian-yacht-update-2017-05-26-bk.html