Russian Immigrant Tries to Steal Luxury Yacht From Florida Marina
Police believe the suspect was attempting to flee to the Bahamas
After an extended chase, police in Martin County, Florida have arrested a Russian national on charges of attempting to steal a vessel to flee to the Bahamas - twice.
On Monday evening, Russian citizen Nikolai Vilkov, 29, was apprehended aboard a stolen 68-foot luxury yacht near the town of Hobe Sound, Florida. Local police units pursued him on the Indian River for an hour before pushing the vessel into the mangroves to force it to a stop.
According to the local sheriffs' office, Vilkov made a circuitous journey to get there, and he likely stole more than one boat.
At about 0100 hours Monday morning, Vilkov arrived at a restaurant parking lot in Jupiter, Florida, and was captured on surveillance camera walking down to a marina. At about 0200 hours, a TowBoat US response boat at that marina started up without authorization, and its GPS tracker showed it moving north. It then ran aground on a sandbar, and the unauthorized operator abandoned it. The thief was not immediately identified.
At 0300 hours, police for the town of Jupiter found Vilkov, who was on foot and walking down a highway near the site of the grounding. They had no evidence to connect him to the missing TowBoat US vessel, so he was allowed to go.
At about 1200-1300 hours, Vilkov arrived at a different marina, located about three hours to the north, police said. Bystanders spotted him aboard a 68-foot luxury yacht, preparing to get under way. At about 1555 hours, the dockmaster for the marina called police to report that the yacht had been stolen.
Marine units from multiple police agencies pursued the yacht until about 1730 hours, when they pushed it into a mangrove thicket near Hobe Sound Bridge, about six miles north of the marina where the theft began.
Courtesy Martin County Sheriffs' Office
The police believe that Vilkov was attempting to make it another eight miles north to St. Lucie Inlet, then head for sea and make a run for the Bahamas. His motives are unclear; he had been in the U.S. since 2022 after legally claiming asylum status. His wife and child flew back to Russia last week, police told local WPTV.
The yacht sustained damage from the brief grounding and from its encounter in the mangroves. Vilkov has been charged with grand theft, aggravated fleeing, and resisting arrest for the theft of the yacht, and he will likely be charged in connection with the theft of the TowBoat US vessel as well.
The Department of Homeland Security is assisting in the investigation, and has provided a Russian interpreter. Whether Vilkov is convicted or not, he will likely be deported to Russia after his time in police custody, Sheriff John Budensiek told WPTV.