A court date has been announced by the UK Supreme Court for the appeal hearing of the 58.5-metre Royal Huisman superyacht Phi, which was arrested in 2022 on the basis of recently-introduced sanction law following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Phi has been detained in Tower Bridge, London in the years since her arrest, suffering hull degradation, lapsed insurances and trespassers, as Captain Guy Booth explained to BOAT International last year. The official hearing will commence on 16 January 2025.
This follows the dismissal of the detention appeal by the UK Court of Appeal in March 2024, which held that the superyacht had not been detained for an improper purpose considering the owner's residency in Russia and "economic activities", agreeing with the Respondent's claim that "directly or indirectly, a [Russian of significant wealth] is likely to have benefitted from the Russian regime." The ruling read: "It is rational to consider that [the owner] is the sort of individual on whom sanctions could effect the 'broad and deep impact' which Parliament intended."
However, it also agreed with elements of the appeal, noting that it was incorrect for then-Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to claim that the owner was "connected with Putin".
Representatives of the superyacht filed the appeal in August 2023, arguing that the ruling in July 2023 upholding the detention was unlawful. BOAT International has reported extensively on the case over the years.
Read More/Captain speaks out on 2022 detention of 58m Phi following appeals process