Annette Sharp: Gretel Packer hires out her dad’s beloved yacht, Arctic P

It combines ocean-going stability with the luxury of a spa and plunge pool — but a $10m-a-year upkeep bill may have contributed to Gretel Packer’s decision to charter out her father’s beloved yacht.

Arctic P, Kerry Packer's old icebreaker yacht, is available for hire. Picture: CharterWorld.com

The pride of Kerry Packer’s fleet of luxury transports, the modified icebreaker known as the Arctic P — and its catalogue of tantalising mod cons — is the latest celebrity pleasure craft to be put out to charter.

The late media boss’s prized toy, which has caught the eye of charter boat operators, is now featured on international charter boat website CharterWorld.

The listing comes after the 87m yacht — which, according to pundits, is worth between $80m and $100m — changed hands within the Packer family when Kerry’s daughter Gretel bought the boat from her brother James in about 2017 after the billionaire decided to upgrade to a flasher $200m gigayacht.

As was reported at the time, the yacht once held great sentimental value to Gretel.

Now, however, with it costing as much as $10m a year to maintain, crew and moor, it appears the mother-of-three has decided that the time has come to put the Arctic P to work.

How the yacht appears on the Charter World website.

While Gretel’s daughter, Francesca, has entertained a coterie of her Insta-famous friends on the yacht in recent years, CharterWorld is now spruiking the vessel for the forthcoming European summer.

Sources last week hinted the charter experiment may precede the future sale of the boat, with Gretel considering downsizing to something smaller. She couldn’t be reached for comment on Friday.

The Arctic P has a special place in Gretel Packer’s heart. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The icebreaker has a plunge pool and spa on board. Picture: CharterWorld.com

When the Arctic P was acquired by Kerry Packer in 1994, sources close to the businessman maintained the media magnate had chosen the stout yacht over something more aerodynamically designed and elegant because he suffered terribly from seasickness, something that apparently didn’t affect his accomplished yachtsman father Sir Frank, and looks not to be creating any issues for his son.

Packer hoped that he would find his sea legs on the chunkier tug, on which, it was claimed, one might experience less roll on a deck that was purpose-built by German shipbuilders in 1969 to carry huge cargoes through icy seas.

While she may never win a beauty contest, with a deadweight of 1444 tonnes the Arctic P apparently served the television-mad Packer well after the businessmen instructed a Malta shipyard to rig it for maximum satellite TV coverage in the ’90s.

The yacht, which was refitted again in 2008 following Packer’s death, can carry a maximum of 12 guests and 25 crew, and features a swimming pool.

CharterWorld notes the yacht is fitted with two Deutz-MWM diesel engines and can reach a maximum speed of 22 knots, and is currently moored in Antibes, France — so interested parties will need to add an airfare to their holiday budget before they relocate for the season.

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