A massive white vessel has been catching attention at Broadway Pier in San Diego, prompting one Redditor to ask, "Do people traverse the ocean in these things?"
The yacht is called Amadea, a 348-foot superyacht seized from Russian ownership in 2022 and now under U.S. government control.
On Reddit, users traded facts and jokes about the ship's past and purpose. "I think this is a seized Russian oligarch's yacht," one commenter wrote, while another added that in March 2025, a U.S. judge cleared the way for the government to take full possession.
Behind its helipad, lounges, and swimming pool lies a staggering cost to both taxpayers and the planet. Maintaining Amadea reportedly runs close to $1 million per month, and superyachts like it are among the most carbon-intensive assets in the world.
According to Oxfam, one large yacht can release more than 5,600 tons of carbon pollution annually, which is hundreds of times an average person's lifetime carbon impact. The top 300 privately owned yachts together release nearly 285,000 tons of carbon each year, reported Fortune.
Those numbers explain why these vessels spark frustration well beyond questions of wealth or geopolitics. As Redditors joked about "trolling motors" and "ships that ship ships," others pointed out the broader issue: Confiscating a $300 million yacht may grab headlines, but the climate costs ripple much further.
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There are glimmers of solutions. The International Maritime Organization has adopted a net-zero pollution strategy for global shipping, and shipyards are experimenting with hybrid propulsion, hydrogen fuel cells, and battery-assisted designs. Models like Savannah, which uses a diesel-electric hybrid system, cut fuel use by nearly a third.
Still, as Amadea looms over San Diego's waterfront, it serves as both a spectacle and a reminder: Luxury on this scale leaves an outsized mark, and the choices societies make about these ships echo far beyond the pier.
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