Why the U.S. Budget Includes a Super-Yacht

Last week, as it sidestepped a budget crisis, the Congress focused on government spending. But I suspect no one considered the millions spent on seized yachts.

Seized Yachts

Having spent too much on seized thoroughbred horses, the U.S. government tells its agents, “If it eats, don’t seize it.” They should have added yachts.

The Story

Our story starts in 2022 when Fiji seized the Amadea for the U.S. Owned by a Russian oligarch, the yacht was docked when Fiji obtained a “domestic seizure warrant.” Then, after a slew of legalities, managed by the U.S. task force called KleptoCapture (really), the boat sailed to San Diego flying a U.S. flag.

However, all did not quite work out as expected. Whereas the U.S. had hoped to sell the boat and give the money to Ukraine, the courts said no. Instead, they’ve had to maintain it.

The boat, shown in our featured image, originally had been delivered to her owner during 2017. At 348 feet (and 1 inch), the Amadea is a $325 million giga-yacht with 37 crew members and 8 suites for sleeping, a wine cellar, a swimming pool, a helicopter landing pad, a movie theater, and countless other ways 16 guests can enjoy themselves.

Now though, the boat sits in San Diego.

The Spending

During June 2022, they had to scrub the hull for $12,458, buy food for the crew, $52,717.08, and spend $277, 200 on 52, 800 gallons of fuel. And that was only the beginning. Now, we are paying for storage and maintenance until the vessel is returned, sold, or destroyed. Before then, the list of details is endless. They range from monitoring the quality of the water the boat sits in to preserving window seals.

So far, Amadea’s maintenance has cost the government close to $30 million.

Our Bottom Line: The U.S. Budget

This week, the U.S. government almost did not have money to spend on the Amadea. At the brink of a shutdown, the Congress agreed on a CR–continuing resolution–at the last minute. With a CR, they could keep spending until they reached the debt ceiling. One of the items that adds to our deficit is the $30 million (rising everyday) allocated to the Amadea.

Below, you can see the federal budget pie. While $30 million sounds like a lot, it is small when compared to our mandatory spending on entitlements like Social Security and Medicare:

My sources and more: It is always wonderful when two seemingly unrelated stories converge. Today, it was yacht seizures and the budget impasse. From there,  these Washington Post articles, here and here, had the yacht story while I also checked out the boat and went back to this past econlife post. And finally, the CBO has great budget graphics.