A superyacht's crew dressed in designer clothes that were thrown away by its owner after he wore them once, worker says

• The crew of a superyacht dressed in designer clothes tossed by its owner, a worker said.
• The worker wrote in The Times of London that the owner "never wears the same shirt twice."

A superyacht's crew dressed themselves in designer clothes that had been thrown away by its owner after he wore them just once, according to an industry insider.

Writing in The Times of London, an anonymous worker with 20 years in the superyacht business told the tale of a superyacht owner "who, much like the great tennis player Ivan Lendl, never wears the same shirt twice."

The worker said the owner "couldn't understand the need for wardrobes in his master suite, stating, 'I buy it, I wear it, and I throw it away'."

They continued: "It helped to explain why the gleeful crew aboard his yacht were scrubbing decks dressed in Armani cashmere jumpers."

The extravagances of superyacht owners have come to the fore after Western nations sanctioned Russian oligarchs over the Ukraine war. The sanctions seek to seize the trophy assets of oligarchs said to have ties to the Kremlin, including yachts, private jets, and luxury property.

The superyacht worker writing in The Times also detailed the story of a crew that prepared fresh lobster for their yacht's owner every day, regardless of whether or not he was on board.

Separately, a superyacht captain told The Guardian that employees aboard a wealthy Russian's superyacht were forced to take lie detector tests to prove they'd kept confidential information a secret. The employees were also banned from taking photos or making drawings of the superyacht, the captain said.

Some oligarchs have had their yachts and private jets seized, while others have scrambled to escape sanctions.

Last week, a Fijian high court granted an order to restrain a Russian oligarch's $325 million superyacht from leaving the island nation.