Steve Jobs’ yacht, Venus, built for more than £80 million, has been impounded at an Amsterdam post over a disputed, unpaid bill to designer Philippe Starck, on Friday.
Apples co-founder, who died last year, never got the chance to get on the high tech yacht – dubbed ‘Venus’- built by Dutch luxury shipyard Feadship. Jobs began designing Venus himself after returning from a cruise that traveled from Italy to Turkey.
The 80-meter sleek white yacht is made of aluminum, covered with huge plate windows, the sole function of which is controlled by 28-inch iMacs.
Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, reported that Starck hired a debt collection agency and obtained a legal order to keep the boat from leaving.
Apple Insider reported that the yacht was originally set to cost 150 million euros, according to Dutch news, the original claim was 105 million euros.
A lawyer representing Starck’s company, Ubik, reported that his client had received £6 million out of a £9m commission for his work on the vessel and was looking for ways to recover the outstanding amount.
“The project has been going since 2007 and there had been a lot of detailed talk between Jobs and Starck,” said Roelant Klaassen, a lawyer representing Ubik.
Port of Amsterdam spokesperson Jeroen Ranzijn confirmed that the yacht has been in the harbor since December 8, and will not be allowed to leave the harbor until the outstanding bill has been paid.
“It was actually ready to continue its voyage when there was a dispute between two parties, including the heirs, and one party laid a claim on the boat,” said Ranzijn.
According to Ranzijin, the dispute will be resolved without much further delay. Dutch news also reports that the friendly relationship between Starck and Jobs is likely to positively effect the dispute and an out-of-court settlement will be the best possible outcome of the dispute.
