john risley new yacht

Selfmade Canadian billionaire John Risley is getting himself one of the world’s largest and most innovative yachts. The Lurssen-built $350 million ‘Project Icecap’ is 351 feet long. It will have a powerful hybrid propulsion system, an infinity pool, and a fold-out beach club.

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ICECAP: The next stage of the NORTHERN STAR journey

For fisherman and owner John Risley, life has never not involved the ocean in one way or another. From growing up as a young boy on the misty shores of Nova Scotia, Canada to steering a global empire today that manages the abundant valuable resources that our oceans have to offer, Risley is as much an adventurer in the business world as he is out at sea. Few owners know as much about the last frontier that is our ocean as much as Risley himself and being reliant on its hidden treasures to make a living, few are as passionate about the wellbeing and sustainability of its inhabitants.

Currently working on his latest deep-ocean luxury superyacht that will carry on the famed Northern Star name, we couldn’t think of a better time or issue to catch up with Risley to talk about the yacht life, ownership and protecting our seven seas.

“If you wanna go way back, I guess it all started with a rowboat,” comes Risley’s answer as I ask him to recall his first time at sea. As co-owner of the 51.5-metre Royal Huisman sailing yacht, Meteor , Risley’s time at sea has been spent on a number of different vessels, ranging from deep-sea trawlers and scientific research ships to weekends racing on 20-foot wooden sailing boats. “My first love is sailing, absolutely. Having said that, if you are going to spend a lot of time on the water, then you have to realise there are limits associated with sailing, especially when it comes to longer trips and the logistics that come with that.”

Risley’s love for sailing is what drove his purchase of the 1990 Palmer Johnson, Maysylph (now named Axia ); a 37.5-metre motorsailer that became his first vessel to bear the Northern Star name. His time on this yacht, as it turns out, is what would ultimately put in motion a two-decade relationship with the German shipyard Lurssen and an even more flourishing partnership with Moran Yacht & Ship; Risley’s long-time yacht brokerage firm and advisor. “The step from the Palmer Johnson to the first Lurssen, now thinking about it, probably came from my mentality – something which the entire industry is guilty of, including myself – where I thought bigger is better. I now know bigger is not always better, bigger just means different things. It depends entirely on what you want to do on the water, and therefore smaller is sometimes better. But right now, I am still in the ‘bigger is better’ mode.”

What followed surely can be described as bigger. ‘The first Lurssen’ Risley mentioned is, of course, the 63-metre Northern Star from 2005, better known as Polar Star since changing name two years after her launch. Shortly after, in 2009, another vessel of the same name was delivered by the German yacht builder, this time a 75.6-metre motor yacht that, from a distance, could easily be mistaken as her former little sister. It was on his new Northern Star that Risley discovered the world’s oceans in a way he and his family have never experienced before and drove home the realisation that he needs to take care of this precious environment, even harder.

“I am on the forefront of financial activity from the ocean, not just fishing but also energy and other fields of economic development. I am very lucky having had a rowing boat growing up as a young boy and being exposed to the ocean. The ocean remains a huge area for economic activity on a global front, so I want to spend more time at sea and be more aware of the changes that are taking place in the ocean – there are some dramatic changes taking place, not only affecting marine life but on a larger scale. I want to be close to that, and aware of it all while at the same time being a responsible steward of the ocean and what it has to offer.”

And so, to continue living his dream of a life at sea, Risley has embarked on an ambitious new project by drawing inspiration from decades of work building offshore vessels. “The insight I have into the commercial shipping sector (as we operate both in the offshore supply field as well as deep sea fishing) has given me loads to think about when it comes to the development of my boats. Big motor yachts are, as it stands, some of the most inefficient vessels in the world when compared to heavy-duty commercial vessels and their lives at sea. Knowing this, our new project at Lurssen will probably be the most efficient motor yacht in the world when completed.”

What Risley proposes is a complete redevelopment of the engine room on board his new vessel and the way the power it generates will be utilised. Gone are the days of wasteful hours of running generators and instead, a large bank of batteries will supply the vessel with all the electricity it needs. “The only time the gensets will come online is when the batteries need to be recharged,” he explains. “If you consider the setup which the majority of motor yachts run on, they have two main engines and three gensets. And when these vessels are underway, you have at any given time at least three of those engines running, if not four – which is crazy! If commercial vessels are not operated like that, then why on earth are we operating motor yachts in that way?”

Risley understands that the available modern-day technology needed to make old-school fossil fuels redundant are not entirely up to speed yet, but that this should also not hinder ambitious users to explore the possibilities that the existing tech offers today. “Sure, the Tesla’s coming out in five years from now will have better batteries, but that should not stop you from buying a Tesla today. The field has improved by leaps and bounds and there is no doubt that in five years time there will be even better batteries on the market than what there are today, but that is no reason to not use today’s batteries and available technology.”

Being at the forefront of innovation, however, requires one to have the support and knowledge of an experienced partner to successfully pull of such an ambitious project. Risley found this trust in Moran Yacht & Ship, a firm with whom he has built several vessels and from which he has learned many valuable lessons when it comes to creating superyachts. One topic that clearly stands out to Risley is the value of a broker during the build process. “ If you think about building a very expensive property, who do you have? You pick your builder very carefully, your architect, interior designer and you make sure you have all the professional help that you can get. Yet, people very often go and build large motor yachts and think the right thing to do is to not find and pay a key advisor any commission as if it is an optional cost that they don’t have to incur. Well, you incur the cost one way or the other. You either pay the commission, or you get a vessel that is more expensive, less capable or not up to the standard you originally expected. And I would tell anyone, as someone who has built probably more vessels – not only motor yachts – than most owners, that it is the best investment you can make.”

But for Risley, involving an experienced build partner has far more valuable consequences than merely ensuring the vessel is delivered on time, especially if what you are trying to pull off has never been done before. “You want an advisor who builds large motor yachts for a living. Someone who has three or four projects on the go simultaneously. That is how you learn from other projects and other people’s mistakes. All that data becomes anonymised, and it then becomes not about ‘what is the colour of that guy’s bathroom’, but more about what we can learn from each other in terms of new technology and building methods.”

The yacht in question is the new 107-metre Lurssen project Icecap which, reveals her owner, will be ready for launch in early 2021. Designed to fit in with the Risleys’ off-the-beaten-track approach to cruising, we can expect the new Ice-classed vessel to be brimming with off-road features only available on a ship this size. A large helicopter landing pad with its own sunken hangar will allow easy transfers to shore no matter where in the world the yacht is. For a more tamed sightseeing experience, a special observation room will be located right on the bow for a 180-degree view of the scenery passing by. One thing that certainly won’t be on board, according to Risley, is a submarine. “I am claustrophobic and I have absolutely no desire to be slowly sinking in a glass bowl.”

As the conversation continues, it seems that the most challenging part of the entire operation would be deciding where to take his new vessel when it is completed. “I want to cruise everywhere. I don’t mean to be facetious when I say that, but we don’t really enjoy the heavily-travelled areas. We have been to them, and we don’t really feel the need to keep returning to the same spots time and again, over and over. The times we have been to remote areas, our guests have been awestruck each time by the beauty, such as Greenland, which we have cruised extensively and only scratched the surface. So these are the type of destinations we would like to visit and to which we want to bring our family, friends and business associates along to experience it with us because it is unique. I don’t really see what is particularly unique about the south coast of France. If you keep going there, you will not experience things that no one else has done before.”

I can sense the hesitancy in Risley’s voice as he continues to talk about the benefits of getting outside the regular cruising grounds. “We go into remote anchorages and we love the fact that there is, by definition, no one else around so it is sort of counterintuitive to say that people should do the same with their yachts. On the other hand, I think that the more people are aware of what the ocean has to offer and how unique it is, what fantastic treasures it holds and how to become proper stewards of it, it can only benefit the ocean environment in the long term. I don’t want to pour cold water on those people who keep going back to their favourite spots in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, I would just encourage people to do more things with their vessels than going to those same old places.”

For an owner that has remained so under the radar over his yachting life, John Risley sure has a lot to teach to aspiring owners with ambitions to use yachting for the greater good. But after his ‘ bigger is better ’ phase, will he ever return to building another sailing yacht, I wonder? “I don’t know. At some point in your life, you have to confront your own mortality and say, ‘hey, how long am I going to be here?’. I hope I can keep building boats until I die.”

By superyachttimes

Halifax Examiner

An independent, adversarial news site in Halifax, NS

What could we do for the price of John Risley’s yacht?

Stephen Kimber

Stephen Kimber is an award-winning writer, editor, broadcaster, and educator. A journalist for more than 50 years whose work has appeared in most Canadian newspapers and magazines, he is the author of... More by Stephen Kimber

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Let the rich get richer and poor poorer and then wonder why there is civil war.

Raise taxes and companies will simply move to another lower tax jurisdiction.

…is a myth made up by rich people to keep you from taxing them at appropriate rates.

And what if it does happen? Everybody gets to go back to supporting a local business instead of a big box store…don’t threaten me with a good time.

If we continue to pretend that we live in a society that cares about humans and other living things (religious dogma and all that) then we need to question why rich people are allowed to get rich. Aren’t the earth’s resources here for all creatures large and small? Risley’s case is particularly illustrative because he got wealthy through the assistance of government money and being allowed to plunder the common resources of the planet for free. As long as there are rich people there will be many more poor people, As long as there are rich people we do not live in a fair and just society.

The rich definitely aren’t saving us. And just a reminder that if you see someone stealing milk at the grocery store, no you didn’t.

Blavatnik is a name well known in London UK context…the Tate Blavatnik Tower was the setting for the young boy pushed over the railing.

We should all have the benefit of the most generous pension plan in Canada – the honour goes to HRM. We should all have the benefit of a big fat check upon retirement – the honour goes to HRM where you will get a long service award of 6 months. No other municipality or government hand them out. Last time I looked at HRM audited statements the unfunded liability for the awards is $81.56 million ( page 15 https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/budget-finances/march-31-2022-audited-financial-statements.pdf ) Professors in the fully funded Dalhousie University pension plan are entitled to a generous defined benefit pension which,like the HRM plan, is not integrated with CPP.

Colin … and?? What does that have to do with article?

All that money wasted on the wealthy.

OMG! It is hard to imagine but I guess every country has its “oligarchs.” I think it is time for a wealth tax AND a liveable wage.

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How john risley, the nova scotia billionaire who built a seafood empire, ensured it would end up in indigenou, quentin casey.

Nova Scotia’s John Risley is as synonymous with the seafood industry as he is with his lavish lifestyle and generous spirit. He’s come a long way from a dumpy roadside lobster shop to a $ 1- billion deal that ensures a Mi’kmaq community once relocated by the government and cut off from the ocean ‘ will be fishing for the rest of time.’

In Nova Scotia, John Risley is arguably a household name, synonymous with the seafood industry and his many conspicuous possessions. On both fronts, his reputation is well earned. In 1976, he and his brother- in- law Colin Macdonald started Clearwater, a dumpy retail lobster shop on the side of a suburban Halifax highway.

From that simple start, Risley fundamentally changed the Atlantic Canadian lobster industry — transforming it from a seasonal, afterthought business to a year- round, $ 3- billion sector where lobsters are shipped overnight by air to customers in Europe and Asia, a premise unheard of before Risley entered the industry. Along the way, Clearwater matured into a global seafood company.

As his wealth grew, Risley became well known for his lavish spending on superyachts, artwork, planes, charitable causes, as well as houses and private islands around Chester, a Nova Scotia seaside village that has long served as a retreat for wealthy Canadians and Americans.

But there’s much more to John Risley than seafood sales and a penchant for big spending.

He’s the co- creator, builder, and visionary behind three global companies: Clearwater, which he and Macdonald sold in 2021 for $1 billion; Ocean Nutrition Canada, a research and nutritional supplement company that specialized in omega-3 fatty acids and was later sold for nearly $600 million; and Columbus Communications, which started as a one- country cable company and eventually triggered two multibillion-dollar telecom mergers.

Risley’s more recent investments span other global sectors, including renewable energy, alternative protein from insects, international banking, electric vehicles, and outer space — through his controlling purchase of MDA, maker of Canada’s iconic Canadarm technology. Despite all his success, it’s quite possible his biggest deal still lies ahead.

Ultimately, Risley has evolved from a university dropout who initially failed in multiple businesses to one of Canada’s most dynamic entrepreneurs.

WHILE OTHERS WERE HUNKERING DOWN TO WAIT OUT THE PANDEMIC, ENTREPRENEUR AND VISIONARY JOHN RISLEY WAS DRIVING A DEAL WORTH BILLIONS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY PUT CLEARWATER — THE SEAFOOD COMPANY HE HELPED BUILD FROM A ROADSIDE SHOP — INTO THE HANDS OF THE MEMBERTOU FIRST NATION. IT WAS ANOTHER CHAPTER IN RISLEY’S LONG HISTORY WITH THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY, LONG BEFORE RECONCILIATION BECAME PART OF THE NATIONAL DISCUSSION.

The following abridged excerpt, from Quentin Casey’s new biography, Net Worth: John Risley, Clearwater, and the Building of a Billion- Dollar Empire, details Clearwater’s 2017 fight with the Trudeau government and how that showdown heavily influenced the $1-billion sale of the company four years later.

In August 2014, federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau visited Halifax for a $ 1,000- a- ticket fundraising reception hosted at the home of entrepreneur ( and Risley brother- in- law) Mickey Macdonald, who was endorsing Trudeau for prime minister. Trudeau’s Nova Scotia trip also included a boxing match against his host at Mickey’s gym, presumably to help toughen Trudeau’s image. “We need a change and I think Justin is the change we need,” Mickey told reporters gathered to see the fight.

His opinion of Trudeau has since changed significantly.

“I’m very disappointed in that guy. I thought he was sincere but he’s just a weak guy. He’s very weak,” Mickey told me in early 2020, pointing to ongoing pipeline and railway blockades as evidence. “He tried to be a tough guy when he came down and boxed with me. His whole thing was to kick the shit out of me — knock me down and knock me out. He couldn’t even hit me. I was just knocking his punches down. I could have knocked him out a couple times,” Mickey continued. “But I didn’t want to do that. He had his kid there. I just played around with him. ... I didn’t want to (embarrass) him.”

In September 2017, Mickey, as a Clearwater Seafoods board member and significant shareholder, might have secretly wished he’d flattened Trudeau when he had the chance. That’s when Trudeau’s government suddenly attempted to break Clearwater’s exclusive hold on Canada’s offshore Arctic surf clam quota — an unfair “monopoly,” according to the company’s critics.

The federal Fisheries Department announced it was creating a fourth surf clam licence for 2018 — representing a quarter of the total allowable catch — and would award it to an Indigenous entity in Atlantic Canada or Quebec. Clearwater would still hold three Arctic surf clam licences, covering 75 per cent of the TAC.

Risley, Colin and Mickey Macdonald, and the rest of the board believed a quarter of the company’s quota was being “expropriated,” and they were livid — for two main reasons.

One was the government’s expressed motivation: Dominic Leblanc, then the fisheries minister, said the fourth licence would allow an Indigenous community to participate in an offshore fishery for the first time, calling it “a powerful step toward reconciliation.”

“That was a political thing,” Mickey told me. “Those clams are caught two hundred miles offshore ... That wasn’t part of the fisheries of the Indigenous people(s).”

The company’s primary argument, however, was this: the Arctic surf clam was a product of little value until Clearwater pioneered new markets and better harvesting technology in the mid-1980s; therefore, any new quota holder was simply benefiting from Clearwater’s expensive and time- consuming efforts in building the sector from nothing.

“Without Clearwater, the species would be worth nothing,” explained Stephen Greene, a Canadian senator who was Risley’s assistant from 1986 to 1994, the period in which Clearwater was developing the surf clam industry by pumping millions of dollars into vessels and marketing efforts. “We became the largest in surf clams after losing lots and lots and lots of money ... After about seven or eight years of losses, big losses, we figured it out.”

By 1999, Clearwater held all three federal surf clam licences, with the other clam companies having folded or sold out to Clearwater. “All of those transactions were vetted by the government and conditions were imposed on us around investment and jobs, which we lived up to 100 per cent,” Risley explained.

Fast forward to 2017; the surf clam fishery was a year- round operation, with Clearwater’s three licences covering roughly 35,000 metric tonnes of inshell clams. ( The clams, which have red flesh when cooked, are popular in sushi in Japan, China, and South Korea, where they are known as hokkigai or bei gei bei.) Clearwater‘ s surf clam sales totalled around $100 million annually — more than 15 per cent of the company’s total sales.

At the time of Leblanc’s decision, 452 people worked in Clearwater’s surf clam business — on the company’s three clam vessels and in two processing plants.

For Risley, it was further proof the Canadian fishery was myopic. “This is why the industry is a stupid industry,” he told me. “It wouldn’t happen with any other of our natural resources. It wouldn’t cross anybody’s mind that we should arrive on Irving’s doorstep in Saint John and say, ‘Oh, you’ve got too much timberland here in New Brunswick, we’re going to take some of it’ or, ‘ The nickel mine in Voisey’s Bay ( in Labrador) is too profitable, we’re going to take some of it away from you and we’re going to give it to someone else.’ Yet that’s the way we manage the fishery,” he continued, his voice rising with each sentence. “It’s stupid because you can’t legally do that in other industries and yet you can legally do it in the fishing industry. And why the government insists on preserving that right is beyond me. Because it gets the government in trouble! All the time!”

That was certainly the case for Dominic Leblanc, who quickly stepped into controversy.

Clearwater bid for the fourth surf clam licence with Nova Scotia’s 13 Mi’kmaq bands, but their proposal was unsuccessful. Instead, in February 2018, Leblanc’s department awarded the fourth licence to the Five Nations Clam Company, led by the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. Court filings later revealed that Five Nations beat out eight competitors despite not having all its partners secured; the company was also only 25 per cent Indigenous- owned, and didn’t possess a boat to actually fish the quota.

Federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion investigated the decision, ruling Leblanc broke conflict- of- interest rules because Five Nations was linked to his wife’s cousin.

“So on what basis did a New Brunswick First Nations community win the bid?” Risley asked rhetorically, using a sarcastic voice. “Oh, because they happen to be in the same riding as the minister? Oh, OK! I didn’t understand that was the criteria! It was just absolutely absurd.”

For his part, Mickey Macdonald remained annoyed with the lack of accountability. “Fucking Dominic Leblanc,” he said. “He ( only) got moved to a different portfolio.”

In July 2018, Ottawa suddenly cancelled the Five Nations deal without explanation and said a new bidding process would be held for the Indigenous surf clam licence, this time to be reviewed by an independent third party. So Clearwater still held its three Arctic surf clam licences and 100 per cent of the annual quota — but for how long? The company decided it wouldn’t wait to find out.

Clearwater gave one of its clam licences to a coalition of the 13 Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia and one in Newfoundland and Labrador, which, as Risley put it, “proactively removed all the government’s arguments” regarding reconciliation and monopoly control of the fishery.

There were a couple of ironies involved in the federal government’s effort to strip surfclam quota from Clearwater in the name of reconciliation.

The first was the fact that Clearwater had business partnerships with the Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton going back as far as 1988, long before reconciliation was a widely discussed topic. In 2001, Clearwater partnered with Membertou to process snow crab, a profit- sharing venture that created much- needed employment in Membertou. “I see our people here (working at the fish plant) with big smiles, they are taking good paycheques home,” Chief Terry Paul said at the time.

The second irony of the “clam calamity” — as Clearwater director Brendan Paddick put it — emerged later, with the 2021 sale of Clearwater, which was arguably the most significant initiative involving reconciliation to occur during Trudeau’s first five years in office — and yet he had nothing to do with it. It was orchestrated in large part by John Risley.

In the 1920s, Kun’twiktuk ( the Mi’kmaq community that became Membertou First Nation) was removed from its land on Sydney Harbour in Cape Breton and placed on a landlocked hill nearby, breaking the community’s physical connection to the water. When Terry Paul became Membertou’s chief in 1984, the community was in rough shape. There was no work; the community had a large budget deficit, and at one point it was 100 per cent dependent on government. “It was crazy. It was absolutely unacceptable,” Paul recalled.

In the early 1990s, the community embarked on significant changes, notably partnering with private companies such as Clearwater and working in industries as varied as snow crab processing and construction. “We find partners ... to help us learn those businesses,” Paul explained.

Over time, employment rose to 80 per cent, government dependence fell to about 15 per cent of revenues, and graduation rates increased from 30 to 90 per cent. The community — of about 1,400 people — added a casino, a health centre, restaurants, and a convention centre. “There’s people that have ... been away from here many years. They can’t believe that it’s Membertou,” Paul said. “A lot of people say to me that it doesn’t even look like an Indigenous community.”

In the fall of 2019, Paul and a group of his advisers attended a dinner at Risley’s waterfront house in Halifax. There was a significant transaction developing, and Risley wanted Membertou to be part of it.

“Look, we’re about to put Clearwater on the market and it makes a lot of sense for both the buyer — whoever that buyer is — and for you as a community to get involved,” Risley recalled telling the group. “We’d love to have you involved.”

Paul was interested, though he wanted to be more than simply “involved” — he wanted to buy the company, a point he made clear the day after the dinner. According to Risley, Clearwater informed all prospective buyers of Membertou’s interest. “We just encouraged a deal to happen,” he recalled. “We broadcast our view ... that the buyer would be smart to partner with local Indigenous folks.”

Brendan Paddick, the former Columbus Communications CEO and longtime Clearwater director, helmed the sale process. He paused for a moment when I asked him about it, six months after the deal closed. “It’s a bit tough to talk (about),” he said. “John has talked about that one, and I have tried to encourage him to shut up because we’re still under NDAS (non-disclosure agreements) with like 40 potential buyers, where we’re not supposed to disclose literally anything about the process.”

Paddick was specifically concerned about Risley insinuating the purchaser was preordained.

“John says things like, ‘ Oh, we always knew it was going to end up in Indigenous hands and we managed the process to that extent.’ Like, holy shit — do you know how many lawsuits could rise from private equity and other ( parties) who spent significant money looking at the company and assessing the opportunity?” Paddick asked. “You’re essentially telling them it was all rigged from the beginning. It wasn’t. That’s not at all what happened. That’s just John trying to say, ‘ Hey, look, we support Indigenous participation in the fishery.’ (It’s) just the way he says it is probably not the way that it should be worded.”

There were roughly 40 initial bidders for Clearwater, including one very surprising duo: company co-founders John Risley and Colin Macdonald. In fact, it was Risley and Macdonald’s cryptic comments about taking Clearwater private that launched the sale process in the first place.

“Several directors finally put it to them and said, ‘ Guys, you can’t continue to make statements like that and not put them into action. ... What the eff are you up to?’” Paddick recalled.

The board asked the founding partners two questions: At a certain price, would you buy the company? At a certain price, would you sell it?

The answer to both questions: Yes.

“It actually surprised us,” Paddick said. So the board launched a “strategic review” in February 2020, essentially to solicit offers for all or part of the company. And because they were potential buyers, Risley and Macdonald were cut out of the negotiations, which were undertaken by a Paddick-led committee.

A list of prospective buyers grew quickly, despite the global pandemic. “A lot of people were thinking, ‘ Why are you going out now? This is crazy,’” Paddick recalled. “But we had huge interest and very robust valuations and a buyer who saw a huge opportunity.”

It was further evidence of Risley’s innate optimism and appetite for risk: While many people were hoarding food and toilet paper, fixated on their basic needs, he was willing to sell the company that had defined his career.

Membertou’s desire, from the start, was full Indigenous ownership of Clearwater — if not initially, eventually. That position was rejected by all the parties Membertou talked with, including Premium Brands, a Richmond, B. C.- based food company which was determined to add Clearwater to its extensive list of brands — sold in Canada, the U.S., and Italy — spanning meat, bread, pastries, and pasta. Eventually, though, the two sides — despite never meeting in person because of the pandemic — reached agreeable terms. According to Chief Paul, Premium proposed a fifty- fifty partnership, with a promise Membertou would get right of first refusal if Premium ever decided to sell its stake.

On Sept. 25, 2020, Clearwater’s board began negotiations with Premium and FNC Holdings, a coalition of seven Mi’kmaq First Nations, assembled and led by Membertou. The result was a $1-billion deal unanimously approved by Clearwater’s board. For strategic reasons — stemming from lessons gleaned from the Arctic surf clam fight — FNC held all the quotas included in the deal. “The government would have much more difficulty trying to take something from us,” Paul explained, before adding with a laugh — “Again.”

Clearwater shareholders received $ 8.25 per share, a 15 per cent premium on the stock’s value as of Nov. 6, 2020. Though the deal was worth $ 1 billion, Clearwater had a net debt of $450 million, leaving the equity value at around $ 550 million. Most of that flowed to the company’s three largest shareholders: Risley and Colin and Mickey Macdonald. Risley’s estimated take was $ 116 million, while Colin Macdonald’s was $ 126 million. ( They had already secured a huge windfall by taking the company public in 2002.) Mickey Macdonald was to receive just under $97 million.

Chief Paul, a residential school survivor who grew up in a home without running water, cried when Brendan Paddick called to tell him they had a deal.

“When I finally knew that they accepted our offer, it felt — there’s no other word except surreal,” Paul recalled. “Even now it’s hard to believe.” He heralded the deal as a significant act of reconciliation and, for his community, “a return to the waters.” Membertou, stripped of its water access in the 1920s, had secured a stake in a company with myriad offshore fishing licences; operations ranging from Canada to China; nearly 2,000 employees; a fleet of vessels; and nine plants.

“The Mi’kmaq will be fishing for the rest of time because of this acquisition. It means a lot to us because of our culture and history with fishing,” Paul told me. “I firmly believe that John and Colin were a big part of that — a major part of it. I’m so grateful to John for having that foresight and that really long-term thinking.”

When told others had made similar comments about Risley — that he sees things others can’t and can often see ahead to where things are going — Paul agreed. “A lot of the people I associate with are very successful businesspeople,” he said. “Part of what is common with them is they think like 50 years ahead. With John, I think he thinks 100 years ahead! He’s way ahead of me. The guy is very intelligent — very intelligent.” He added: “John Risley is a big part of why we’re able to do what we’ve done here.”

On May 18, 2022, Risley and Chief Paul were panellists at a conference in Halifax focused on ocean- climate challenges. Risley was the first panellist to speak, highlighting his childhood growing up on the water, including his morning fishing trips to the buoy off his house on Halifax’s Northwest Arm. “I learned at a very early age that being on the water is an opportunity for reflection; it’s an opportunity for a connection with something which is truly special,” he told the crowd. “I’ve learned to love the ocean and I’ve learned to respect it.”

At t he e nd of his 10- minute talk, Risley introduced the next speaker: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, who moments earlier had been huddled in deep discussion with Risley at the back of the hotel ballroom. (Risley is trying to develop a 164-turbine wind farm and “green” hydrogen plant in Stephenville. Critics have claimed Furey has a conflict of interest because he previously stayed at one of Risley’s Labrador fishing lodges.) Furey spoke for 10 minutes and sat down immediately after, causing what seemed to be momentary confusion about whether the next panellist would also be introduced or simply start speaking. Eventually, Paul got up and approached the podium.

“I guess John doesn’t want to introduce me,” he joked.

“I’ll do it, but you may not like it!” Risley shot back with a smile.

Then Paul, in his calm and quiet speaking style, talked about the Indigenous fishery. He mentioned ongoing challenges in the inshore fishery, where Membertou commercial fishing boats were sometimes burned, and its lobster traps regularly cut by non- Indigenous fishers. He stressed the need for education so non- Indigenous fishers would understand Mi’kmaq treaty rights. ( The Supreme Court of Canada’s Marshall decision, in 1999, reaffirmed the Mi’kmaq right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing.) “Without ( education), ignorance and discrimination blocks the pathway for everyone,” Paul told the audience.

The offshore fishery, however, was a source of optimism. The Clearwater purchase could create generational wealth for Membertou and the other Mi’kmaq communities, not unlike what Risley and Colin MacDonald had done with their own families. “We know you have to play the game — and play to win,” Paul noted. He also again thanked Risley for his work on the deal, “and for seeing the value that Indigenous people — Mi’kmaq people — bring to the table.”

When Paul finished speaking, Risley rose from his seat near the podium and turned toward him. Risley grew up on the Northwest Arm and attended private school; Paul attended a residential school and grew up on a landlocked “Indian reserve” because his community had been removed from its waterfront land. And yet together they’d helped broker the sale of the company that had changed Risley’s life — and would now hopefully change many lives in Membertou.

The two men opened their arms and hugged.

2023-06-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://epaper.calgaryherald.com/article/282570202510278

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John Risley: The N.S. Entrepreneur Who Helped Build Three Billion-Dollar Companies

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In this week’s Huddle “Insights” podcast, David Campbell and Don Mills continue their series profiling the region’s top entrepreneurs with one of Atlantic Canada’s most successful business leaders, John Risley, someone who has been part of building three different companies that were sold for more than $1 billion each.

Risley shares candid opinions about the kinds of public policy changes needed in Atlantic Canada. He also tells the story about how Clearwater Seafoods was founded and the decision to sell to a company with an ownership group that includes a Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition .

“[We] didn’t’ have family in the business and it made sense to pass ownership on to [peope] we thought would be good stewards of what we had put together over the long term,” says Risley.

“The company will have had its best year ever since the sale, so it’s a great way for them to have started off this relationship with the company performing above both their expectations and our expectations.”

You can listen to the conversation with Risley in the player above. Better yet, search for “Huddle Insights” on a podcast platform like Apple or Spotify. Follow the show and never miss an episode. You can also listen to past episodes on those platforms.

The “Insights” podcast combines the experiences of an economist, David Campbell, and a social scientist, Don Mills, to explore the challenges and opportunities facing Atlantic Canada, to promote data-driven decision-making among policymakers, and to encourage a wider dialogue and debate leading to greater prosperity for the region.

Podcast: Economist, Richard Saillant provides a tutorial on the Federal Equalization Program

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Local author pens definitive biography on NS billionaire John Risley

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The man who changed Canada's lobster industry and his $1B deal to sell Clearwater

Book excerpt: Nova Scotia's John Risley has come a long way from running a dumpy roadside lobster shop

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In Nova Scotia, John Risley is arguably a household name, synonymous with the seafood industry and his many conspicuous possessions. On both fronts, his reputation is well earned. In 1976, he and his brother-in-law Colin MacDonald started Clearwater, a dumpy retail lobster shop on the side of a suburban Halifax highway.

From that simple start, Risley fundamentally changed the Atlantic Canadian lobster industry — transforming it from a seasonal, afterthought business to a year-round, $3-billion sector where lobsters are shipped overnight by air to customers in Europe and Asia, a premise unheard of before Risley entered the industry. Along the way, Clearwater matured into a global seafood company.

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But there’s much more to John Risley than seafood sales and a penchant for big spending.

He’s the co-creator, builder, and visionary behind three global companies: Clearwater, which he and MacDonald sold in 2021 for $1 billion; Ocean Nutrition Canada, a research and nutritional supplement company that specialized in omega-3 fatty acids and was later sold for nearly $600 million; and Columbus Communications, which started as a one-country cable company and eventually triggered two multibillion-dollar telecom mergers.

Ultimately, Risley has evolved from a university dropout who initially failed in multiple businesses to one of Canada’s most dynamic entrepreneurs. The following abridged excerpt, from Quentin Casey’s new biography, Net Worth: John Risley, Clearwater, and the Building of a Billion-Dollar Empire, details Clearwater’s 2017 fight with the Trudeau government and how that showdown heavily influenced the $1-billion sale of the company four years later.

Clam licences

In August 2014, federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau visited Halifax for a $1,000-a-ticket fundraising reception hosted at the home of entrepreneur (and Risley brother-in-law) Mickey MacDonald, who was endorsing Trudeau for prime minister. Trudeau’s Nova Scotia trip also included a boxing match against his host at Mickey’s gym, presumably to help toughen Trudeau’s image. “We need a change and I think Justin is the change we need,” Mickey told reporters gathered to see the fight.

His opinion of Trudeau has since changed significantly.

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The federal fisheries department announced it was creating a fourth surf clam licence for 2018 — representing a quarter of the total allowable catch — and would award it to an Indigenous entity in Atlantic Canada or Quebec. Clearwater would still hold three Arctic surf clam licences, covering 75 per cent of the TAC.

Risley, Colin and Mickey MacDonald, and the rest of the board believed a quarter of the company’s quota was being “expropriated,” and they were livid — for two main reasons.

One was the government’s expressed motivation: Dominic LeBlanc, then the fisheries minister, said the fourth licence would allow an Indigenous community to participate in an offshore fishery for the first time, calling it “a powerful step toward reconciliation.”

“That was a political thing,” Mickey told me. “Those clams are caught two hundred miles offshore … That wasn’t part of the fisheries of the Indigenous people(s).”

The company’s primary argument, however, was this: the Arctic surf clam was a product of little value until Clearwater pioneered new markets and better harvesting technology in the mid-1980s; therefore, any new quota holder was simply benefiting from Clearwater’s expensive and time-consuming efforts in building the sector from nothing.

We became the largest in surf clams after losing lots and lots and lots of money ...

“Without Clearwater, the species would be worth nothing,” explained Stephen Greene, a Canadian senator who was Risley’s assistant from 1986 to 1994, the period in which Clearwater was developing the surf clam industry by pumping millions of dollars into vessels and marketing efforts. “We became the largest in surf clams after losing lots and lots and lots of money … After about seven or eight years of losses, big losses, we figured it out.”

Fast forward to 2017; the surf clam fishery was a year-round operation, with Clearwater’s three licences covering roughly 35,000 metric tonnes of in-shell clams. (The clams, which have red flesh when cooked, are popular in sushi in Japan, China, and South Korea, where they are known as hokkigai or bei gei bei.) Clearwater‘s surf clam sales totalled around $100 million annually — more than 15 per cent of the company’s total sales.

At the time of LeBlanc’s decision, 452 people worked in Clearwater’s surf clam business — on the company’s three clam vessels and in two processing plants.

For Risley, it was further proof the Canadian fishery was myopic. “This is why the industry is a stupid industry,” he told me. “It wouldn’t happen with any other of our natural resources. It wouldn’t cross anybody’s mind that we should arrive on Irving’s doorstep in Saint John and say, ‘Oh, you’ve got too much timberland here in New Brunswick, we’re going to take some of it’ or, ‘The nickel mine in Voisey’s Bay (in Labrador) is too profitable, we’re going to take some of it away from you and we’re going to give it to someone else.’ Yet that’s the way we manage the fishery,” he continued, his voice rising with each sentence. “It’s stupid because you can’t legally do that in other industries and yet you can legally do it in the fishing industry. And why the government insists on preserving that right is beyond me. Because it gets the government in trouble! All the time!”

That was certainly the case for Dominic LeBlanc, who quickly stepped into controversy.

Clearwater bid for the fourth surf clam licence with Nova Scotia’s 13 Mi’kmaq bands, but their proposal was unsuccessful. Instead, in February 2018, LeBlanc’s department awarded the fourth licence to the Five Nations Clam Company, led by the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. Court filings later revealed that Five Nations beat out eight competitors despite not having all its partners secured; the company was also only 25 per cent Indigenous-owned, and didn’t possess a boat to actually fish the quota.

Federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion investigated the decision, ruling LeBlanc broke conflict-of-interest rules because Five Nations was linked to his wife’s cousin.

For his part, Mickey MacDonald remained annoyed with the lack of accountability. “Fucking Dominic LeBlanc,” he said. “He (only) got moved to a different portfolio.”

There were a couple of ironies involved in the federal government’s effort to strip surf-clam quota from Clearwater in the name of reconciliation.

The first was the fact that Clearwater had business partnerships with the Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton going back as far as 1988, long before reconciliation was a widely discussed topic. In 2001, Clearwater partnered with Membertou to process snow crab, a profit-sharing venture that created much-needed employment in Membertou. “I see our people here (working at the fish plant) with big smiles, they are taking good paycheques home,” Chief Terry Paul said at the time.

‘It was crazy’

In the 1920s, Kun’twiktuk (the Mi’kmaq community that became Membertou First Nation) was removed from its land on Sydney Harbour in Cape Breton and placed on a landlocked hill nearby, breaking the community’s physical connection to the water. When Terry Paul became Membertou’s chief in 1984, the community was in rough shape. There was no work; the community had a large budget deficit, and at one point it was 100 per cent dependent on government. “It was crazy. It was absolutely unacceptable,” Paul recalled.

In the early 1990s, the community embarked on significant changes, notably partnering with private companies such as Clearwater and working in industries as varied as snow crab processing and construction. “We find partners … to help us learn those businesses,” Paul explained.

Over time, employment rose to 80 per cent, government dependence fell to about 15 per cent of revenues, and graduation rates increased from 30 to 90 per cent. The community — of about 1,400 people — added a casino, a health centre, restaurants, and a convention centre. “There’s people that have … been away from here many years. They can’t believe that it’s Membertou,” Paul said. “A lot of people say to me that it doesn’t even look like an Indigenous community.”

Paul was interested, though he wanted to be more than simply “involved” — he wanted to buy the company, a point he made clear the day after the dinner. According to Risley, Clearwater informed all prospective buyers of Membertou’s interest. “We just encouraged a deal to happen,” he recalled. “We broadcast our view … that the buyer would be smart to partner with local Indigenous folks.”

Brendan Paddick, the former Columbus Communications CEO and longtime Clearwater director, helmed the sale process. He paused for a moment when I asked him about it, six months after the deal closed. “It’s a bit tough to talk (about),” he said. “John has talked about that one, and I have tried to encourage him to shut up because we’re still under NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) with like 40 potential buyers, where we’re not supposed to disclose literally anything about the process.”

Paddick was specifically concerned about Risley insinuating the purchaser was preordained.

“John says things like, ‘Oh, we always knew it was going to end up in Indigenous hands and we managed the process to that extent.’ Like, holy shit — do you know how many lawsuits could rise from private equity and other (parties) who spent significant money looking at the company and assessing the opportunity?” Paddick asked. “You’re essentially telling them it was all rigged from the beginning. It wasn’t. That’s not at all what happened. That’s just John trying to say, ‘Hey, look, we support Indigenous participation in the fishery.’ (It’s) just the way he says it is probably not the way that it should be worded.”

There were roughly 40 initial bidders for Clearwater, including one very surprising duo: company co-founders John Risley and Colin MacDonald. In fact, it was Risley and MacDonald’s cryptic comments about taking Clearwater private that launched the sale process in the first place.

“Several directors finally put it to them and said, ‘Guys, you can’t continue to make statements like that and not put them into action. … What the eff are you up to?’” Paddick recalled.

The board asked the founding partners two questions: At a certain price, would you buy the company? At a certain price, would you sell it? The answer to both questions: Yes.

“It actually surprised us,” Paddick said. So the board launched a “strategic review” in February 2020, essentially to solicit offers for all or part of the company. And because they were potential buyers, Risley and MacDonald were cut out of the negotiations, which were undertaken by a Paddick-led committee.

A list of prospective buyers grew quickly, despite the global pandemic. “A lot of people were thinking, ‘Why are you going out now? This is crazy,’” Paddick recalled. “But we had huge interest and very robust valuations and a buyer who saw a huge opportunity.”

‘A return to the waters’

Membertou’s desire, from the start, was full Indigenous ownership of Clearwater — if not initially, eventually. That position was rejected by all the parties Membertou talked with, including Premium Brands, a Richmond, B.C.-based food company which was determined to add Clearwater to its extensive list of brands — sold in Canada, the U.S., and Italy — spanning meat, bread, pastries, and pasta. Eventually, though, the two sides — despite never meeting in person because of the pandemic — reached agreeable terms. According to Chief Paul, Premium proposed a fifty-fifty partnership, with a promise Membertou would get right of first refusal if Premium ever decided to sell its stake.

Clearwater shareholders received $8.25 per share, a 15 per cent premium on the stock’s value as of Nov. 6, 2020. Though the deal was worth $1 billion, Clearwater had a net debt of $450 million, leaving the equity value at around $550 million. Most of that flowed to the company’s three largest shareholders: Risley and Colin and Mickey MacDonald. Risley’s estimated take was $116 million, while Colin MacDonald’s was $126 million. (They had already secured a huge windfall by taking the company public in 2002.) Mickey MacDonald was to receive just under $97 million.

Chief Paul, a residential school survivor who grew up in a home without running water, cried when Brendan Paddick called to tell him they had a deal. “When I finally knew that they accepted our offer, it felt — there’s no other word except surreal,” Paul recalled. “Even now it’s hard to believe.” He heralded the deal as a significant act of reconciliation and, for his community, “a return to the waters.” Membertou, stripped of its water access in the 1920s, had secured a stake in a company with myriad offshore fishing licences; operations ranging from Canada to China; nearly 2,000 employees; a fleet of vessels; and nine plants.

‘I’ve learned to love the ocean’

On May 18, 2022, Risley and Chief Paul were panellists at a conference in Halifax focused on ocean-climate challenges. Risley was the first panellist to speak, highlighting his childhood growing up on the water, including his morning fishing trips to the buoy off his house on Halifax’s Northwest Arm. “I learned at a very early age that being on the water is an opportunity for reflection; it’s an opportunity for a connection with something which is truly special,” he told the crowd. “I’ve learned to love the ocean and I’ve learned to respect it.”

At the end of his 10-minute talk, Risley introduced the next speaker: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, who moments earlier had been huddled in deep discussion with Risley at the back of the hotel ballroom. (Risley is trying to develop a 164-turbine wind farm and “green” hydrogen plant in Stephenville. Critics have claimed Furey has a conflict of interest because he previously stayed at one of Risley’s Labrador fishing lodges.) Furey spoke for 10 minutes and sat down immediately after, causing what seemed to be momentary confusion about whether the next panellist would also be introduced or simply start speaking. Eventually, Paul got up and approached the podium.

“I guess John doesn’t want to introduce me,” he joked.

“I’ll do it, but you may not like it!” Risley shot back with a smile.

Then Paul, in his calm and quiet speaking style, talked about the Indigenous fishery. He mentioned ongoing challenges in the inshore fishery, where Membertou commercial fishing boats were sometimes burned, and its lobster traps regularly cut by non-Indigenous fishers. He stressed the need for education so non-Indigenous fishers would understand Mi’kmaq treaty rights. (The Supreme Court of Canada’s Marshall decision, in 1999, reaffirmed the Mi’kmaq right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing.) “Without (education), ignorance and discrimination blocks the pathway for everyone,” Paul told the audience.

The two men opened their arms and hugged.

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U.S. Eyes $156 Million Yacht in Dubai Linked to a Russian Oligarch

The U.S. Justice Department is taking steps to seize the Madame Gu, a 324-foot luxury yacht, but it will be diplomatically thorny.

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View of the marina at dusk, with the superyacht in the water and buildings and cranes behind it.

By Kate Kelly , Michael Forsythe and Julian E. Barnes

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — On a clear morning in late October, the jewel-blue hull of the Madame Gu, one of the world’s most luxurious superyachts, gleamed, its aluminum rails shimmering in the sun. Workers on the pier said they had recently seen people painting, cleaning and generally keeping the ship with its helipad and six guest staterooms in pristine condition.

In past years, such a scene would not have been noteworthy. Many superyachts come and go from Dubai’s Mina Rashid Marina, best known as the home of the Queen Elizabeth 2, the trans-Atlantic ocean liner-turned-hotel that dominates the waterfront here.

But Russia’s war in Ukraine has turned an otherwise routine tableau into a diplomatic battleground between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, an important American ally that has established itself as a safe haven for Russian money and assets out of the reach of U.S. sanctions.

The $156 million Madame Gu epitomizes the problem. In June, the United States designated the vessel, which is linked to Andrei Skoch, a Russian steel magnate and lawmaker under sanctions, as blocked property. That means the yacht cannot use American companies for its upkeep, employ U.S. citizens or even use the dollar. The Justice Department is now taking steps to seize the Madame Gu, according to people with knowledge of the plan.

But the United States can’t seize property in a sovereign nation without permission from its government. The Emirates, which has taken a friendlier position toward Moscow, is balking at cooperating with the United States to pursue oligarchs, American officials said. The Kremlin is also using oligarch-controlled companies in the Emirates to acquire war supplies that the West is trying to keep out of Russia’s reach, according to a Western official involved in the sanctions effort against Russia.

Emirati officials did not comment specifically on the Madame Gu but said in a statement that they took their role “protecting the integrity of the global financial system extremely seriously.”

A closer examination of Russian assets in the Emirates shows that even before the war in Ukraine, Dubai had become a playground for Russians with links to President Vladimir V. Putin. At least 38 businessmen or officials with ties to the Russian president own homes in Dubai that are collectively valued at more than $314 million, according to the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. Five of those owners are under U.S. sanctions.

Since the Russian invasion, Dubai has established itself as a safe haven for Russian yachts and aircraft unable to sail or fly elsewhere. After Russian jets were barred from the European Union in late February, the Emirates became the destination for 14 percent of all private flights leaving Russia, up from 3 percent before the invasion.

“It’s frustrating when you see huge assets that are sitting out there and it appears that the country is not cooperating,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, referring to the Emirates. “It would be nice if there were more common cause against Putin while he’s busy shelling hospitals and schools.”

Mr. Whitehouse is sponsoring legislation that would use proceeds of the sales of seized Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine. Senior officials at the Treasury and State Departments have also complained publicly about the situation.

U.S. officials view the presence of superyachts in places like Dubai and Bodrum, Turkey , as a symptom of wider Russian circumvention of sanctions and continued access to financial markets. Yachts have also come to symbolize the decadence of Russia’s oligarchs, especially at a time when Russian soldiers are scrounging for body armor and sleeping bags on the front lines.

Pursuing the Madame Gu

Built by the Dutch firm Feadship and put into service in 2013, the Madame Gu has a large helicopter pad on its forecastle with a hangar underneath that can double as a squash court when the chopper isn’t on board. The vessel has berthing for 36 crew members, according to one trade magazine.

Mr. Skoch, a member of Russia’s Parliament who is linked to assets worth billions of dollars, according to U.S. court filings, has had sanctions imposed on him twice by the United States, first in 2018 and then after Russia’s invasion this year. The Treasury Department has cited his “longstanding ties to Russian organized criminal groups.”

Mr. Skoch could not be reached and did not respond to messages left at his office at Parliament.

In an interview in October about the government’s broader efforts to go after the assets of oligarchs, Andrew Adams, a federal prosecutor leading the Department of Justice’s KleptoCapture task force, declined to discuss the Madame Gu. But the United States, he said, is warning companies they must not do business with individuals and assets under sanctions. The government, he said, will pursue oligarch-owned assets whose sale could be used to aid Ukraine.

“Where we know there is an asset that can potentially provide significant remuneration for Ukraine, that obviously is an attractive case to pursue,” he said.

U.S. officials are likely to use the case they made for impounding a $90 million Airbus business jet linked to Mr. Skoch in August as a blueprint for seizing the Madame Gu, said people familiar with the plan.

That means investigators will aim to show that the owner of the vessel, or the companies that have been providing services to it, have intersected with the U.S. financial system.

“If there are U.S. dollars or a U.S. nexus associated with supporting this vessel, massive enforcement actions could take place,” said Adam M. Smith, a former official overseeing sanctions at the Treasury Department. Companies that provide support to entities under sanctions could potentially face their own sanctions, said Mr. Smith, who is now a lawyer at Gibson Dunn in Washington.

This year the United States has carried out two high-profile seizures of yachts tied to Russians under sanctions, working with cooperative governments. The $300 million Amadea was taken in Fiji in May and sailed to San Diego under an American flag. In April, the United States worked with Spanish police to seize the $90 million Tango.

A Problematic Partner

Diplomatically, the Emirates has been reluctant to take a clear anti-Russian position when it comes to the war in Ukraine. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, recently met with Mr. Putin in St. Petersburg, and the Emirati foreign minister recently hosted his Russian counterpart. Yet Sheikh Mohammed has also talked with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, more than once and recently gave the country $100 million in humanitarian aid.

The United States has publicly expressed dismay over the mixed messages.

During a visit to Dubai in June, Wally Adeyemo, the U.S. deputy treasury secretary, warned of the need for vigilance and proactive steps in combating Russian evasion. That same month Barbara Leaf, the State Department’s under secretary for Near East Affairs, said at a congressional hearing that regarding the Emirates, she was “not happy at all with the record at this point” on sanctions enforcement. Mr. Adeyemo reiterated his concerns in a meeting with Emirati officials in October in Washington.

A senior State Department official said in a statement to The New York Times that the agency continues “to reinforce the importance of conducting enhanced due diligence to prevent sanctions evasion and investigating allegations of such activity” to the Emirates.

The Treasury Department declined to comment on the Madame Gu or the relationship with the Emirates.

Last month, the Treasury Department announced it had placed sanctions on an Emirates-based company, Constellation Advisors Ltd., that the American government said was operating on behalf of a nephew of another Russian oligarch, Suleiman Kerimov. Mr. Kerimov, according to American court documents, was the owner of the Amadea superyacht .

American officials are also worried the Russian government is using the Emirates to acquire military supplies for its war in Ukraine. On Nov. 15, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two Emirates-based transportation firms that had worked with another Iranian firm under sanctions, which in turn had helped transport drones and personnel from Iran to Russia.

Moored in Dubai

Based on a recent visit to Dubai’s Mina Rashid Marina , where the Madame Gu is moored, it is clear that international companies are playing a critical role in its care.

The Emirates-based company DP World, through its subsidiary P&O Marinas , oversees the pier where the Madame Gu is moored. Employees from another DP World subsidiary , World Security, staff the small guard box at the entrance. That makes DP World, which is owned by Dubai’s royal family, potentially vulnerable to American sanctions.

DP World “fully complies with all applicable local and national laws and intends to continue doing the same regarding the Madame Gu and other vessels utilizing our services,” said Adal Mirza, a spokesman for the company. He added that DP World had not yet heard from the United States or other countries that had placed Mr. Skoch under sanctions, including Britain and the European Union.

A generator set that dock workers said in late October was powering the Madame Gu — two container-like structures near its stern — bore the distinctive orange logo of Aggreko , a British company. The generator set was connected to the superyacht by thick cords; one of the containers was emitting grayish exhaust.

At the Mina Rashid Marina, soon after Aggreko was contacted by The Times, workers removed the generator. “Having identified that the generator was being used to power a vessel that is allegedly connected to a sanctioned person, we immediately terminated this rental and have since recovered the generator,” the company said in a statement.

Mr. Mirza, the DP World spokesman, said the Aggreko generator had been replaced with one from a local supplier.

P&O Marinas arranged for the diesel generator to provide power for the Madame Gu because that part of the pier, a holding area, has no shore-supplied electric power, said a port official in Dubai, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the press.

“At the end of the day, if the U.A.E. hasn’t imposed sanctions, it’s not really their job to enforce other countries’ laws within their borders,” said Nabeel Yousef, a Washington-based partner at the law firm Freshfields, where he runs the sanctions practice. Nevertheless, “companies should not take comfort in the fact that their country has not imposed sanctions,” he added, “because even the smallest connection to the U.S. can lead to U.S. penalties.”

There has also been a notable absence onboard the Madame Gu in recent weeks: a flag. Unlike other ships moored nearby, including the Quantum Blue, a superyacht linked to the billionaire Sergei Galitsky, the Madame Gu appears to be stateless, apparently having been deflagged by the Cayman Islands.

Cayman Islands officials didn’t respond to an emailed inquiry about the ship’s status.

If DP World were to face fallout from U.S. sanctions enforcers, it wouldn’t be the first time the company has been the focus of attention in Washington. In 2006, DP World was seeking to manage some terminal operations at six American ports but dropped out of the deal after a bipartisan uproar in Congress.

Anton Troianovski contributed reporting from Turin, Italy, and Oleg Matsnev from Berlin.

Kate Kelly covers money, influence, and policy as a correspondent in the Washington bureau of the Times. Before that, she spent twenty years covering Wall Street deals, key players and their intersection with politics. She is the author of three books, including "The Education of Brett Kavanaugh." More about Kate Kelly

Michael Forsythe is a reporter on the investigations team. He was previously a correspondent in Hong Kong, covering the intersection of money and politics in China. He has also worked at Bloomberg News and is a United States Navy veteran. More about Michael Forsythe

Julian E. Barnes is a national security reporter based in Washington, covering the intelligence agencies. Before joining The Times in 2018, he wrote about security matters for The Wall Street Journal. More about Julian E. Barnes

Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine

News and Analysis

Russian missiles streaked into Kyiv in the biggest assault on the Ukrainian capital in weeks, injuring several people and damaging several buildings.

Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s top national security official, made a secret trip to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and reaffirm the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine.

Under pressure to come up with billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s military, the E.U. said that it had devised a legal way to use frozen Russian assets to help arm Ukraine.

Symbolism or Strategy?: Ukrainians say that defending places with little strategic value is worth the cost in casualties and weapons , because the attacking Russians pay an even higher price. American officials aren’t so sure.

Elaborate Tales: As the Ukraine war grinds on, the Kremlin has created increasingly complex fabrications online to discredit Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and undermine the country’s support in the West.

Targeting Russia’s Oil Industry: With its army short of ammunition and troops to break the deadlock on the battlefield, Kyiv has increasingly taken the fight beyond the Ukrainian border, attacking oil infrastructure deep in Russian territory .

How We Verify Our Reporting

Our team of visual journalists analyzes satellite images, photographs , videos and radio transmissions to independently confirm troop movements and other details.

We monitor and authenticate reports on social media, corroborating these with eyewitness accounts and interviews. Read more about our reporting efforts .

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Architecture News

Moscow’s New Supertall Skyscraper Approved for Construction

Written by Eric Baldwin
Published on August 29, 2018

Moscow officials have approved a new supertall building that will become the city's tallest skyscraper . Rising 404 meters (1,325 feet) in height as part of the Moscow City commercial district, the tower is designed by Sergey Skuratov Architects. The unnamed structure will be a multifunctional residential complex with 109 floors. The new skyscraper will break Moscow's current tall building record set by Federation Tower at 373-meter-tall (1,226 feet) tall. Construction is scheduled to begin next year.

The new skyscraper joins a host of other superlative buildings in Moscow City, including five of the ten tallest buildings in Europe, all supertall structures.The district's Federation Tower currently holds the title of Europe's tallest completed skyscraper. Soon, it will be surpassed by St. Petersburg's Lakhta Center , which will rise 462 meters when complete in 2019. When complete, Skuratov's skyscraper in Moscow will become Europe's second tallest building.

Designed with two main volumes, the new supertall design includes a 12 story base structure with offices, a shopping center and a range of commercial facilities. Above, residences will rise to the 104th floor. Capped with a helipad, the project includes an observation at 399 meters (1,309 feet) above ground. The project's facade will feature a gradient of white glass between windows that disappears by the 80th floor. As Skuratov explains, "The plan of the building is an isosceles (trapezoid) 30 meters wide, truncated on one side, facing the Moskva River. The sloping edge on the west side of the tower follows the direction of one of the nearby streets. The other edge is vertical and points toward the center of Moscow."

Moscow's supertall is set to open in 2024. Read more about Sergey Skuratov and his work through our recent interview .

Image gallery

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High-rise Residential Complex. Image Courtesy of Sergey Skuratov Architects

莫斯科最新超高层摩天大楼得到政府审批，将成为欧洲第二高建筑

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Inside NORTHERN STAR Yacht • Lurssen • 2021 • Value $350M • Owner John
Inside NORTHERN STAR Yacht • Lurssen • 2021 • Value $350M • Owner John
Northern Star Yacht • John Risley $350M Superyacht
Inside NORTHERN STAR Yacht • Lurssen • 2021 • Value $350M • Owner John
Selfmade Canadian billionaire John Risley is getting himself one of the
Selfmade Canadian billionaire John Risley is getting himself one of the

COMMENTS

Northern Star Yacht • John Risley $350M Superyacht
The Northern Star yacht is a luxury explorer vessel under construction at Lurssen. Anticipated delivery in 2023 with a length of 109m (357ft). Expected to be powered by Caterpillar engines with a top speed of over 20 knots. The yacht's legacy is associated with billionaires John Risley and Len Blavatnik. Lurssen has previously crafted ...
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The luxury vessel owned by Canadian billionaire John Carter Risley, the founder of Clearwater Seafoods, is a majestic boat with all the fanfare. Still, it will be known most for its performance. Lürssen Yachts' 351-footer boasts 6,000 GT of interior volume, a steel hull, and an aluminum superstructure.
SHACKLETON Yacht • Len Blavatnik $350M Superyacht
The yacht was started as a new Northern Star for Canadian billionaire John Risley.It was the 3rd Northern Star built at Lurssen for John Risley. The first was a 63 meter built in 2005. The second was a 76-meter, built in 2009. Before that he used to own a 37-meter motor sailor, built at Palmer Johnson.
ICECAP: The next stage of the NORTHERN STAR journey
The yacht in question is the new 107-metre Lurssen project Icecap which, reveals her owner, will be ready for launch in early 2021. Designed to fit in with the Risleys' off-the-beaten-track approach to cruising, we can expect the new Ice-classed vessel to be brimming with off-road features only available on a ship this size. ... John Risley ...
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John Risley is a Canadian billionaire, owner and founder of Clearwater Fine Foods, an international corporation that is one of the world's largest seafood suppliers. In April 2018, Risley celebrated his 70th birthday. ... Already now, Risley's new yacht is claiming to be the «most efficient motor yacht in the world. Superyacht Times ...
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Quick now. How many Nova Scotians — earning Canada's average industrial wage of $58,800 a year — could be hired for one full year for the reported asking price of John Risley's one new, never-even sailed US$350-million luxury yacht? Don't even bother with the currency conversion. If you guessed 5,992 with a little left over […]
Exclusive: Billionaire John Risley's Latest Toy: Building A 351-Foot
"Overall, the new Northern Star is the owner's ultimate yacht using available technologies to increase operational efficiencies. An estimated 20 guests will be able to be accommodated onboard in 10 cabins," states The Marine News of the new Risley vessel. The previous super yacht Risley owned the 250-foot mega yacht, also named Northern Star.
How John Risley, the Nova Scotia Billionaire Who Built a Seafood Empire
The following abridged excerpt, from Quentin Casey's new biography, Net Worth: John Risley, Clearwater, and the Building of a Billion- Dollar Empire, details Clearwater's 2017 fight with the Trudeau government and how that showdown heavily influenced the $1-billion sale of the company four years later.
John Risley
John Carter Risley OC (born April 26, 1948) is a Canadian billionaire businessman with interests in fisheries, ... In 2010, their daughter Sarah Risley married Guy Barnett, "a British deckhand who came to Canada to work on Risley's yacht". His brother is the Halifax restaurateur, caterer and hotelier Robert Risley.
METEOR Yacht • John Risley $18M Sailing Superyacht
It can reach a max speed of 15 knots and has a cruising speed of 12 knots. Meteor actively participates in prestigious regattas, including the America's Cup and St. Barths Bucket Regatta. Originally owned by Canadian billionaire John Risley, the yacht was sold in 2019. The Meteor is valued at $18 million, with annual running costs around $2 ...
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In this week's Huddle "Insights" podcast, David Campbell and Don Mills continue their series profiling the region's top entrepreneurs with one of Atlantic Canada's most successful business leaders, John Risley, someone who has been part of building three different companies that were sold for more than $1 billion each. Risley shares ...
John Risley
John Risley President and CEO Clearwater Fine Foods Inc. ... He is a member of the New York Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club. John lives in Chester, Nova Scotia and has 2 children Michael and Sarah and 4 grandchildren, Max, Dakota, Henry and Leo. ... Latest News more. 2023-04-29 PCMA Announces New Chair, Executive and Seven Directors ...
Local author pens definitive biography on NS billionaire John Risley
Watch Local author pens definitive biography on NS billionaire John Risley Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca ... New Nature Trust campaign to save Backlands and Blanding's. 05:49 | March 13, 2024
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The man who changed Canada's lobster industry and his $1B deal to sell Clearwater. Book excerpt: Nova Scotia's John Risley has come a long way from running a dumpy roadside lobster shop. Nova ...
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The U.S. Justice Department is taking steps to seize the Madame Gu, a 324-foot luxury yacht, but it will be diplomatically thorny. The Madame Gu, a superyacht linked to Russian billionaire and ...
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What began as a pastime for yacht spotting has evolved into a leading online destination for yachting enthusiasts, with thousands of visitors engaging with our content every day. Launched in 2009, SuperYachtFan transitioned from a gallery of yacht imagery to a pivotal resource, culminating in the Super Yacht Owners Register —a meticulously ...
Moscow's New Supertall Skyscraper Approved for Construction
Moscow officials have approved a new supertall building that will become the city's tallest skyscraper. Rising 404 meters (1,325 feet) in height as part of the Moscow City commercial district, the ...
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Embark on a captivating journey through the heart of Moscow with our immersive City Walk. ⚠️ Follow for more: https://www.youtube.com/@Real-Russia-4K-Walks F...
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Who is the Owner of the Sailing Yacht Meteor? The yacht was built for John Risley.He sold her in 2019. Mention SuperYachtFan When Sharing This Information. When using the information from this article, please remember to give credit to SuperYachtFan.Our team works hard to provide accurate and engaging content for our readers, and we appreciate your support.