The Equanimity Could Be the MOST EXPENSIVE Superyacht to be Sold at Auction

If you’re not familiar with the controversy surrounding one of the most luxurious yachts in the world, let us quickly bring you up to speed. The Equanimity was commissioned by a Malaysian named Jho Low, with funds that he allegedly misappropriated from the Malaysian sovereign fund, 1MDB.

The superyacht cost him (or rather, the Malaysian people, allegedly) US$250 million. As investigations into the fund and parties involved intensified, Low went on the run—in style—with much of his time spent still enveloped in extravagance aboard the Equanimity. In February 2018, though, as the 91.5-metre long structure of steel and aluminium sailed into Indonesian waters, en route to Bali, it was seized by the Indonesian authorities. A superyacht, by the way, is a term used for commercial luxury yachts exceeding 24 metres long.

And now, it has been announced that Malaysia’s Admiralty Court has approved the sale of the Equanimity and it is expected to go on sale by November. The Malaysian government is eager to have the yacht auctioned off, firstly, to recover some of the funds to fill in the great mountain of debt amassed by 1MDB—estimated to be as much as US$11.73 billion (RM42 billion)—and secondly, according to a government lawyer who spoke to Bernama, it costs about US$736,000 (RM3 million) every month to maintain.

The superyacht is presently docked at Port Klang, in Selangor, Malaysia. If nothing else, it befits its name Equanimity, which means “calm and composure in a difficult situation”.

An article in The Star suggested that the sale of the Equanimity could break records. The current record holder for the most expensive yacht to sell at auction is the Lurssen Apoise, for which the gavel fell at US$34.75 million. VesselsValue, a ship valuation firm, which spoke to the daily, placed the value of the Equanimity at US$175 million—significantly less than what it cost when it was completed in June 2014. It turns out that yachts have terrible depreciation rates.

But if you have US$175 million lying around and would like to help bail us Malaysians (partially) out of this debt that we had unknowingly gotten into, then here’s what you could enjoy aboard the Equanimity as you sail into the sunset, with a cocktail in one hand and a beautiful woman/man holding the other: –

• 9 cabins
• Oriental interior design
• Helicopter landing pad
• A deck pool
• Turkish bath
• Gym and sauna
• Spa and beach club
• Movie theatre
• Beauty salon

She was built for 26 passengers and 28 crew members—that’s more crew members than there are passengers.

Two MTU 20V4000M73 engines generate 4,828hp to propel the 2,999-tonne behemoth, at a cruising speed of 15 knots (30kph) and on to a top speed of 19.5 knots (35kph).

So, do you like what you see?

She, however, will not be the yacht to fetch the highest price ever. That would be the Serene (pictured below), which passed hands from a Russian billionaire to the Crown Prince of Saudi, Mohammed bin Salman, for US$550 million.