Yacht Bible | The Superyacht and Luxury Yacht Directory

The Stunning Ritz Carlton EVRIMA Yacht

zipper boat

Gliding Across Tokyo’s Sumida River: The Mesmerizing Zipper Boat

0L5A3460xGJH.jpg

CROCUS Yacht: An 48 Meter Beauty by Admiral

phi yacht 3

PHI Yacht – Royal Huisman’s $45 Million Superyacht

  • Zuretti Interior Design
  • Zuretti Interior
  • Zuccon International Project
  • Ziyad al Manaseer
  • Zaniz Interiors. Kutayba Alghanim
  • Yuriy Kosiuk
  • Yuri Milner
  • Yersin Yacht

montkaj yacht front

  • Superyachts

MONTKAJ Yacht – Epic $110M Superyacht

The superyacht is the 4th largest from Amel’s Netherland-based shipyard. Terrence Disdale Design designed the interior of MONTKAJ.

The details of the interior of MONTKAJ are not publicly known, as there are very few pictures of the interior.

However, enough is known to realize that the MONTKAJ is one of the most luxurious yachts on the ocean.

MONTKAJ can be found in the Cote d’Azur in France during summer, where she travels between Monaco, Antibes, and the Bay of Cannes.

montkaj yacht right

MONTKAJ Yacht Interior

The interior of the MONTKAJ yacht is designed by UK-based design house Terrence Disdale Design, which is renowned for its chic yet casual designs.

MONTKAJ is considered one of the most beautiful yachts in the world. There is not much known about the yacht’s interior because she is one of the world’s most private yachts.

She is filled with entertainment capabilities, the finest furnishings, and materials, and a magnificent staircase is in the center of the yacht.

She has accommodation for 24 guests in 12 cabins and has room for up to 22 crew members in 10 cabins.

montkaj yacht

The MONTKAJ yacht was originally 1995 built by Amels , the masters of high-value yacht building. In 1999 she returned to Amels’ Netherlands Makkum shipyard for a refit, where she was lengthened by 3m in the aft section.

She has a steel hull and aluminum superstructure with a teak deck. Her exterior was designed by Terence Disdale Design .

montkaj yacht images

Specifications

The 78.03m yacht is propelled by 2 Caterpillar engines, giving her a cruising speed of 15kn and a top speed of 18kn.

She has a beam of 12.89m and a draft of 3.9m, displacing a volume of 1980GT. She is a Lloyds registered and has an annual $5-$10 million running cost.

montkaj yacht side

Do you have anything to add to this listing?

  • Montkaj Yacht
  • Terrence Disdale

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Love Yachts? Join us.

Related posts.

dusur yacht

DUSUR Yacht – Stunning 52 Meter Superyacht

faith yacht top image

FAITH Yacht – Impeccable $200 M Superyacht

96021632

FIREBIRD Yacht – Amazing $75 M Superyacht

Amadea Yacht.jpg4

AMADEA Yacht – Incredible $325 Million Superyacht

Accessibility Links

times logo

Prince needs bailout after superyacht is scuppered in port

The 230ft Nourah of Riyad was left partially submerged and listing heavily after an attempt to haul it out of the water to a dry dock

An investigation has begun to determine what caused a £65 million superyacht owned by a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family to nearly capsize during repairs at a Greek shipyard.

The 230ft Nourah of Riyad, owned by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd al-Saud, 40, was at the port of Perama, about ten miles west of Athens, was left partially submerged and listing heavily after an attempt to haul it out of the water to a dry dock for work failed.

“The accident happened as the ship was being lifted out of the water,” Dimitris Vaitsis, a port official, said. “We have yet to understand what went wrong.”

Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd al-Saud

The multiple-decked, 1,415-tonne yacht, which was built by Yachtley in Turkey in 2008 and designed by

Haulover Inlet

mohammed bin fahd yacht

  • What is Haulover Inlet +
  • How to Navigate Haulover Inlet +
  • Boats for Sale +

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Boaters List

Saudi Prince’s $72m Superyacht Capsizes in Greece

A Saudi Prince’s Yacht, worth $72 MILLION, partially sank after capsizing in Greece.

The 230ft Nourah of Riyad, owned by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud capsized as it was being lifted out of the water last week for repairs to her hull. Something went wrong and she capsized starboard,

The Saudi Prince’s yacht now sits at a 45 degree angle after becoming partially submerged. There were no reports of injuries after the accident.

The Superyacht boasts 11 cabins for guests including a VIP stateroom and a Master Suite. It weights over 1400 tons and features a jacuzzi and a theater with seating for 9 on board.

saudi prince's yacht nourah al riyad

A neighboring boat was damaged along with equipment at the shipyard (Perama Athens).

The Donald Starkey designed yacht was built by Yachtley in Turkey in 2008. In 2012 the Nourah of Riyad was refitted at  Yachtley . She had a 5 meter extension with a swimming platform and beach club added on.

saudi prince's yacht

Certainly the prince will be insured and will have a new yacht built promptly. Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud has a net worth exceeding $1 billion.

Prince Turki Bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud is the son of Prince Muhammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud . His father owns another superyacht named the Montkaj and a $300+ million Boeing 777. The 256 ft Montkaj was designed by Terence Disdale and built in the Amels Shipyard.

One of many Saudi Superyachts

The Saudi Royal Family owns a variety of ultra expensive superyachts. The most famous of which is the Serene, bought after the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman spotted the yacht offshore. He dispatched members of his entourage to purchase the yacht from Vodka Legend Yuri Sheffler. The yacht reportedly cost over $600 million and the Russian left the yacht right after the purchase. Allegedly “Salvator Mundi”  a $450 million dollar Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece is being kept on board the yacht.

Related Story: Superyacht Ecstasea collides with the Simpson Bay Bridge

Related Story: The Ultimate Superyacht Tender – Intrepid 475

en_US

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy

Luxurylaunches -

Saudi prince MBS bought this $400 million megayacht from a Russian Oligarch and immediately kicked him out. The 439 feet long vessel has two helipads, a submarine, and a nightclub. The royal has also hung a $450M painting in it.

mohammed bin fahd yacht

For the longest time, the whereabouts of this Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece were a mystery. According to Al Jazeera , Mohammed bin Salman reportedly brought the painting and hung it on a cabin wall on the superyacht Serene. Both purchases together amount to over $1 billion. The painting meant to grace the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi never showed up at the scheduled events. This left people perplexed and wondering about the whereabouts of the expensive painting. All except one!

Neha Tandon Sharma

You may also like

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Take a look at Vladimir Putin’s 270 feet long ultra-luxury yacht – The $100 million vessel comes with an indoor pool that transforms into a dance floor, a wine cellar, a helipad, a gym, and a helipad.

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Will Google co-founder Sergey Brin lose his $80 million superyacht Dragonfly in a divorce battle? Built from aluminum, the 240-feet luxury vessel is one of the fastest and most fuel-efficient super yacht on the water.

mohammed bin fahd yacht

From NFL billionaire Shahid Khan’s $360 million Project Jag to a space faring fashion tycoon’s fuel-cell powered $350 million superyacht designed by Apple designer Marc Newson – Meet the billionaires taking delivery of 2024’s biggest and most luxurious superyachts.

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Wally’s Better Place super yacht sails as world’s largest carbon fibre sloop

mohammed bin fahd yacht

In true Ocean’s-Eleven style, a Russian billionaire made his seized 111 ft long superyacht disappear from a dry dock and cleverly fooled the authorities by switching it with an identical vessel made by the same shipyard.

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Like Amadea, the US authorities may be trying to seize and sail Igor Sechin’s $600 million megayacht Crescent to the United States from Spain. Belonging to Russia’s second most powerful man the 444 feet long vessel is one of the largest superyachts in the world.

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Glass elevators, two helipads, swimming pool, multi-level ballroom, and more – This ingenious 394-foot explorer yacht concept is fit for a billionaire

mohammed bin fahd yacht

From Uniqlo’s Tadashi Yanai to India’s Mukesh Ambani to Alibaba’s Jack Ma – these are 10 of the richest and most powerful billionaires in Asia

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Impounded in San Diego, sanctioned Russian billionaire’s $325 million Amadea yacht has accumulated $120,000 in docking charges alone. That is just the tip of the iceberg, as a megayacht requires a lot of care, and the upkeep cost alone will run north of $10m a year.

MORE SECTIONS

  • Social Casino

MORE FROM THE SUN

  • Newsletters

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Saudi Prince’s $79million superyacht capsizes and partially sinks while docked in Greece

  • Britta Zeltmann
  • Published : 8:55 ET, Mar 16 2020
  • Updated : 15:22 ET, Mar 16 2020

A $79MILLION superyacht owned by a Saudi prince capsized and partially sunk while it was docked in Greece.

The 230ft Nourah of Riyad, owned by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud, was being lifted out of the water for repairs when it capsized.

 The 230ft Nourah of Riyad capsized while it was in dock in Athens, Greece

The luxury liner was at a repair yard, the Megatechnica shipyard in Perama, Athens, when it was turned at a 45-degree angle, becoming partially submerged in the water.

The exceptionally expensive accident happened at around midday on Sunday as it was undergoing anti-fouling works.

The yacht's crew and workers are said to be safe and nobody was injured when it capsized.

There was no marine pollutiuon as a result of the incident.

Most read in

Skyscrapers & fake moon…how Saudi's $1trillion ego trip is crashing down

Skyscrapers & fake moon…how Saudi's $1trillion ego trip is crashing down

Daughter of radio host dies of blood clot complications at age 20

Daughter of radio host dies of blood clot complications at age 20

Terrifying simulation reveals how Iran v Israel war would quickly go nuclear

Terrifying simulation reveals how Iran v Israel war would quickly go nuclear

Conjoined twins reveal life sharing body from drinking to being intimate

Conjoined twins reveal life sharing body from drinking to being intimate

The 1,415 tonne yacht boasts 11 cabins for up to 22 guests and a crew of 18, complete with a master suite and VIP stateroom.

The yacht, which can reach speeds of up to 19.0kn, also has a Jacuzzi on deck and cinema on board.

She also has a tender garage that allows smaller boats and "toys" like jetski's to be carried aboard.

The stunning 70 metre long vessel was built by Yachtley in Turkey and delivered in 2008. She is sailing under the flag of the Cayman Islands.

 Nourah of Riyad has been spotted all over the world

Her exterior was custom designed by Donald Starkey and she was refitted in 2012.

Nourah of Riyad is equipped with an ultra-modern stabilization system which reduces roll motion effect and results in a smoother cruise.

She is powered by two Caterpillar 3,150hp diesel engines and has 170,000 litre fuel tanks that give her a maximum range of 6,000 nautical miles at 14 knots.

She has been spotted all over the world.

The luxury yacht is said to have damaged a neighboring shipyard as well as equipment on board the tourist boat Lamadin, which was also nearby.

 The yacht was turned at a 45 degree angle while in dock in Athens

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.

MORE SECTIONS

  • Dear Deidre
  • Visual Stories

MORE FROM THE SUN

  • Newsletters
  • Deliver my newspaper
  • Sun Vouchers
  • The Sun Digital Newspaper

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Saudi Prince’s £65million superyacht capsizes and partially sinks while docked in Greece

  • Britta Zeltmann
  • Published : 12:52, 16 Mar 2020
  • Updated : 14:20, 16 Mar 2020

A £65MILLION superyacht owned by a Saudi prince capsized and partially sunk while it was docked in Greece.

The 230ft Nourah of Riyad, owned by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud, was being lifted out of the water for repairs when it capsized.

 The 230ft Nourah of Riyad capsized while it was in dock in Athens, Greece

The luxury liner was in a repair yard in Perama, Athens , when it was turned at a 45 degree angle, becoming partially submerged in the water.

The yacht's crew and workers are said to be safe and nobody was injured when it capsized.

Most read in

How wife of chef sifted through HUNDREDS of leads until trick smoked him out

How wife of chef sifted through HUNDREDS of leads until trick smoked him out

Skyscrapers & fake moon…how Saudi's £1trillion ego trip is crashing down

Skyscrapers & fake moon…how Saudi's £1trillion ego trip is crashing down

Moment croc ‘Bonecrusher’ is bundled by keepers before lunging for one’s head

Moment croc ‘Bonecrusher’ is bundled by keepers before lunging for one’s head

Billionaire sentenced to death over $44B fraud in one of world’s biggest scams

Billionaire sentenced to death over $44B fraud in one of world’s biggest scams

The 1415 tonne yacht boasts 11 cabins for up to 22 guests and a crew of 18, complete with a master suite and VIP stateroom.

The yacht, which can reach speeds of up to 19.0kn, also has a Jacuzzi on deck and cinema on board.

The luxury yacht is said to have damaged a neighbouring shipyard as well as equipment on board the tourist boat Lamadin, which was also nearby.

 The yacht was turned at a 45 degree angle while in dock in Athens

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

  • What Is Cinema?
  • Newsletters

Inside Johnny Depp’s Epic Bromance With Saudi Crown Prince MBS

By Bradley Hope

Johnny Depp and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

A n ornately clad royal, draped in velvet and frills, sits at his dressing table within the hallowed halls of Versailles awaiting a final dusting of powder. Just then, a courtier bursts in with an urgent message concerning the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

But this is not the 1700s, and the man in the chair is not King Louis XV. It’s July 2022, and Johnny Depp, of Owensboro, Kentucky, is having his hair and makeup done for his role in a French period piece titled Jeanne du Barry. The messenger is a senior producer with a surprising request: Prince Badr bin Farhan Al Saud wants to meet with Depp.

The prince, an amiable fellow with a toothy grin, is Saudi Arabia’s culture minister—and a cousin of the omnipotent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS. In 2017, Prince Badr made headlines when he served as the front man for MBS’s purchase of the world’s most expensive painting, Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi. Price tag: $450 million.

Not that Depp cares. “No way,” he tells the producer. “I didn’t sign up for this.”

The catch, however, is that Prince Badr has suddenly become very important to the production of Jeanne du Barry. By investing millions in the project via Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Fund, he has earned the right to an audience with the star.

After a few days of back-and-forth, Depp reluctantly agrees to the meeting. It goes so well that, within months, the 60-year-old actor, known for palling around with the likes of Keith Richards and the late Hunter S. Thompson, will stand face-to-face with MBS, the 38-year-old de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.

Theirs will be a bromance like no other.

W ith his willingness to spend billions of dollars in a relentless drive to transform his country into a cultural and economic superpower, MBS is shaking up the world order. To decipher his increasingly consequential moods, methods, and moves, global leaders rely on thousands of diplomats, linguists, and spies.

They should probably just call Depp.

Over the past year, Depp has spent more than seven weeks in Saudi Arabia, staying in royal palaces and camps, traversing the country by yacht and helicopter, and even flying to London and back on MBS’s personal 747 for a quick trip to attend the Jeff Beck Memorial Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

In that time, Depp and MBS have become real friends. “They made a genuine connection,” says a friend of Depp’s. “It’s a shock to many of the people who know [Depp], but it’s what happened.” Insiders say Depp is now weighing a seven-figure annual contract to promote Saudi Arabia’s cultural renaissance.

Both men knew how it felt to suddenly go from golden boy to outcast. Depp’s stock had taken a hit after his ex-wife Amber Heard accused him of abuse. In two high-profile court cases, Depp contested those claims, which he has always denied. As Depp and Heard wrangled in court in the second case, a cascade of unflattering personal details hit the press and social media. The ugly spectacle, and the troll war it sparked, damaged Depp’s reputation in some circles.

For MBS, it was the horrific murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi state operatives in 2018 that sent shudders around the world, irrevocably tainting the crown prince’s carefully cultivated image as a brilliant young reformer.

Reached for comment, Johnny Depp said, “Though I admit I was somewhat naive at first to what was transpiring in the region, I’ve since experienced firsthand the cultural revolution that is happening there—from emerging young storytellers radiating fresh ideas and works of art to a blossoming film infrastructure and a newfound curiosity for innovation. I’ve had the opportunity to meet people from various parts of the region who have been most welcoming in sharing with me their culture, their traditions, and their stories.”

D epp’s introduction to Prince Badr was set in motion by Sina Taleb, a French wheeler-dealer whose famous friends include Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. During a chance meeting in Cannes, Taleb and Badr got to talking about how to bring more A-list talent to the kingdom to support its burgeoning film industry.

Rather than paying actors to visit, an inherently cynical transaction, Taleb said Saudi Arabia should invest in films to demonstrate its commitment to the arts.

Under MBS’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan, Saudi Arabia is plowing hundreds of billions of dollars into a kaleidoscope of ventures—everything from mining and real estate to sports and tourism. The goal is to develop new revenue streams and kick the kingdom’s addiction to oil money.

Entertainment is a key focus because it not only increases tourism but also persuades more of the country’s 30 million residents to do their leisure spending domestically. Under the draconian rules that MBS started to wipe away in 2015, entertainment was highly constrained: Playing music in public was banned, men and women couldn’t easily mix, and even simple pleasures like going to the movies were unheard of.

Eight years later, the country is booming with cultural activity, some of which reflects the personal interests of its all-powerful crown prince. He’s said to be a big video gamer, and Saudi Arabia has plans to invest $38 billion in esports and gaming. He’s also believed to be an amateur DJ who loves electronic dance music, and the country now hosts the Middle East’s biggest music festival, Soundstorm, every December.

“We’re making up for lost time and making sure that our country realizes its potential,” a Saudi government adviser says of the country’s huge entertainment push.

Back in the early ’60s, Lawrence of Arabia was shot in Jordan, Morocco, and Spain. At the time, filming in the kingdom was all but prohibited. Today, productions are flocking to Saudi Arabia for the scenery, yes, but also for the rebates, which can rise as high as 40 percent of the budget.

“It’s not just a prince saying I want to have Tom Cruise come here,” says producer Jonathan Gray, who first met MBS in France in the early 2000s. “It’s the economy.”

Anna Sawai’s Empowering, Enthralling Journey Through Shōgun

By David Canfield

Sister, Sister: Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine’s Lifelong Feud

By Hadley Hall Meares

Brandy Melville Stores Are Hell on Earth

By Savannah Walsh

According to Gray, MBS is a sci-fi aficionado. “It’s really the capacity to escape your mind, thanks to worlds so different from ours, that makes it special for him,” he says.

In 2021, Gray’s company, The Hideaway Entertainment, and Anthony and Joe Russo’s AGBO shot scenes for Cherry, the first major Hollywood production filmed in Saudi Arabia since MBS’s ascension six years earlier. (The 2012 drama -Wadjda was the first feature to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia.) Starring Tom Holland as an American college dropout who grapples with PTSD after serving as a medic in Iraq, Cherry was distributed by Apple TV+ and debuted to middling reviews.

Gray says he’s now developing Saudi stories for an international audience. One initiative is building a horror franchise around the invisible spirits known in Islam as djinn. His company receives funds for financing and development through a $50 million vehicle called Meridian Entertainment Fund, whose investors include Saudi nationals.

Still, luring the biggest names in Hollywood takes more than cash. Many in the industry are nervous about the reputational risks of associating with Saudi Arabia. Khashoggi’s murder is a major concern, and he’s far from the only critic who has been targeted. Countless others have been arrested and detained. The kingdom also has a dismal human rights record and backward positions on LGBTQ+ rights, freedom of speech, and other issues generally sacred to Western liberals.

Martin Scorsese declined an invitation to attend the Red Sea Film Festival last year, but not everyone is so skittish. The 2023 Features Competition Jury was presided over by Baz Luhrmann, the Australian director of Elvis, The Great Gatsby, and Moulin Rouge!. Others spotted on Jeddah’s red carpet in recent years include Sharon Stone, Priyanka Chopra, and the Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. ( Vanity Fair Europe has partnered with the Red Sea Film Festival on several events.)

MBS relies on two members of his inner circle, both old friends, to cultivate foreign entertainers and athletes: Prince Badr and Turki Al Sheikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority.

A Ministry of Interior official turned “poet” who regales his 18 million Instagram followers with his latest compositions, Al Sheikh, 42, is the life of the party. One of his initiatives is the Riyadh Season, an annual series of concerts and spectacles, including a fountain show worthy of the Las Vegas Strip. Last year’s event featured a boxing match between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and MMA star Francis Ngannou. A die-hard soccer fan, Al Sheikh has also helped lead the charge to bring such icons as Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar to Saudi Arabia’s Pro League.

Meanwhile, Prince Badr, born two weeks before MBS, plays the cultural ambassador, attending events like the Venice Biennale and meeting the heads of museums. In the last few years, he has developed a coterie of prominent friends who, in turn, introduce new prospects to Saudi Arabia. Among them is rapper Swizz Beatz, the husband of singer Alicia Keys, who has spent considerable time in the kingdom over the past several years. He shot an episode of his Hulu show, Drive With Swizz Beatz, in the Saudi desert.

Swizz has a long history of advising the ultrarich on art collecting. Before Jho Low, the alleged Malaysian fraudster, went on the run from the Department of Justice and other investigators, Swizz helped persuade him to purchase Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Dustheads for $48.8 million.

Now, Swizz is advising Prince Badr on art acquisitions. If there are plans to display Salvator Mundi, they are closely guarded. Friends have learned not to ask because Badr tends to excuse himself from the room whenever the painting is mentioned.

Badr recently Instagrammed a photo of himself and Saudi Arabia’s vice minister of culture, Hamed Fayez, with basketball legend LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter. Swizz wrote in a comment, “My brothers .” Like Depp, James and Carter were introduced to Saudi Arabia by Taleb.

I ntrigued by Taleb’s advice to invest in Hollywood projects as a way of luring A-list talent, Prince Badr asked him to find some films that needed funding.

“These guys mean business,” Taleb says.

So in the summer of 2022, he called an old friend named Thomas Langmann, who had produced The Artist. Taleb says Langmann gave him two ideas: Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis and Jeanne du Barry, starring Johnny Depp.

It turned out that Coppola didn’t need—or want—any additional money, but Jeanne du Barry was struggling to come in under its tight budget.

With Taleb’s help, Prince Badr and the film’s producers arranged for Saudi Arabia to invest millions to cover budget overruns and some additional expenditures. The film’s final budget was $22.4 million.

Everything seemed in order until Prince Badr asked to visit Depp on set. At the time, the royal cousin was staying nearby in one of MBS’s houses. The $300 million château, set on a 57-acre site complete with moats, is called Château Louis XIV.

Depp’s wariness had to do with another Saudi prince he’d spent many years carousing with in New York and Paris and on the Mediterranean coast. Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd—the fabulously wealthy son of the former King Fahd, MBS’s uncle—famously traveled the world with an entourage of two dozen hedonistic associates. They rented yachts, bought out restaurants, and generally partied nonstop.

There was a dark side to these escapades. In 2012, a member of his retinue was convicted of raping a woman at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, where the prince had rented out a block of rooms.

Suddenly, in 2017, Prince Abdulaziz stopped appearing in public. It turned out that he was caught up in the so-called sheikdown, wherein MBS suddenly detained close to 300 of Saudi Arabia’s richest men, including his own relatives, on suspicion of corruption. The majority were held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, the same venue that weeks earlier had hosted visiting CEOs and dignitaries for the annual Future Investment Initiative conference.

Many of the detainees were released after giving up a portion of their fortunes, but a few have yet to reemerge publicly. One of them, former Riyadh governor Prince Turki bin Abdullah, had allegedly been plotting against MBS.

Depp’s friend Prince Abdulaziz eventually resurfaced, smiling for a photo beside MBS, but he has kept a very low profile ever since.

Upon hearing Depp’s reasons for not wanting to meet, Prince Badr was able to reassure the actor that his old friend had been released following a temporary detention. He said Depp was welcome to meet with Prince Abdulaziz in Saudi Arabia and even offered to let him look at the official corruption case file at one of the Saudi embassies in Europe.

The openness worked and the two men met. A few months later, Prince Badr’s team persuaded Depp to fly to Jeddah for the 2022 Red Sea Film Festival. Once Depp arrived, however, he skipped the public events. Instead, a team led him on a tour around the country.

It was Depp’s first visit to Saudi Arabia, and he looked around wide-eyed at the changes underway. One person familiar with the trip said Depp bonded with Prince Badr but also talked to a wide range of people—drivers, desert guides, young artists, and members of the royal court.

By the end of the visit, Depp had apparently proved himself worthy of meeting the crown prince himself. They hit it off instantly.

Depp’s friends in London were alarmed when they heard about his budding relationship with MBS.

But the edginess appealed to Depp, who was still recovering from the chaotic aftermath of his divorce from Heard, those friends say. He seemed refreshed by the time away from his hard-drinking friends in Europe and the crowd that surrounds his rock band, the Hollywood Vampires.

“The trips to Saudi are actually healthy for him,” a friend says. Drinking is technically prohibited in Saudi Arabia, but VIP guests are still treated to alcohol in private settings, especially on yachts because, as they see it, they are technically not on Saudi soil.

Moreover, Depp, who did not recognize himself in the tabloid coverage of the Heard trial, was beginning to question the Western narrative about Saudi Arabia. The crown prince said the world had unfairly tarnished him as a bloodthirsty dictator in the vein of Saddam Hussein. This was Saudi Arabia’s greatest moment, he told Depp, a major transformation perceptible even on a monthly basis, if people would only bother to visit.

“He became a believer that this is actually a country in the midst of a cultural revolution,” Taleb says.

One of the key stops on Depp’s tours with MBS and Prince Badr was AlUla, an ancient oasis city that had been off-limits before MBS came along. The authorities never said why the city was closed off, but it probably had something to do with a story in the Quran about how God punished the people of the area, known as Madain Saleh, with an earthquake that made it inhospitable to human life.

There was also concern that Saudi Arabia’s once-powerful religious conservatives would destroy the petroglyphs carved into AlUla’s cliffs by the same pre-Islamic civilization that settled Petra in Jordan.

But under MBS, who has espoused a more liberal and personal form of Islam, AlUla has become the center of a high-end cultural explosion. Each year, its contemporary performing arts center, Maraya, nestled in a canyon and clad completely in mirrors, hosts events for the Winter at Tantora festival.

On his second visit, in early 2023, Depp was invited to MBS’s royal camp in the mountains, with trained falcons, luxury tents, and an outdoor kitchen tended by dozens of staff, all accompanied by sweeping views.

He also flew on multiple occasions by helicopter to MBS’s yacht, Serene, one of the largest in the world. The 439-foot vessel mostly travels around the Red Sea as part of a floating palace complex, with as many as a dozen other smaller boats providing additional space for guests and crew. Depp always brings his guitar, according to a person familiar with the visits.

The yacht is set up to serve as a mobile statehouse. MBS hosted Secretary of State John Kerry there in 2015. But with the touch of a few buttons, it can be turned into a nightclub with state-of-the-art DJ equipment.

MBS and many of his advisers are night owls, staying up all night and sleeping well into the day. It’s a habit that MBS acquired as a teenager, and some, like his younger brother Khalid bin Salman, the defense minister, find it helpful to be on the same schedule as counterparts in the US.

Depp likes to burn the midnight oil too, and he and MBS would stay up late talking about the crown prince’s plans for Saudi Arabia and Depp’s thoughts on how to bring more art and filmmaking to the country. At one point, Depp gave the prince a painting he’d made.

One night, Depp summoned the courage to ask a simple but potentially explosive question: What really happened with Khashoggi?

A veteran journalist with ties to both Saudi intelligence and the Muslim Brotherhood, Khashoggi had been living in Turkey and the US and had become an increasingly vocal critic of MBS’s rule, chastising the crown prince in The Washington Post and elsewhere for the war in Yemen and his aggressive moves to silence critics on both sides of the political spectrum. In October 2018, Khashoggi visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork that would allow him to marry his Turkish fiancée. Once inside, he was drugged, killed, and dismembered by Saudi operatives.

A listening device installed by the Turkish government captured the cold-blooded murder in excruciating detail. Its release shattered the image of MBS internationally and led to a widespread, if unofficial and inconsistent, boycott of all things Saudi for a few years. Joe Biden promised to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state in the run-up to the 2020 election.

MBS denied ordering the hit but admitted he was ultimately responsible for Khashoggi’s death. Many of those involved in the operation were put on trial, and several were sentenced to prison. For about three years, MBS reduced his travel and focused inwardly on his Vision 2030 plan. Observers speculated that his family would remove him from power and return Saudi Arabia to its traditionally glacial status quo. They were wrong.

By 2022, the furor had subsided enough that MBS felt comfortable answering Depp’s question. With an earnest expression, MBS began laying out his argument that Khashoggi had become a rogue operative working with the country’s enemies to undermine the crown prince’s reform agenda. The West saw Khashoggi as a journalist, MBS said, but the royal court viewed him as a corrupt enemy of the state, putting its future at risk for hidden motives.

MBS said that his staff had been ordered to arrest Khashoggi on criminal charges if the opportunity arose but that the directive had been misunderstood by overeager underlings who believed the prince would be happy if Khashoggi were silenced permanently. Consistent with his public statements, MBS told Depp he didn’t order the murder but nonetheless took responsibility.

The CIA said in a confidential assessment that it believed with high confidence MBS ordered the killing, The Washington Post and The New York Times reported in 2018.

T he bromance is now in full gear, people close to Depp say. And naturally, being close to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has its benefits.

Depp maintains to anyone he discusses the topic with that he values the friendship for what it is and doesn’t want anything in return.

But to secure Depp’s assistance in putting Saudi Arabia on the cultural map, his team is in talks with the Saudi government about an annual seven-figure deal for him to attend events and shoot films in the country. In December, he attended the Red Sea Film Festival for the regional premiere of Jeanne du Barry.

Earlier in the year, the Red Sea Film Foundation, through its financing arm, announced an investment in Depp’s next directorial effort, Modi, about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. As part of the arrangement, Saudi interns have worked on the project across every department.

The plot of the film, which stars Al Pacino and the Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio in the title role, bears some semblance to Depp’s own recent personal and professional journey. It takes place over two days as Modigliani hits rock bottom, drunkenly alienating those closest to him.

According to a press release from the Red Sea Film Foundation, the “chaos reaches a crescendo when he’s faced with a collector who could change his life.”

More Great Stories From Vanity Fair

Anne Hathaway on Tuning Out the Haters and Embracing Her True Self

Author Patricia Highsmith Was Almost as Twisted as Mr. Ripley

Inside Trump’s Terrifyingly Competent 2024 Campaign

And the MAGA Mutiny That Brought McCarthy’s House Down

The 25 Best True-Crime Documentaries to Binge Right Now

A Brief History of Royals (Not) Going Public With Their Health Issues

From the Archive: The Devil in Bette Davis

Stay in the know and subscribe to Vanity Fair for just $2.50 $1 per month.

Bradley Hope

The Confessions of Inigo Philbrick, Art Fraudster Extraordinaire

By Mark Seal

Were the Kate Middleton Conspiracy Theories Part of a Russian Disinformation Campaign?

By Erin Vanderhoof

Prince William Travels Solo In Support of Homelessness Project

By Kase Wickman

Inside the Terrifyingly Competent Trump 2024 Campaign

By Gabriel Sherman

Thomas Kingston Is Honored at a St. James’s Palace Funeral Attended by Prince William

By Maxime Jacob

Russia Runs a Hidden Prison System for Ukrainian Detainees&-In Crimea

By Ghanna Mamonova, via The Reckoning Project

Will Biden’s “Immediate Ceasefire” Resolution Actually Change Netanyahu’s Calculus?

By Eric Lutz

Prince William and Queen Camilla Carry On Despite a Busy Weekend of Royal News

By Kara Warner

MORE SECTIONS

  • Dear Deidre

MORE FROM THE SUN

  • Newsletters

mohammed bin fahd yacht

Watch Saudi prince’s $80M superyacht resurface after capsizing in Greek port

  • Chris Spargo
  • Published : 21:24, 19 Mar 2020
  • Updated : 0:33, 20 Mar 2020
  • Published : Invalid Date,

THE $80 million yacht of Prince Turki bin Mohamed bin Fahd Al Saud is back in action after capsizing in a Greek port while undergoing maintenance.

Video shows the 24-hour operation that went into resurfacing the luxury yacht, which lasted all through the night and involved scuba divers, hydraulic pumps and a lot of manpower.

 The $80 million Nourah of Riyad (above) capsized in port during repairs in March 8

The Nourah of Riyad capsized on March 8 while being hauled out for maintenance.

It was when it was lifted out of the water for anti-fouling work that things went awry and sent the boat crashing into the water.

There were 12 individuals who were on the vessel at that time, but all 12 were able to safely make their way off the yacht without sustaining any injuries.

One week later, the yacht was back up and in action however thanks to workers at the Megatechnica shipyard .

Scuba divers can be seen jumping into the water to assist with tilting the boat, and hydraulic pumps and large floats are also used to aid in the project.

It took a long 24 hours, but in the end the vessel was back in action and seen being ferried off to another port.

 The boat was gifted to Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd al-Saud (above) by his father

The yacht was purchased in 2008 by Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who later gifted the vessel to his oldest son when he paid $110 million for THE Montkaj.

Nourah of Riyad can accommodate 18 guests overnight in 11 cabins: a master suite, a VIP stateroom, two double cabins and six twin cabins.

There is also room for a crew of 16 who are slept in eight cabins below deck.

A cinema, Jacuzzi, gold-plated fixtures, tender garage and elevator are just a few of the amenities also available to guests on board.

MOST POPULAR NEWS

Irish road carnage as young men, 20s, die in separate crashes in Kerry and Cork

Irish road carnage as young men, 20s, die in separate crashes in Kerry and Cork

Young man killed in horror Cork crash between car & lorry as Gardai close road

Young man killed in horror Cork crash between car & lorry as Gardai close road

Tourist drowns & hundreds evacuated after holiday hotspot is hit by 12ft waves

Tourist drowns & hundreds evacuated after holiday hotspot is hit by 12ft waves

Six children dead in school bus crash after 'drunk' driver overturns coach

Six children dead in school bus crash after 'drunk' driver overturns coach

The location of the yacht is now unknown, and it has been remove from websites tracking marine travel.

It is not clear how much interior damage was sustained at this time, and if any pricey artword was on board.

Another member of the Saudi royal family, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, REPORTEDLY KEEPS THE $450 million Salvator Mundi aboard his yacht Serene.

Do you have a story for The US Sun team?

Email us at [email protected] or call 212 416 4552 .

  • Saudi Arabia

IMAGES

  1. MONTKAJ Yacht • Prince Mohammed bin Fahd $110M Superyacht

    mohammed bin fahd yacht

  2. MONTKAJ Yacht • Prince Mohammed bin Fahd $110M Superyacht

    mohammed bin fahd yacht

  3. MONTKAJ Yacht • Prince Mohammed bin Fahd $110M Superyacht

    mohammed bin fahd yacht

  4. Prince Mohammed bin Fahd al Saud: Legacy, Leadership, and Philanthropy

    mohammed bin fahd yacht

  5. MONTKAJ Yacht • Amels • 1995 • Owner Prince Mohammed bin Fahd • Value

    mohammed bin fahd yacht

  6. Inside NOURAH OF RIYAD Yacht • Yachtley • 2008 • Value $80M • Owner

    mohammed bin fahd yacht

VIDEO

  1. SUPERYACHT MONTKAJ 78m OWNER PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN FAHD SAUDI BILLIONAIRE @Emman's Vlog FR

  2. 42.56m/ 139’4” explorer yacht Moonshadow

  3. Dubai Prince Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Lifestyle l How Prince Spends His Billions

  4. Al Duliman optics l Al Qusur Dhahran

  5. Dammam City Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Rd. Pinoy sa Dammam Daily Travel Routine Saudi Arabia Buhay OFW

  6. Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin AbdulazizAnd his son, Prince Turki and Prince Abdul Aziz #short #ksa

COMMENTS

  1. Prinz TURKI BIN MOHAMMED BIN FAHD: Ein Blick ins Königshaus

    Aus der angesehenen Linie des saudi-arabischen Königshauses stammend, Prinz Turki bin Mohamed bin Fahd steht als Leuchtturm der Tradition und Moderne. Als ältester Sohn von Prinz Mohamed bin Fahd bin Saud stammt er direkt von diesem ab König Fahd, einer der einflussreichsten Monarchen Saudi-Arabiens. Prinz Turkis eheliches Bündnis mit ...

  2. NOURAH OF RIYAD Yacht • Prince Turki $70M Superyacht

    As the eldest son of Prince Mohamed bin Fahd bin Saud, he is directly descended from the late King Fahd, adding a touch of royalty to the yacht's legacy. Valuation and Costs. With its unparalleled luxury and design, the Nourah of Riyad yacht is valued at a staggering $70 million.

  3. MONTKAJ Yacht • Prince Mohammed bin Fahd $110M Superyacht

    Power-packed with Caterpillar engines, the yacht boasts a max speed of 18 knots. A significant refit in 1999 saw her length increased by 3 meters. Interiors are a mix of luxury and entertainment, with a capacity to house 24 guests. The yacht Montkaj is owned by the esteemed Prince Mohammed bin Fahd al Saud.

  4. Prince TURKI BIN MOHAMMED BIN FAHD: A Glimpse into Royalty

    Prince TURKI BIN MOHAMMED BIN FAHD • Net Worth $1 Billion • Palace • Yacht Nourah of Riyad • Private Jet. Yacht Owner Photos Location For Sale & Charter News. Who is Prince Turki bin Mohammed? Hailing from the esteemed lineage of Saudi Arabian royalty, Prince Turki bin Mohamed bin Fahd stands as a beacon of tradition and modernity.

  5. PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN FAHD • Net Worth $2 Billion • House • Yacht

    PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN FAHD • Net Worth $2 Billion • House • Yacht • Private Jet • Saudi Arabia • Royal Family. Yacht Owner Photos Location For Sale & Charter News. Who is Prince Mohammed bin Fahd al Saud? Descendant from a line of royalty, Prince Mohammed bin Fahd al Saud stands as a testament to Saudi Arabia's rich history and its economic prowess.

  6. MONTKAJ Yacht

    Specifications. The 78.03m yacht is propelled by 2 Caterpillar engines, giving her a cruising speed of 15kn and a top speed of 18kn. She has a beam of 12.89m and a draft of 3.9m, displacing a volume of 1980GT. She is a Lloyds registered and has an annual $5-$10 million running cost.

  7. MONTKAJ Yacht • Amels • 1995 • Owner Prince Mohammed bin Fahd • Value

    0:00 / 2:11. MONTKAJ Yacht • Amels • 1995 • Owner Prince Mohammed bin Fahd • Value $150M. SuperYachtFan. 17.5K subscribers. Subscribed. 26. Share. Save. 45K views 14 years ago....

  8. Prince needs bailout after superyacht is scuppered in port

    An investigation has begun to determine what caused a £65 million superyacht owned by a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family to nearly capsize during repairs at a Greek shipyard.The 230ft...

  9. Watch Saudi prince's $80M superyacht resurface after ...

    THE $80 million yacht of Prince Turki bin Mohamed bin Fahd Al Saud is back in action after capsizing in a Greek port while undergoing maintenance. Video shows the 24-hour operation that went into resurfacing the luxury yacht, which lasted all through the night and involved scuba divers, hydraulic pumps and a lot of manpower.

  10. Saudi Prince's $79million superyacht capsizes and partially sinks while

    The mega yacht Nourah of Riyad, owned by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud, was being lifted out of the water for repairs when it capsized. The $ 79 million USD yacht boasts 11 cabins for up to 22 guests and a crew of 18, a master suite, a VIP stateroom, a jacuzzi on deck and a cinema on board.

  11. Billionaire Superyacht Showdown: Who's Who At The 2019 Cannes ...

    MONTKAJ (Prince Mohammed bin Fahd al Saud) Size: 256-foot yacht (Currently in Cannes) Source of wealth: Son of late King Fahd, Saudi Arabia. Net worth: unknown. EMINENCE (Alexander Khloponin)

  12. Saudi Prince's Yacht Capsizes in Greece while undergoing repairs

    A Saudi Prince's Yacht, worth $72 MILLION, partially sank after capsizing in Greece. The 230ft Nourah of Riyad, owned by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud capsized as it was being lifted out of the water last week for repairs to her hull. Something went wrong and she capsized starboard,

  13. Saudi prince MBS bought this $400 million megayacht from a Russian

    Serene, the $400 million superyacht initially owned by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, then by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and chartered by Bill Gates, is a marvelous creation worth every praise coming its way. The vessel has iconic names attached to it, but it is not the owner that makes this ship. Instead, it is the sheer grandeur of the goliath that complements the stature of its owners.

  14. Saudi Prince's $79million superyacht capsizes and partially sinks while

    Updated: 15:22 ET, Mar 16 2020. A $79MILLION superyacht owned by a Saudi prince capsized and partially sunk while it was docked in Greece. The 230ft Nourah of Riyad, owned by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud, was being lifted out of the water for repairs when it capsized. 6.

  15. Watch Saudi prince's $80M superyacht resurface after ...

    THE $80 million yacht of Prince Turki bin Mohamed bin Fahd Al Saud is back in action after capsizing in a Greek port while undergoing maintenance. Video shows the 24-hour operation that...

  16. Billionaire Superyacht Showdown: Who's Who at the Cannes Film ...

    MONTKAJ YACHT- Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdul Azziz (Member of the Saudi Royal Family) 256 foot yacht. Net worth: Unknown (Currently in Cannes)

  17. Saudi Prince's £65million superyacht capsizes and ...

    A £65MILLION superyacht owned by a Saudi prince capsized and partially sunk while it was docked in Greece. The 230ft Nourah of Riyad, owned by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al Saud, was ...

  18. Inside Johnny Depp's Epic Bromance With Saudi Crown Prince MBS

    Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd—the fabulously wealthy son of the former King Fahd, MBS's uncle—famously traveled the world with an entourage of two dozen hedonistic associates. They rented yachts ...

  19. Abdulaziz bin Fahd Al Saud

    In Jeddah he has several palaces with private yacht berths and each palace has more than twenty guest houses . [citation needed] In addition, he reportedly owned "the Pyramid House" on Hillcrest Road in Beverly Hills, California. Personal life. Abdulaziz bin Fahd married Al Anoud bint Faisal Al Saud in December 2010. His wife is a granddaughter of late Sultan bin Abdulaziz and of Mishaal bin ...

  20. Watch Saudi prince's $80M superyacht resurface after capsizing in Greek

    THE $80 million yacht of Prince Turki bin Mohamed bin Fahd Al Saud is back in action after capsizing in a Greek port while undergoing maintenance. Video shows the 24-hour operation that...

  21. Muhammad bin Fahd Al Saud

    Al Saud. Father. King Fahd. Muhammad bin Fahd Al Saud ( Arabic: محمد بن فهد آل سعود Muḥammad bin Fahd Āl Suʿūd; born 1950) is a Saudi prince, politician, and philanthropist who served as governor of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia from 1985 to 2013. [1] He is a prince of the second generation of the royal family.