It’s on its way to explore the Arctic
13:49, 01 Apr 2025Updated 13:49, 01 Apr 2025
The super yacht Akula moored in Bristol’s Floating Harbour(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
There is a new sight to see in Bristol’s Floating Harbour – a bright red £30m exploration super yacht owned by one of the men who set up the shopping delivery service Ocado.
The Akula sailed from Penzance at the weekend and Ilfracombe on Monday into the Floating Harbour through the Cumberland Basin on Tuesday morning, prompting both swing bridges to open at high tide. It is already turning heads around the harbourside, as it moors up at Wapping Wharf.
The 59.4 metre long yacht was built last year by Italian shipbuilders Baglietto in La Spezia in Italy last year, and while the amount it cost to buy brand new is unknown, it has been valued at 35 million euros.
Ownership of the yacht is unconfirmed but it is believed to be owned by Jonathan Faiman, a former Goldman Sachs banker who was one of three men who set up the online supermarket delivery service Ocado.
He previously owned a smaller yacht called Akula – the name means ‘Shark’ in Ukrainian, and Faiman bought up large swathes of Ukrainian wheat producing land after leaving Ocado in the late 2000s. That previous yacht was sold last year and renamed and a new Akula was built in Italy at the start of 2024.
The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands ánd is understood to be heading north from its winter mooring in Portsmouth as its owner embarks on a spring exploration trip to the Arctic.
The super yacht Akula moored in Bristol’s Floating Harbour(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
In January this year, Boat International interviewed the owner, without naming him, about the yacht and his future plans. He said the boat sailed 8,350 nautical miles in its first summer in 2024, mainly around the Mediterranean, and he and his wife spent 20 weeks on board.
That season ended with a trip around Spain and France to Cornwall and Plymouth, and the boat moored in Dartmouth for a time.
It is unclear how long Akula will be staying in Bristol, but its owner said he has plans to head north. In January, the owner told Boat International he was still defining the precise route.
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“But we expect to visit Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Iceland and Greenland,” he said. “After that we’ll head down the East Coast of the US aiming for the Caribbean and ultimately Central America.”
The boat is now dwarfing the white yacht Miss Conduct, which is moored nearby with a helicopter on it, that is owned by convicted Bristol rogue landlord Thomas Flight. It is the biggest super yacht to be moored in Bristol’s Floating Harbour since the Archimedes, which caused a stir back in 2018.
That super yacht was 68m long compared to Akula’s 59.4m and was valued at £75m at the time.