Troubled Billionaire's Super Yacht Crosses Arctic Ocean, Anchors In Dutch Harbor

Friday, September 25 2015


The Equanimity anchored off Unalaska's Town Beach. KUCB/John Ryan photo.

One of the world’s largest yachts cruised into Unalaska from the Bering Sea on Tuesday.

The Equanimity sailed down from the Arctic Ocean after crossing the Northwest Passage from Greenland, a voyage only recently made possible by a shrinking polar ice cap.

The sleek blue and white super-yacht is reportedly owned by a billionaire embroiled in a financial scandal rocking the government of Malaysia. 

The 300-foot pleasure craft is flagged in the Cayman Islands. It has a swimming pool, a gym, a beauty salon and a crew of 28.

According to Shipspotting.com and other sources, the yacht is owned by billionaire Jho Low, the Malaysian CEO of Hong Kong-based Jynwel Capital.

The website Gawker.com has called the 34-year-old tycoon “Paris Hilton’s mysterious Malaysian party boy.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Low is a key figure in a money laundering scandal that could topple the government of the Malaysian prime minister. Hundreds of millions of dollars of Malaysian government funds have allegedly landed in bank accounts controlled by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and by Low.

Efforts to reach Low were unsuccessful. He told CNBC earlier this year that he’s the victim, not the perpetrator, in this affair.

“I feel like I’m just an easy target and victim perhaps because of my age and unfortunately, some of the things that I’ve done in my early years of partying,” Low said. “I had a bit too much fun then. Of course, I was then subsequently lectured by my father and grandfather.”

After refueling, the Equanimity left Unalaska’s Dutch Harbor on Wednesday. It is headed for Yokohama, Japan, according to marinetraffic.com.



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