In fact, the very first owner of this popular charter yacht today was its co-creator, and at the same time one of the subsequent owners of the Dutch shipyard Icon Yachts – from their slipways in 2010 the motor yacht Icon (later renamed Loon) with a length of 67.5 meters was launched. Its exterior was designed by the studio Redman Whiteley Dixon, and the interiors – by Studio Linse.
The owner of this superyacht is the main shareholder of the Transportny bank and the former minority shareholder of Interkommerts, Russian financier Alexander Mazanov. So don't be surprised if you come across a video on the Internet where the famous Motor Yacht Loon appears under the Russian flag.
Here’s some great video footage of the yacht, if you are interested:
Quite the Detective Story
The shipyard Icon Yachts, where this luxury yacht was built, was also purchased along with it. Shipyard was founded in 2005 by Tom Van Dam and billionaire Alex Schneider, but was declared bankrupt in 2014. Icon CEO Yachts Jan Worthena stated that the new shareholder would help strengthen the company's financial position. In addition, the yacht manufacturer reported that the owner of the yacht Icon (as Loon was then called) and the shipyard are the same person - Alexander Mazanov.
In 2014, during a refit, the yacht was extended by five meters - the owner ordered a swimming pool and a large “beach club” to be welded to the yacht, which was supposed to increase its appeal to buyers. Apparently, the owner expected that the lengthening of the hull would justify the difference in price: after all, he himself bought it for €45 million, as reported on the Boat International website, and put it up for sale for €55.5 million, which was announced to the maritime community by the yacht broker Yacht Harbour. The yacht has retained these additions to its exterior to this day.
But what caused such a hasty sale with a preliminary refit?
The reason for this should be sought in the Russian press: it became known that the banks "Transportny" and " Interkommerts " had a "hole" of 120 billion rubles (around 3.4 billion USD at the time). "Vedomosti" reported that the large unsecured loan was issued by the bank "Transportny" to companies engaged in shipbuilding in Netherlands.
The Central Bank of Russia estimated the shortfall in assets of Transportny Bank at 25 billion rubles (it appeared mainly due to loans to related parties). During the period of the restriction on accepting deposits, the bank continued to collect them and violated the ban, which ultimately led to an unscheduled inspection by the Bank of Russia and the subsequent revocation of the license. The regulator cited the bank's violation of federal laws, Central Bank regulations, and a decrease in capital adequacy standards below 2% as reasons. Transportny's insurance case, amounting to almost 40 billion rubles (more than $1.1B), was the largest at that time.
The second bank from the top hundred, Interkommerts, in which Mazanov was a minority shareholder, also was in trouble – the Central Bank of Russia revoked the license to carry out banking operations due to non-compliance with banking legislation and the fall of the capital adequacy ratio below 2%. The excess of liabilities over assets of Interkommerts amounted to almost 80 billion rubles ($2.2B).
All the events described were actively covered by the press and relevant organizations in 2014-2016, but in the middle of last year they developed in the homeland of the banker. Or, to be more precise, the fugitive banker Alexander Mazanov, whose expensive hobbies were widely discussed in the Russian segment of the Internet (photos below).
The former beneficiary of a failed bank has been arrested in absentia. The former financier, who is hiding abroad, is accused of stealing almost 22 billion rubles ($0.6B) from his credit institution, for which three years ago five top managers of Transportny and two businessmen were sentenced to six and a half to eight years in prison. In addition, Mazanov is accused of attempting to bribe an investigator who was handling the case of embezzlement from his bank. Mr. Mazanov hoped to avoid criminal liability for $900,000, but the intermediaries who took on the task of solving his problem were arrested.
The motion for the in absentia arrest of 50-year-old ex-banker Mazanov, announced in court by an investigator from the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia (GSU SKR), states that the decisions to bring him in as an accused on two incriminated episodes were issued on May 28, 2021 and March 18, 2022. However, it was not possible to present them in person, since the former beneficiary of Transportny had disappeared, and his whereabouts have not been established. In this regard, in May 2021, he was put on the federal wanted list, and on April 6, 2022, on the international wanted list.
According to a representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the involvement of Alexander Mazanov in the commission of the especially large-scale embezzlement from the Transportny Bank and the attempted bribery on an especially large scale is confirmed by the testimony of witnesses and other defendants, search and seizure reports, expert opinions, and the results of operational investigative activities.
Even More Investigation
If the continuation of the story related to the first owner of motor yacht Loon attracted mainly the attention of Russian investigative bodies, then the accident connected with this vessel, which occurred at the end of 2024, did not go unnoticed by anyone who is in any way connected with the sea. Including, unfortunately, both investigative and regulatory bodies and organizations.
The local newspaper in was the first to report this. St. Barths – Le Journal de Saint - Barth: “A spectacular accident occurred yesterday, Saturday, December 21, early in the evening at Anse des Cayes. A tender of about fifteen meters long, tied to a yacht moored in the port of Gustavia, completed what must have been a crazy voyage around the rocks at the end of Anse des Cayes, on the seashore. Of the eleven passengers, US citizens, six were taken to the Irénée Hospital de Bruyn, including one victim who was thrown from the boat when it hit the shore. A passenger who had serious wounds on his face is to be airlifted to Miami. The other passengers, instead of going out on Sunday, gave statements at the gendarmerie of St. Barths”.
The publication's page featured several photos of the wrecked luxury tender Reel Wild, taken at different times of the day.
JSB told its readers that video taken from St. Jean Beach showed the tender moving jerkily, hitting buoys, toward the sandy shore to pick up the abandoned passenger. The boat then turned around with difficulty and left the bay. The newspaper hoped that a hearing scheduled for the following day, Sunday, would clarify what happened next that led to the sinking.
In light of the recent tragic incidents involving American citizens, the efficiency of the rescue services in this region should be particularly noted. JSB reported that the Territorial Fire and Rescue Service quickly arrived at the scene, represented by special equipment, special transport and twenty firefighters. In addition to the "classic" ambulance, three ambulances from Stis were present. The gendarmerie and mobile emergency services also arrived quickly. Since the boat was stuck almost 250 meters from the road, the Stis teams had to carry the equipment needed to rescue the tender's eleven passengers on foot.
It quickly became clear that the JSB's hopes of clarifying the situation were in vain: all participants in the event and interested parties, and especially representatives of official structures, refused to testify, citing the secrecy of the investigation.
The only thing that could not be hidden was the ownership of the Reel Wild. Soon all the yachting media spread the information that this vessel turned out to be one of the three tenders that the luxurious and very popular M/Y Loon is equipped with. Loon is currently owned by American billionaire Craig Leipold. By the way, it is he who renamed former Icon into Loon after his lakehouse favorite, the loon bird.
It also became known that all 11 passengers were members of the crew of M/Y Loon, and that the crew member thrown out when the tender hit the rocks was a young woman.
The names of the participants in this unfortunate voyage, the victims and the helmsman are also not made public. But 185 thousand subscribers on Instagram and 166 thousand subscribers on YouTube know all the members of the superyacht crew by sight. Since Loon has long been very actively promoting itself in the most popular social networks to demonstrate its offers. As the famous columnist Gemma Harris rightly noted, introducing this, by her definition, eclectic team in one of the yachting media, “if it isn't on social media, did it even happen?”
When conducting research for the article, we tried to get information from a YouTube channel or an Instagram page, but it’s all gone now:
Quick Review
Let us remind you what an absolute comfort a superyacht such as Loon can provide – just so you know what all the fuss is about. In her luxurious 7 cabins she is ready to receive 14 guests, for whose service a team of 17 people was selected, among whom were trainers in several types of water sports.
In the photo above you can see only a small part of the water toys that the guests learned to operate under the guidance of experienced trainers. In addition to the already mentioned electric hydrofoils and underwater scooters, the list includes jet skis, banana boats, canoes, tenders with special equipment for towing sports, water skis, surfboards, a slide, etc.
Stunning interiors are not just a tribute to exquisite taste, but also maximum comfort. No location can be fully shown from one angle. Therefore, if you want to have a complete idea of this - watch the video gallery that we have selected for you in the end of the article.
And here are some photos of the interior - opening with a swimming pool located right in the cockpit of the main deck.
Here the passengers can dine in the fresh air at a table overlooking the pool.
If desired, the model of the table and chairs can be changed, and a bar or simply a food serving area can be set up in the doorway.
If the sight of your friends frolicking in the pool distracts you from your dinner, take a seat at the luxuriously set table in the dining room, where a huge video panel takes up a significant portion of one of the partitions.
But if you are on the top deck and don’t want to go down to the cockpit pool, you also have the opportunity to refresh yourself – in the jacuzzi.
Across the decks, guests will find plenty of cozy and secluded spots where they can retreat to read a book, talk on the phone, or send or receive messages. Yes, you can do that right here – Loon keeps in touch with everyone, wherever they are at anchor, thanks to its onboard Starlink system.
The main saloon on the main deck is a gathering place for guests for social activities (such as dance lessons) and to share impressions and news.
But the cabins are exclusively for personal use, where you can isolate yourself from everyone else and be alone together. Luxury and comfort in every piece of furniture and accessories allows you to feel if not at home, then certainly like in the apartments of the best hotels in the world.
Of course, each cabin is equipped with a separate bathroom with all the necessary accessories and equipment.
If your business requires your constant, at least virtual, presence and participation, a comfortable and well-equipped office is at your service.
If a superyacht is anchored and guests or crew need to be transported to the city, tenders of varying levels of luxury and comfort are used. The most luxurious of the three on board is the wrecked Reel Wild.
Despite everything, we believe that a superyacht Loon remains one of the most desirable, fun and sophisticated charter options if you can afford it.
Video Gallery
If you want to see the yacht in action and learn more about its living spaces, check out these videos:
Epilogue
So, why did the topRik team decide to write about this maritime accident at all? No matter how strange our motive may seem to people far removed from charter services in particular and yachting in general, we would like to remind you once again that not only military regulations are written in blood. We have seven victims, including a serious case of facial mutilation of a woman – it’s a miracle that nobody died.
This makes the almost destroyed property and reputational losses, which are undoubtedly great, pale in comparison. Suffice it to say that state-of-the-art equipment was purchased, a dedicated person was hired, and helicopters were even rented to advertise a truly wonderful time on this superyacht so that social media viewers would understand the appeal of a vacation on Loon. Now these spectacular videos are no longer available for viewing. Now compare this forced removal of practically advertising materials with the fact that M/Y Loon has been up for sale since summer 2024.
On the one hand, health ruined by one’s own efforts, on the other hand, incredible losses for which one will have to answer.
This accident is all the more unfortunate because the crew has a history of successfully crossing the Atlantic without any unfortunate incidents. The last crossing took place in October last year. Loon was heading from Gibraltar to Fort Lauderdale, and during the entire 17-day crossing, the vessel was broadcasting periodically with a connection to social networks. That is, almost half a million people were virtually present on the yacht and could communicate with the crew.
Despite an active hurricane season, Loon carefully avoided the dangers of Oscar hurricane, which met them in the Bahamas. As noted, there were still a few rough days early in the voyage, but considering the stress the crew was under with so many observers, the team moved the superyacht safely and efficiently.
As the famous saying goes, “every man has a fool up his sleeve” - try your best to not let your fool out when you are at the sea.
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