Venus: Steve Jobs’ yacht impounded in Amsterdam over bill dispute

Venus, the minimalist high-tech yacht commissioned by late Steve Jobs, has become embroiled in a row over a disputed bill.

French designer Philippe Starck claims Steve Jobs’ heirs still owe him 3 million euros of a 9 million euro fee for the project, according to Dutch paper Het Financieele Dagblad.

Philippe Starck called in the debt collectors and had the yacht impounded,

The Port of Amsterdam confirmed that the boat is not allowed to leave.

Jeroen Ranzijn, spokesman for the Port of Amsterdam said: “The boat is brand new but there is a 3 million euro claim on it. The parties will have to fight it out.”

Roelant Klaassen, a lawyer representing Philippe Starck’s company, Ubik, told the Reuters news agency that the boat would remain in port pending payment by lawyers representing Steve Jobs’ estate.

“These guys trusted each other, so there wasn’t a very detailed contract,” he said.

Philippe Starck was unavailable for comment.

Gerard Moussault, the lawyer representing the owners of the Venus, said: “I cannot comment at all on this, sorry.”

The sleek, 260 ft-long (80 m) aluminium super-yacht cost 105 million euros ($138 million) and was launched in October, at Aalsmeer, The Netherlands.

Philippe Starck is known for his striking designs for the Alessi company, including an aluminium lemon squeezer that is shaped like a spaceship.

He collaborated with Steve Jobs for five years on the project, describing the boat as “showing the elegance of intelligence.”

The vessel is minimalist in style and is named after the Roman goddess of love and its windows measure 3 m (10 feet) in height.

Philippe Starck has said that Venus “looks strange for a boat” but said its shape comes from design ideas he shared with Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in 2011 and never saw his boat go to sea.