What is a presidential yacht? TheCable takes you into the world of the big toy

The Nigerian social media space was thrown into a frenzy on Thursday when the supplementary budget document was released and citizens saw that N5 billion was earmarked for a presidential yacht.

“What does the president need a yacht for at a time when Nigerians are grappling with the ripple effects of his economic reforms?” This was the main question on the tongues of many Nigerians.  It did not make it any better that the development was coming days after the Nigerian lawmakers proposed the purchase of luxury vehicles for federal lawmakers. The national assembly is made up of 109 members in the senate and a 360-member house of representatives.

When the presidency explained that the yacht listed in the budget was a naval vessel, people still asked the developmental or national security reasons why the navy needed a presidential yacht.

A presidential yacht is, however, not a novel thing. In fact, world leaders and countries have owned and operated presidential yachts as far back as the 1890s, but only a handful of countries, including the US, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Italy, and the Philippines have had a presidential yacht at some point in their history.

It is also no news that a presidential yacht is operated by the navy of the host country.

A presidential yacht, though sometimes used to host world leaders and other foreign visitors and dignitaries for diplomatic meetings, is largely used for leisure and pleasure. Because of the arguable casual nature of their functions, they are sometimes called presidential “plaything”.

Some of the features of these yachts, depending on their size and sophistication, include a helipad, garden, spa, cinema, library, personal museum, sports centre, pools, suites and hospital. Their sizes vary and can run over 100 meters in length.

Some popular presidential yachts across time include Savarona later named USS Sequoia, USS Mayflower, Al-Mirqab, Honey Fitz, USS Potomac, USS Williamsburg, Morning Glory, BRP Ang Pangulo and Galeb, HRM Britannia.

The yachts change hands from time to time, and each president modifies them to suit their taste and needs.

THE FLOATING LUXURY

The Trump Princess, once owned by former US President Donald Trump, had a hospital with an operating theatre — according to this article by Boat International.  The yacht, originally named Nabila, is now called Kingdom 5KR and is owned by a Saudi businessman.

The Potomac was redesigned to include an elevator installation to provide for wheelchair accessibility for President Franklin D. Roosevelt so he could access each deck.

Britannia was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in times of war, although she was never used in that capacity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BRP Ang Pangulo was converted into a hospital ship and used as a 28-bed isolation facility for frontline military workers.

For the US, even before Air Force One existed, the presidential yacht was generally referred to as the “Floating White House”.

Some people have argued that beyond pleasure, presidential yachts serve very important diplomatic functions and are also quite crucial to the overall health of the president.

Stressing its importance, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, said in a 2012 interview that “it’s important for the President to be by himself, to remove himself from the machinery of the White House. Of course, he can get on a plane and go to Florida or anywhere else, but that requires throwing the machinery into motion”.

During a radio address in 1941, Roosevelt said: “I am sitting in the little cabin of the little ship Potomac, in the harbor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after a day of sunshine out in the Gulf Stream. I try to get away a couple of times a year on these short trips on salt water. Even when I go to Hyde Park or to Warm Springs, the White House office, the callers, and the telephones all follow me. But at sea, the occasional pouch of mail reduce official work to not more than two or three hours a day”.

The Britannia, which served the British royal family for over four decades, is said to have advanced diplomatic priorities throughout the Commonwealth. Between 1991 and 1995, the British government estimated that trade missions on the Britannia boosted government coffers by an estimated £3 billion, according to this Forbes article. 

In the early 1970s, Alfred Diete-Spiff, pioneer military governor of Rivers state, procured a yacht, Ogina Bereton, to house the members of the state executive council on working visits to the nooks and creeks of the newly created state. However, the military regime of Murtala Muhammed transferred it to the Nigerian Navy, where it was renamed NNS Ruwan Yaro. The vessel was decommissioned in 2001.

Presidential yachts are gradually losing their reverence and grandiosity as most countries have taken to decommissioning them for various reasons, mainly economic concerns.

WHO NEEDS A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR BIG TOY AT A TIME LIKE THIS?

Yachts, depending on sizes and specifications, cost from tens of thousands of dollars to as high as $10,000,000 or even more. Beyond the cost of purchasing these big toys, one of the main reasons why leaders choose to opt out of operating yachts is the maintenance cost, which runs into 10% to 15% of the purchase price annually.

Queen Elizabeth II, in one of her rare public moments, shed a tear when HRM Britannia was decommissioned in 1997. The vessel is now permanently berthed in Edinburgh and has been converted into a museum. To date, all the clocks on board read 3:01 pm, the exact time the Queen last disembarked from the yacht.

In 2021, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed a £250 million scheme to procure a successor for Britannia. The idea was scrapped by Rishi Sunak, his successor, to cut down on government spending.

On Friday, Ali Ndume, chief whip of the senate, said the controversial presidential yacht, whose budget has been relocated to that of the students’ loan programme, has been delivered but not paid for.

Now that the presidency has said the yacht belongs to the navy and not for the personal use of President Bola Tinubu, what becomes of it?

If this luxury vessel is eventually procured, what would it be called? Floating Aso Rock, Aso Yacht or Renewed Hope Yacht?

Whatever the outcome, bon voyage!