A Bermudian-registered mega yacht estimated to have cost €400 million (about $422 million) has been impounded in Gibraltar over allegations of unpaid fees.

According to the BBCSailing Yacht A, owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, is being held because the German builder of the vessel says he still owes €15.3 million in fees.

However, a spokesman for Mr Melnichenko told the BBC that they were confident the order would soon be lifted, calling the incident a “technical problem”.

The vessel, built by Nobiskrug, left the Kiel shipyard in northern Germany just two weeks ago.

It is described as being 143 metres (469ft) long with three masts, an underwater observation pod, hybrid diesel-electric propulsion and “state-of-the-art” navigation systems.

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