What billionaires pay to moor their luxury yachts in Melbourne revealed

A luxe yacht has made its way into Melbourne — on top of a huge cargo ship — sparking speculation as to its owner. Here’s what billionaires pay to moor their floating palaces in our city.

Mandy Squires

3 min read

May 14, 2024 - 3:00PM

Victoria

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Who is the lucky owner of the luxe superyacht seen arriving into Melbourne by ship on Monday?

The vessel was hard to miss, sitting pretty on the huge Dutch Spliethoff cargo ship, Fagelgracht, alongside a much smaller catamaran.

The yacht’s arrival sparked speculation on Reddit, with some Melburnians commenting it could be in the process of being relocated overseas, which was a “safer and often cheaper option than paying a crew to sail it over”.

Another person said its owners could be in a rush to get their hands on the boat, “or it’s not finished!”.

The mysterious yacht is transported into Melbourne.

Melbourne has a dedicated superyacht facility in Victoria Harbour, which is the only one of its kind in the state.

But marina staff on Tuesday remained tightlipped on the name of the yacht, its owners, where it had come from or where it was headed.

“As the largest superyacht marina in Melbourne, it is the premium choice for luxury mooring,” the City of Melbourne spruiks on its website.

“With the city at one side of the marina and the iconic Bolte Bridge on the other, you’ll have some of the best views in Melbourne to enjoy on your deck, especially as the skies ablaze at sunset.

“Moor in Melbourne and you step ashore in the heart of Australia’s sporting and cultural capital. You need only walk for mere minutes before you are submersed in the entertainment hub of the Marvel Stadium or the renowned dining scene of Melbourne’s CBD.”

Yacht owners can book short-term (up to 90 days in a 12 month period) overnight berthings in the marina.

Because money is no object for the billionaire owners of these luxury yachts, the mooring fees are likely inconsequential — but ordinary Victorians may be interested to know the cost is $4.30 per metre per day for the off-peak May 1 to November 30 period, but jumps up to $9.70 per metre per day during the December 1 to April 30 peak period, for vessels over 35.1m.

Power and water are also charged on consumption at 30 cents per kilowatt an hour.

The world’s biggest yachts are upwards of 150m, with the largest now under construction and measuring more than 220m.

The 222m “yacht liner” Somnia — which translates to “dream” in Latin — is set to sail mid-year and features 39 luxurious apartments, a 10,000 bottle capacity wine cellar and tasting room, multiple restaurants and bars and an on-board beach club featuring water-sports facilities, among other exclusive inclusions like spas and outdoor lounges.

Last month it was revealed a superyacht owned by the late Brisbane marine industry identity, Keith Lloyd, had hit the market, with a surprising new asking price and long list of luxury inclusions.

The 46m Italian-built vessel, named Mistress, was on April 30 this year docked at Marina Mirage on the Gold Coast and had been relisted for sale at $7.95m following Mr Lloyd’s death in 2023 aged 85.

Mr Lloyd, a former shipbuilder and founder of the Shafston International College, had previously taken the boat to auction in 2021, inviting bids from just $1 despite his intention to accept no less than $10m for its sale at the time.

The late Keith Lloyd's superyacht, Mistress.

Mistress has many luxe inclusions.

It’s understood Mistress was relisted for sale at $7.95m.

A bedroom aboard Mistress.

A mega yacht generally costs more than $10m to buy, with the most expensive superyacht launches stretching to several hundred million dollars.

Even renting a superyacht can set you back $1m a week, with one of the world’s largest available for private charter at a whopping $3m per week.

Unofficial superyacht bible, Superyacht Fan, says that besides Russian oligarchs, Saudi princes and businessmen, U.S. sports stars, pop stars and billionaires, it is Australia’s richest citizens — like Gina Rinehart, Clive Palmer, James Packer and Lindsay Fox — who own, or have previously owned, the floating palaces.

Superyacht Fan says Victorian trucking magnate Fox has enjoyed his share of luxury holidays aboard his luxurious superyacht Volpini 2, with Volpini derived from the Italian word for fox.

Built by Amels in 2018 by renowned designer Tim Heywood, Volpini 2 is a limited edition 188 model, boasting “impressive features that make her stand out in the crowded world of luxury yachts”, it says.

Superyacht Fan — which claims its team “spends a lot of time researching and deeply investigating yacht ownership structures” — also says it believes Fox owns a luxury long-range business jet, as well as possibly an older Bombardier Global Express jet and “an old lear jet”.

But it points out details about yacht and private jet ownership on its popular site “are sometimes based on rumours”, as billionaires are notoriously private about their expensive possessions.