Oleg Tinkov, one of the richest Russians, has his own fancy hobby. He had his own icebreaker built in the Dutch Damen shipyard in Vlissingen. The icebreaking ship’s cost were more than 100 million euros for the billionaire. Tinkov wants to enjoy the ship himself for about 20 weeks a year. In the rest of the time, interested parties can lease the icebreaking ship. Cost for a week: 740,000 Euros – a bit costly, but worth it.
The 77-metre-long ship “La Datcha” was launched on July 3 by the Damen Yachting shipyard in the Dutch port of Vlissingen. The yacht has a crew of 24 and is designed for 12 passengers. For guests, the ship has two hot tubs, a sauna, a steam bath, a gym and a massage room. Each of the six cabins has a dressing room, a toilet and a shower or bathroom. The manufacturer’s website states that the SeaXplorer yacht is a mix of luxurious interiors and a hard Polar icebreaker. The ship is able to travel to remote corners of the world – from the Poles to the tropical islands.
The icebreaking yacht was built according to the wishes of the owner. The company EYOS Expeditions, an IAATO member and long-time expedition specialist provided the necessary advice to make the ship polar-conform. The “La Datcha” is equipped for heliskiing in remote areas. A hangar houses two helicopters and the ship is fully certified for helicopters up to 4,000 kg. In addition, the equipment of the “La Datcha” includes two snowmobiles, a submarine for three passengers, a rescue/VIP tender, a dive center with a decompression chamber, two expedition boats and four jet skis, just to name a few.
La Datcha is the world’s first private icebreaking yacht. It is able to break 30-40 cm of ice and can travel without calling port for up to 40 days.
The expedition yacht belongs to Oleg Tinkov, chairman of the board of directors of Tinkoff Bank, who is ranked 79th on the list of Russia’s richest businessmen in 2017. The name “La Datcha” is related to the Tinkoff Collectionproject, in which the entrepreneur organizes exclusive tours to inaccessible destinations.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal