Super Yacht off Venice Pier Causes Commotion on Summer-Like Day

SNL

The Serena (or perhaps Serene) is sitting off the coast south of Venice Pier, close enough to gawkers on this summer-like day that authorities have been fielding calls inquiring whether the awesome vessel is too close to shore.

The answer to that question ...

... according to what sheriff's Sgt. Mike Carriles tells the Weekly: No.

Lisa Pilgrim

A motherf---in' boat.

The yacht was plotted via radar at about 3,500 feet offshore, he said. The closest such a vessel could be to shore is 900 feet.

Carriles says the sheriff's Marina Del Rey Harbor Patrol was dispatched by the U.S. Coast Guard, which was contacted by the LAPD about 8 this morning after police fielded calls from onlookers.

[Warning: Explicit, NSFW lyrics]:

"LAPD receieved a bunch of calls," he said.

The dark-hulled beauty appears to have a helicopter on-deck.

Show off.

The sergeant told us that Harbor Patrol deputies actually checked out the yacht last night after spotting it in the area. They found nothing amiss, he said It had been birthed at the Port of L.A., Carriles said.

The website and Twitter news blaster Venice311 says the yacht belongs to the CEO of a Russian company.

That could correspond to our own Googling that shows a similar boat of the same name apparently belongs to Vladimir Potanin, one of Forbes "World's Billionaires."

The Agent4Stars site claims that the 440-foot super yacht registered in the Cayman Islands is worth about $265 million.

But commenter Joe Bensoua has a slightly different take at Venice311:

It looks like the serene, 440-foot megayacht, one of the 10 biggest in the world. Took 3 years to build in Italy, launched in 2010 and has been berthed at Berth 92 in the Port of Los Angeles cruise terminal (yes it's that big).

It is owned by Yuri Shefler, owner of Stoli Vodka. It cost $300 million to build
and has 7 decks. And yes, you and I will never be able to afford it.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews] ..