Yachting in 2026 so far, five court and customs cases from Sailing Yacht A to Florence

The Court of Justice of the European Union said in a ruling reported on 9 June 2026 that control under EU sanctions covers all forms of power or influence over assets, and that ownership or control by a beneficiary or settlor can be inferred from factual circumstances. Sailing Yacht A, which Italian authorities valued at about US$611m when they seized it in March 2022, stays seized while a court in Rome continues the case with the clarification in mind.

The ruling was one of five legal steps in the first nine months of 2026 that bore on the cost and risk of owning a superyacht.

On 11 June the Frankfurt Administrative Court ruled that German authorities had not proved that Dilbar, a 156-metre yacht impounded at Lürssen’s shipyard in April 2022, was still subject to an EU asset freeze. The yard maintained and stored her at its own cost. According to Megayacht News, the ruling removes a principal legal barrier to Lürssen seeking reimbursement, though the government can appeal.

Palma customs refused a UK resident’s UK-flagged yacht temporary admission because he held a Spanish golden visa, sealed the vessel and issued a VAT assessment on the hull, a lawyer wrote in Superyacht News on 30 June. Temporary admission lets a yacht sail in EU waters free of import duties and VAT for up to 18 months. The lawyer argued that thousands of non-EU nationals with a European residence authorisation could be disqualified from it, exposed to import VAT worth more than a fifth of a vessel’s value.

The Italian Sea Group, parent of Perini Navi, requested further court protection for its financial restructuring, Megayacht News reported on 3 July, citing overdue liabilities of €266.8m. Under the initial protection from 6 July, customers with yachts under contract could not cancel orders or seek deposit refunds. On 31 July the Court of Florence removed those contractual-remedy restrictions from owners; the group had said its plan does not provide for continuing work on most contracts. In January the group had filed a €456m civil claim in a Sicilian court over the sinking of Bayesian on 19 August 2024, alleging crew negligence and operational failures.

The costs behind the cases are large. Local authorities pay an estimated €10m a year to maintain Sailing Yacht A, and The Italian Sea Group reported net financial debt of €178.8m and cash of €7.5m at 31 May.