bladerunner 51 powerboat

Round Britain Record Slashed!

BLADERUNNER 51  

The Record   British Adventurer, Neil McGrigor and his team on board the Bradstone Challenger, a 51ft Blade Runner powerboat, have smashed the outright World Record for the fastest powerboat sprint around Britain. The team completed the circumnavigation in 27 hours and 10 minutes, beating the existing record of 30 hours and 59 minutes by 3 hours and 49 minutes!

The Boat   The Bradstone Challenger, a Bladerunner 51, designed by Lorne Campbell and built by UK based Ice Marine is powered by twin 1000hp CATS driving Arneson Surface Drives. Pioneered by ICE Marine her AEM (Air Entrapment Monohull) is radically different to a conventional monohull, in its dramatic twin tunnels generating phenomenal air dynamic lifts thus enhancing performance and handling.

Since arriving at the Inwards display site testing has proved extremely successful. Timed runs have exceeded a mind blowing 72 knots (83mph) with a full throttle range of just over 500 miles.

The Team   Led by Neil McGrigor, together with Tony Jenvey, Jeremy Watts and Lorne Campbell, they formed a formidable team with extensive experience and an unrivalled collection of world championship wins and records.

As well as a dedicated shore support, re-fuel logistics and tactical weather team the challenge was also supported by the Royal Navy. They provided airborne logistics and filming throughout the attempt as part of their ‘counter terrorism fast waterborne attack’ programme!

The Record   The attempt began at 0700 on Thursday 12 August when the boat blasted across the start line at the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes. The team, Neil, Tony Jenvey, Jeremy Watts and John Guille, left the Solent in bright sunshine and flat calm and were able to take in the sights as they raced down the West coast of Britain, including some of the larger yachts in the Fasnet Race. However the team soon encountered choppy weather conditions as they rounded Land’s End and headed up the Irish Sea.

They also experienced overcast skies, significant breeze and confused seas on the night passage down the North Sea. Despite this the team managed to maintain a huge lead on the record throughout all of the five refuel stops in Penzance, Northern Ireland, Kyle of Lochalsh, Peterhead and Great Yarmouth.

Bradstone Challenger finally crossed the line at 10.10 to the welcome sound of a finish gun from the Royal Yacht Squadron. The team were then joined by friends and family who accompanied them to a welcome party at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club.

Commenting on breaking the record Neil McGrigor said “I am absolutely delighted and relieved! We proved that if the whole team, both on the boat and on the shore, can work together we can achieve a outstanding result”

We are lucky enough to proudly have the GT4 version of the blade runner on our display site at Hamble Point Marina. She combiens agressive looks with astounding performance, her top speed being around 60 mph!!

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International Edition

clock This article was published more than  14 years ago

U.S. thinks Tehran

owns feared boat

Despite the Obama administration's efforts to stop it from falling into the hands of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Bradstone Challenger -- a high-performance powerboat built with support from a U.S. defense contractor -- is believed to be under Iranian ownership.

The unusual journey of the Bladerunner 51 powerboat began in 2005, when a team led by British adventurer Neil McGrigor took it from a Florida boatyard and smashed the Italian-held record for the fastest circumnavigation of Britain.

Advertised for sale the next year through a broker, the 51-foot craft caught the eye of the Iranians. The British government blocked their initial attempts to buy it, but defense and industry sources say Iran did not give up. After the boat had passed through at least two more parties, the United States got wind in January 2009 that it was about to be transferred in the South African port of Durban onto a Hong Kong-flagged Iranian merchant vessel, the Diplomat, bound for the Gulf.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security asked South African authorities to block the transfer. It voiced concern that Iran's Revolutionary Guards intended to use the boat as a "fast attack craft." The bureau noted that similar vessels had been armed with "torpedoes, rocket launchers and anti-ship missiles."

Nonetheless, the loading went ahead because, according to one source, no one saw the U.S. notice sent by fax on a weekend. U.S. Special Forces were ready to intercept the Iranian merchant vessel but the operation was called off, the source said.

-- Financial Times

Miners trapped for

a week are rescued

Dozens of miners were pulled to safety early Monday after spending more than a week trapped in a flooded coal mine in northern China. State television reported that more survivors might be found.

The men, among 153 trapped since March 28, were wrapped in blankets, placed in ambulances and rushed to a hospital, where teams of doctors and nurses had been standing by for several days.

China Central Television said more people in the Wangjialing mine could be alive but did not give details.

It showed images of the miners being taken into the hospital in Hejin city, about 30 miles from the mine. Their eyes were covered to shield them from bright lights.

The miners had been trapped since workers broke a wall into a water-filled abandoned shaft, flooding the mine in Shanxi province, in northern China. About 3,000 people have worked around the clock, using 14 pumps to suck the water out of the mine.

-- Associated Press

Suicide bomber may

have been a teacher

The second Moscow suicide bomber may have been a 28-year-old teacher from the southern province of Dagestan, a Russian newspaper reported Sunday, quoting her father as saying he recognized her in a photograph.

Rasul Magomedov told Novaya Gazeta an acquaintance sent him a photograph of the subway suicide bomber that has been widely circulated on the Internet.

Magomedov said his daughter, Maryam Sharilova, disappeared the day before the March 29 bombings. The attack by two female suicide bombers killed 40 rush-hour commuters.

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Siraj-1 / Bladerunner

The Bladerunner boat is one of the most adventurous items that have been imported into the Armed Forces Armed Services Organization in recent years. It was originally designed as a racing boat and is the fastest speed record in its class weight boats. The Bradstone Challenger, a Bladerunner 51, shot to fame in 2005 by rounding Britain in just over 27 hours, at an average speed of 63.5mph. Its hull was built to run at high speeds in rough water. The Bladerunner 51, weighing 16 tons and 15.5 meters (45 feet) long can reach a maximum speed of 65 knots.

Bladerunner 51, designed by Lorne Campbell, is a 15.5 m / 51 ft long luxury yacht. Her top speed is 60.0kn and she boasts a maximum cruising range of 300.0nm with power coming from two 1000.0hp Caterpillar C-18 ACERT diesel engines. She can accommodate up to 2 people. The Bladerunner hull form was conceived by some of Britains most successful and experienced offshore racing professionals in both design, engineering and competition. Naval Architect Lorne Campbell heads up the hull design, a quietly spoken man with over 40 years experience in designing class winning high performance powerboats, with an enviable 100 race wins and 20 World and National championships to his credit. Together with 1995 2 litre World Champion, Founder and Director of ICE Marine Jeremy Watts, they set out to develop the Bladerunner series for multiple applications where improved efficiency, ride and handling were the primary objectives.

With over 40 years of extensive development and technical expertise behind the company, combined with a comprehensive 20 year development program for the Bladerunner Air Entrapement Monohull design, the Bladerunner Series now ranges from 35-ft to 51-ft, with a number of very credible World and national records under its belt, including the current holder of the outright Round Britain World Record in 27hrs & 10 minutes, smashing the previous record by more than 3 hours.

Great amounts of power are required to accelerate a watercraft to a speed where it transitions from its displacement mode (hull buoyant lift) to its planing mode (hull dynanmic lift) or "critical speed". Maximizing lift and minimizing drag at the critical speed is needed or the watercraft will not plane. Watercraft hull drag reducing designs in the past have included stepped hulls, spray rails, running strakes, surface effect and/or watercraft hull high lift/drag (L/D) attachments or appendages such as trim tabs, flow interceptors (aka "spoilers"), and hydrofoils. Because of viscous, wetted surface drag of a watercraft hull, efficiency at planing speeds is generally poor with a low L/D ratio. To achieve low drag at planing speeds, hull immersion in the water must be reduced by lifting a greater portion of the hull above the water surface or by ventilating the submerged portions of the hull to minimize the wetted hull surface.

A number of watercraft hulls of various designs incorporate entrapment tunnels to try to resolve these issues. These tunnels are generally downwardly open concavities formed in the hull and extend aft from near the bow. The ceilings of such entrapment tunnels typically slope downward from near the bow towards the stern such that rear portions of the tunnels, including parts of their ceiling, are submerged at rest. This structure serves to channel air and/or water under the hull. Because the tunnels are more shallowly immersed than the lower portions of the hull, they entrap air under the hull for more lift and their additional drag is mitigated by tunnel ventilation which reduces wetted surface area. With increasing speed and hull lift, tunnel immersion in the water is reduced or eliminated. As more of the hull is lifted out of the water the tunnel sides serve to improve directional, pitch and roll stability.

Despite the improvements found with the deep V hull design, planing boats can provide uncomfortable rides. With too high a running trim, the bow pitches up over the crest of the wave, then plunges downward slamming back to the free surface. Another type of slamming occurs when the hull completely leaves the water, and is called re-entry slamming. Conventional deep-V hulls will have excellent seakeeping if they can be controlled to run at speed with low trim while remaining upright (i.e., not heeled to either side). A particularly dangerous condition in which to have excessive roll is when turning in rough seas from a head to a quartering to a beam sea. Heeling over during this maneuver causes excessive pounding and uncomfortable to dangerous levels of roll.

An entrapment tunnel watercraft vessel has three hulls consists of a main hull and two amas arranged outboard of the main hull with the keels of the three hulls being parallel. The main hull is a narrow, vee hull with variable, rearwardly decreasing deadrise. The amas have very fine bows and narrow, asymmetric deep-V hulls, with nearly vertical slab outboard sides above their keels and variable reverse deadrise on their inboard sides with the reverse deadrise angles decreasing from bow to stem. The tunnels on each side of the main hull are formed by three distinct surfaces, the sides of the main hull above its chine, the reverse deadrise inboard sides of each ama upward from their keels and a ceiling surface transversely spanning the aforementioned sides and having rearwardly increasing deadrise and rearwardly decreasing width. The tunnel ceilings slopes down from the bow to a section aft of midship where the ceiling height above the keel remains essentially constant. At speed the craft generates substantial amounts of lift and positive trim, thereby reducing the forward wetted length of the immersed tunnel ceiling and the apex of the ceiling is approximately at the craft dynamic waterline. As a result the watercraft vessel has improved seakeeping, stability and weight carrying ability.

The Bladerunner Air Entrapement Monohull design comprising, a pair of amas (outer side hulls or sponsons) symmetrically disposed about the hull centerline, each of which amas defines an entrapment tunnel. The watercraft with entrapment tunnels and amas improve a narrow vessel's stability at rest or at speed and improve the vessel's ability to achieve critical planing speeds and carry high loads. watercraft with entrapment tunnels and amas improve a narrow vessel's stability at rest or at speed and improve the vessel's ability to achieve critical planing speeds and carry high loads. The interaction between the center hull and the amas sponsons is the key to the boat's stability. When running in waves, and motions that cause an am to dip into the water generates and upward spray sheet into the entrapment tunnel; the tunnel ceiling translates the force of the trapped compressed air and spray into a righting moment, countering the disturbing motion. The larger the disturbance, the greater the spray generated and hence the greater the stabilizing righting moment force.

After it was desired by the military commanders of the Guard but prevented from official sale to Iran, efforts began to buy from a specific route without informing the British. In 2006 the UK Department for Trade and Industry blocked the country’s first attempt to buy it. Iran was not deterred, and after changing hands a further two times, the US discovered the boat was due to be transferred to South Africa where it would be loaded onto a Hong Kong-flagged Iranian merchant vessel for the voyage to the Gulf.

In early 2009, after a successful acquisition, the boat was delivered to Iran by a carrier in South Africa via an intermediary carrier. Although the US security forces learned about the incident a bit later, they informed the Navy of the fact that they were pursuing the ship by a naval ship in the Indian Ocean. Thus, unilateral US sanctions on this issue were ineffective in spite of turning to military force.

On 24 August 2010 Iran inaugurated the production lines for two types of high-speed assault boats called Seraj 1 and Zolfaqar. Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy Commander Ali Fadavi attended the ceremony. Seraj 1 and Zolfaqar speedboats are manufactured at the marine industries complex of the Defense Ministry. Vahidi said Seraj 1, with a fiberglass bodywork, can shoot rockets and it is equipped with an electronic navigation system.

In Decmber 2012 Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Naval Force Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said his forces are due to mass-produce and arm home-made Bladerunner speedboats in the next Iranian year (starting on 21 March 2013). "The vessel will be mass-produced in 1390 (March 2011-March 2012) based on the specified timeline," Fadavi told FNA, and further voiced satisfaction with the production trend. The commander said Iran has already mounted different types of weapons, including missile launchers, onto the country's speedboats, and noted that the Bladerunners, too, would be equipped with different arms due to their unique features.

Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi had earlier announced that the use of speedboats is at the heart of the Iranian Navy's operational doctrine since high-speed vessels have already proved highly efficient in fighting back US heavyweight warships. He further announced that Iran is now capable of manufacturing speedboats which can traverse at 60 to 70 knots per hour, yet the country is still seeking to increase the speed of these vessels to 80, 90 and even 100 knots.

Previously, Bladerunner was only involved in sailing competitions outside of Iran, and Iranian maritime industry specialists modified it to carry a 107-mm continuous 11-inch tubular rocket launch vehicle, a sea-range radar with a range of 30 kilometers and a shotgun 12. 7 mm, and then equipped with rocket and torpedo rocket launchers and is widely used to serve operational units in all southern waters of Iran. The maximum speed of this boat is more than 70 knots, equivalent to 130 km/h, and is called the Siraj-1 in its Iranian version.

Siraj-1 boat has a surface search radar for rocket targetting and is suitable for tropical climates. The hull is made of fiberglass and equipped with native telecommunication facilities and electronic navigation. The design of the cabin in this boat is such that at high speeds inside the cabin, the altitude changes caused by moving on the water and the slight noise is not felt. Also, in the stormy conditions of the sea, the occupants will not feel the intensity of the waves.

After seeing the high performance of this boat in recent years, the British police, as the country's manufacturer of this fast-moving boat, have been thinking of using it as a manned or unmanned person for high speed and law enforcement in the city of London. This sample is equipped with surface search radars and stable camera.

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Ice Marine Bladerunner 51 for sale in Portsmouth E19 United Kingdom

Portsmouth E19 United Kingdom

Make & Model

Ice Marine Bladerunner 51

MEASUREMENTS

Description.

We are pleased to offer for sale this fantastic beast - the 2,000hp Bladerunner 51, made by Ice Marine. This is a fabulous boat, and we are lucky to have been out on it - the power is BONKERS – it’s very impressive to say the least!

The Specification includes:

Twin Caterpillar C18’s – 1,000hp each – recently serviced

Propulsion system: Arneson surface drives

Weight approx. 16 tonnes

Top speed 50 knots

Garmin GPS plotter

Radio/CD/Bluetooth stereo system

Electric windlass with deck and cockpit controls

Hot & cold water system

Electric hob

Automatic fire extinguishers

Automatic bilge pumps

AC shorepower

Battery charger

Electronic speedlog

Depth sounder

Spacious bathing platform

Hot & cold transom swim shower

4 berth configuration:

Aft double cabin with en-suite - toilet & shower

Circular seating area in the bow converts to a second double

Large fridge/freezer

Data from the vendor:

Max speed 50 knots

Fuel consumption at max speed approx. 100 US gallons per hour

Cruising speed 38 knots

Fuel consumption at cruising speed approx. 45 US gallons per hour

Fuel tank approximately 2,000 litres capacity

Recent lift out for maintenance March 2023 included:

• New batteries
• And new Antifoul

More photographs and a walkaround video are to follow.

This boat is currently on the Isle of Wight. Please don’t hesitate to call us or email us with your questions and to arrange your viewing.

What others have to say about this boat. A bit of history:

“Even before David Beckham used a Bladerunner to carry the Olympic Torch up the River Thames, Ice Marine’s spectacular fleet of powerboats had won worldwide renown – and the flagship 51 is a particularly impressive piece of work. In addition to the dramatic ‘trimaran’ style design (with central hull, deep tunnels and a pair of sweeping lateral sponsons), the 51 uses twin 1,000hp Caterpillar C18 inboard engines and Arneson surface drives. Little wonder that in 2005, this remarkable boat smashed the Round Britain World Record, completing the 1,691-mile route in just 27 hours and 10 minutes – beating the previous record by nearly four hours!”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Hull Material

ABOUT ICE MARINE BLADERUNNER 51

The Ice Marine Bladerunner 51 is a 51 feet long that boasts a 15 feet beam. The Ice Marine Bladerunner 51 is made of fiberglass.

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The new Brit Pack: Bladerunner 45

• A-Z of RIBs: Everything you need to know about rigid inflatable boats

If the old Bladerunner 35 was good enough for David Beckham, the new Bladerunner 45 should be good enough for anyone

The chances are that unless you’re a powerboat racer, a military adviser or a raving boat nut, you may never have heard of Ice Marine or the Bladerunner boats it builds. On the other hand, I can pretty much guarantee you will have seen one before.

Cast your mind back to the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics and you may remember the iconic television footage of David Beckham powering down the Thames at night on a fancy-looking boat with the Olympic torch burning brightly in the bow on the final leg of its journey to the stadium. That boat was a Bladerunner RIB 35, and crouching under the centre console ready to take over the helm for the very public docking manoeuvre was Ice Marine’s founder and managing director Jeremy Watts.

I have another more personal reason to remember them by, involving a very close shave with a channel marker buoy. At 70 knots. In the dark. I was reporting on the Bradstone Challenger team’s preparation for an attempt on the Round Britain speed record in a Bladerunner 51 and was one of the few people not wearing night vision goggles at the time. They managed to restart my heart and went on to break the record with hours to spare. It’s fair to say then that Ice Marine have a pretty impressive track record both on and off the powerboat racing circuit.

However, like many marine businesses, when the recession hit, it temporarily pulled back from the leisure market and focused on its military side of the business, most of which remains below the radar. Literally.

Continues below…

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With an estimated speed 55-60 knots, sleek design and plenty of comfort and space, the Hunton 55 could compete with

Now it has decided the time is right to reenter the market with a brand new boat that’s far better suited to the current breed of cash-rich, time-poor consumer than its previous generation of edgy, go-faster craft.

Powered by standard triple 370hp Volvo D6 engines on Volvo’s own low-drag duo-prop drives, the new BR45 is designed to be as simple to drive and as painless to own as any other production diesel sportscruiser. Only faster. Not scary fast like one of its 100-knot raceboats, but a solid 50 knots-plus flat out and all-day cruising at 40-45 knots without even breaking a sweat.

“We wanted to build a genuinely comfortable long-range tool that would give owners the freedom to go anywhere they wanted in a short space of time,” says Watts. “We could have made it faster by fitting big petrol engines or low-drag surface drives but that would have made it far less user friendly.”

In fact, the original Bladerunner 45 prototype was fitted with triple Cummins 550hp engines on Arneson surface drives and clocked up a top speed of over 70 knots, but as Watts so rightly says, “Those kind of speeds are only fun for 20 minutes, they’re not that much fun for three or four hours.”

Surface drives also went against Watts’ desire to create a boat that was as easy to drive as it was to own. They are slow to plane, tricky to trim and notoriously difficult to steer during low-speed berthing manoeuvres, whereas duo-prop sterndrives give rapid acceleration, are much less sensitive to trim and turn on a sixpence. And that’s before you consider the benefits of the Volvo network with a dealer in every port stocking off-the-shelf D6 parts.

Strong and stable

Like all Bladerunners, the BR45 uses a stabilised monohull designed by Adam Younger and Ice Marine. The design gives the offshore seakeeping characteristics of a deep-vee monohull with the speed and stability of a multihull.

The early Bladerunner designs were all about maximising race performance with air entrapment tunnels designed to create aerodynamic lift at speed. They worked brilliantly, winning countless races, but as a leisure boat, the low internal volume of the BR34’s slender hull and its reluctance to run comfortably below 40 knots limited its appeal.

The BR45 has a third-generation hull with the focus on fast, comfortable cruising rather than outright performance. The beamier main hull creates more accommodation space below decks while a deeper forefoot with a sharper deadrise angle ensures it cuts more easily through the waves for a softer ride. Three steps rather than two gives a flatter, more efficient drive while slightly wider chines make it more tolerant of different fuel loadings. A 1400-litre fuel tank gives a theoretical range of 330nm at 40 knots and 400nm at 30.

The prototype was built using an all-carbon-fibre hull to maximise performance but the vinylester resin with localised carbon reinforcement used in the production version claims to give a softer, quieter ride than the light but noisy, unforgiving prototype. “A little bit of extra weight actually helps,” says Watts.

Four Ullman Echelon suspension seats add a final layer of defence against larger lumps and bumps. Sporty but predictable handling with good low-speed manoeuvrability was also a major focus for the team. The stabilising sponsons generate enormous cornering grip and prevent it spinning out during high-speed turns (another vice some surface-drive boats are prone to), but reducing their size and depth has also allowed more lean into the turns for a natural, more progressive cornering feel.

Party platform

It’s not all about hull tuning though. The BR45 also needs to deliver as an entertaining platform once you’ve reached your destination. Electric drop-down side windows, independent air conditioning, a large sunpad at the stern and opposing benches with a clip-in table ensure the fun doesn’t stop when the engines do. The swim platform features a natty electric bathing ladder and a pull-out shower, while there’s storage for a couple of battery-powered folding GoCycle bikes in the engine room. Down below is a small galley and separate heads compartment, a good-sized dinette and two double berths – one in the bow and one tucked under the cockpit. And thanks to permanent foam fendering all around the hull, there’s no need for bulky inflatable fenders.

This level of performance and sophistication doesn’t come cheap – around £1.2 million ex VAT – but then none of its key rivals offer the convenience and efficiency of diesel power with the pace and handling of a thoroughbred raceboat. The first one has already been delivered to the owner of a large superyacht with the second due to be finished any day now. After all, if the old BR35 was good enough for David Beckham, the new Bladerunner 45 should be good enough for anyone. 

Contact:  For more information contact Ice Marine here

At a glance…

Length: 44ft 11in 13.7m Beam: 13ft 9in 4.2m Draft: 2ft 11in 0.9m Weight: 9,500kg (lightship) Fuel capacity: 1,400 litres Water capacity: 250 litres Engines: Triple 370hp Volvo D6 Max speed: 50 knots Price: from £1.2m ex VAT

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THE SHADOW OF CHECHEN CRIME OVER MOSCOW

Publication: prism volume: 2 issue: 6.

March 22, 1996 08:00 AM Age: 28 years

by Aleksandr Zhilin

"When I hear the heads of our power ministries assuring Muscovites that they are reliably protected against the intrigues of Dudaev militants, I feel bewildered. Those who make such statements are either unaware of the situation in Moscow or are deliberately telling lies. As a Chechen who has been living in Moscow for ten years now, I know well enough how rigidly my fellow countrymen control the capital of Russia," Salambek Aslakhanov told me. Aslakhanov infiltrated a Chechen criminal group as a secret service officer for a lengthy period of time. The information and documents he gave me prove that the war in Chechnya does have a criminal basis and that the war may spread to Moscow at any moment.

Chechen Criminal Groups in Moscow

At this moment, the criminal society in Moscow (better known to Muscovites as the "Chechen community") numbers approximately 3,000 people, some 200 of whom can be quickly mobilized into a well-armed, combat-ready unit. When assessing the extent of the influence of and the danger posed by this Chechen organized criminal group, one must also take into account the possibility of mobile groups of Chechen militants being moved to Moscow from Chechnya.

The Chechen group is one of the oldest among Moscow’s "ethnic" criminal gangs. By 1987, under the influence of both external and internal factors, the Chechen criminal group had developed into a well-organized community with rigid, centralized rule. In 1988, under leaders M. Atlangeriev ("Ruslan"), L. Altemirov ("Lecho-Lysy"), Kh-A. Nukhayev and N. Suleimanov ("Hoza"), the group organized a series of mafia-style clashes that pushed out the most influential local organized criminal gangs (the Lyubertsy, Solntsevo, and Balashikha gangs) out of Moscow and allowed the Chechens to occupy the dominant position.

Such tactics, however, ultimately led to the group’s defeat because a dominant criminal gang attracts public attention not just in one district, but in the whole country. This forces the law enforcement agencies to take decisive measures. The overtly anti-Russian position of the Chechen leadership, moreover, greatly contributed to the growth of a determinedly negative attitude among Russians toward Chechens in general and the Chechen criminal group in particular. As a result, in 1991 all of the ringleaders listed above were arrested and the once integral criminal community split into several groups with different leaders.

A document prepared in March 1993 by the Interior Ministry, however, contained the following forecast: "…despite the current disunity of the Chechen groups, one should not underestimate the force of Chechen tradition to unite and act together under emergency conditions, that is, we have to conclude that the Chechen groups will act as an integral whole in the largest operations and conflicts." Today it is clear that this forecast was 100 percent accurate.

According to information this author received from the secret services and Mr. Aslakhanov, the Chechen criminal group in Moscow is directed by Dudaev people and enjoys the support of certain forces in Moscow who are interested in continuing the war in Chechnya and disrupting the presidential election. The latter forces are composed of people who view the Chechen war as a means of colossal personal enrichment and who have an access to budget funds that finance both military actions and restoration efforts in Chechnya.

In late 1992 or early 1993, the Chechen criminal group began to specialize in economic crime, specifically in the area of finance. Events in the Caucasus, particularly in Chechnya, played a great role in this change of orientation, prompting various social groups and clans to look for big money to buy arms, food, and medicine. The Chechen criminal groups began to be focus their activities on obtaining large loans from commercial banks on the basis of fake contracts with existing and/or specially created phony firms in order to convert the money into cash and stealing it; taking control of commercial banks and firms (specifically, those with accounts abroad) in order to receive a percentage of their profits; participating in foreign economic activities, concluding deals with Western partners for the sale of oil, petrochemicals, timber, and other raw materials; and infiltrating commercial structures doing business with defense industry enterprises in order to participate in the sale of arms and strategic materials.

Former intelligence officer Aslakhanov believes that these illegal activities of the Chechen criminal group had the support of high-ranking Russian military officers and civil servants. According to his evidence, the billions of rubles received by Chechen criminals by means of fake payment orders were ultimately remitted to the foreign bank accounts of Russian officials and businessmen. The criminals receiving 8 percent as a commission for having implemented the operation. According to Aslakhanov, L. Altemirov, M. Atlangeriev, Kh-A. Nukhaev, and M. Talarov currently head the major criminal groups and remain the most dangerous people in the Chechen community in Moscow.

Discouraging Western Investors

"The sources of the Moscow-based Chechen mafia’s profits are not limited to extortion and violent crime. For more than two years now, fulfilling the orders of Djohar Dudaev, they have engaged in activities designed to scare off foreign investors and businessmen who arrive in Russia seeking to organize businesses," Salambek Aslakhanov told me. "It is precisely for this purpose," he continued, "that Dudaev’s emissaries took a number of prestigious hotels under their full control. The Chechen mafia thus ‘monitors’ all foreign businessmen who arrive in Russia and influences them by using both ‘psychological’ and ‘physical’ methods of pressure. This conclusion can be easily verified. Just go to the Slavyanskaya Hotel and introduce yourself as an American businessman to the hotel administration. In the next two days (or even sooner), your only desire will be to run away as far as possible or to accept the conditions suggested by the bandits: to share your profits with them. Otherwise, they will simply kill you or your relatives."

Salambek Aslakhanov told me that White House plans called for Bill Clinton’s delegation to stay in the "Slavyanskaya" Hotel during the visit of the U.S. president to Moscow. However, the Chechen criminal group was severely opposed to the plan and the American president and his entourage encountered serious problems.

Luxurious Cars for Dudaev Agents

"I will not be revealing any big secret," Salambek Aslakhanov remarked, "If I tell you that the majority of sound foreign enterprises, joint ventures, and foreign representative offices in Moscow suffer from pressure exerted by Chechen organized criminal groups. In their ‘business’ of intimidating foreigners, these gangsters often try to obtain ‘cover’ from Moscow government officials. Interestingly, the gangsters limited themselves to collecting contributions from foreign companies before the war in Chechnya began. However, beginning last year, they have started forcing foreign representatives to leave Moscow. They do so by order of Djohar Dudaev, who said: "Western firms must be made to forget about the possibility of cooperating with Russia."

One graphic example of this policy is the war that Dudaev agents declared against the Moscow representative office of Marubeni Corporation (a large Japanese company) and "Auto-San," a joint venture set up by the latter company in Moscow. The Auto-San joint venture was established in late 1988 by Mosavtalegtrans (Moscow Company for Light Car Transport) and Marubeni Corporation. Mosavtolegtrans provided 51 percent of the initial capital by contributing a former automotive service combine facility at 29 Grokholsky Lane; Marubeni provided $2 million. Magomed Merov, the former chief engineer of Mosavtolegtrans , was the director of the joint venture until 1991. Upon the recommendation of the vice chairman of the Moscow government I. Ordzhonikidze, Merov in 1991 became deputy head of the Passenger Transport Committee of the Moscow government.

There, under the pretext of seeking to revive Moscow’s taxi service, Merov suggested that Mercedes cars be purchased for the city of Moscow. In order to raise the money to pay for the cars, Mr. Merov (with the sanction of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and then Russian prime minister I. Silayev) sold several thousand tons of gasoline from the Moscow government’s reserve to Austria. Approximately 30 Mercedes were purchased for this money. At present, some of these cars are being used by the private firm Liga, of which Mr. Merov is one of the founders, while the remaining cars are used as official cars for members of the Moscow government.

After the Mercedes project had been implemented, Mr. Merov quit his job with the city government and became head of the Mosavtalegtrans Association. He planned to have Mosavtalegtrans unite all taxi services and parking stations in Moscow. Oddly, a municipal enterprise with the same name ( Mosavtalegtrans ) and the same plans also exists in Moscow. The latter is headed by a Mr. Yershov, whose apparatus consists of three persons. In fact, both enterprises enjoy unrestricted access to the hard currency payments that Auto-San remits to its cofounder, the Mosavtalegtrans company. The result is that the money is misappropriated and used for purposes other than those designated (for example, to finance numerous foreign trips of Moscow government officials or to procure cars for criminal groups).

Representatives from Marubeni Corporation are now concerned by Mr. Merov’s attempts to "privatize" part of the Russian side’s initial capital in the joint venture. Thus, in December 1993 the Moscow Property Committee circulated an official letter stating that the committee was the legal successor to "Mosavtolegtrans’s" capital share in "Auto-San." To the great surprise of the Japanese, Merov then used his connections in the Moscow government to have a mayoral resolution drafted which transferred 27 percent of the Russian side’s 51 percent of Auto-San capital to Merov personally. The Japanese were bewildered. As a rule, Russian capital shares in enterprises with foreign participation are transferred to the management of the relevant division of the State Property Committee. The Japanese could not understand why Auto-San should be an exception to the general rule. Marubeni held consultations with eminent lawyers from both Japan and Russia, discovering (and later proving) that the Moscow mayor’s resolution on Auto-San contradicted Russian law.

When Merov realized that his first attempt at "privatization" had failed, he decided to approach the problem from a different angle. According to information available to the author, another resolution on Auto-San is currently being drafted by the office of the Moscow mayor. This resolution, which also contradicts Russian law, has been prepared at the initiative of Mr. Merov with the approval of Mr. Ordzhonikidze.

Now in its second year, Merov’s scheming has destabilized the internal environment at Auto-San, perplexed the Japanese, and has undoubtedly discouraged further investment in the Russian economy on the part of the Marubeni Corporation. Seeking to clarify the situation, the Marubeni Corporation has more than once sent letters to the Moscow Property Committee requesting that the Auto-San joint venture be re-registered, all to no avail. Judging by the verbal statements of certain Moscow Property Committee officials, moreover, Auto-San will under no circumstances be granted a legal re-registration unless the Japanese accept the proposal advanced by Merov and Ordzhonikidze.

The Japanese at present do not dare to openly fight the arbitrariness of the authorities because certain members of the Moscow government, including Mr. Merov (who still considers himself a member of the Moscow government), are directly involved. The explanation is simple: Mr. Merov enjoys the support of Moscow-based Chechen criminal groups. When Merov was general director of Auto-San, he said more than once that he did not fear any criminal groups because both Auto-San and he himself were guarded by Chechens. This "protection" soon caused the enterprise to become a hangout for Chechen gangsters. Japanese employees of Marubeni Corporation who worked at the enterprise — in particular, Marubeni’s former general director Ye. Yamazaki — more than once tried to convince Merov that he should stop using the services of Chechens and put an end to the practice of paying "bonuses" to criminals. However, their pleas only led Merov to ask his Chechen "friends" to intimidate the Japanese and their family members. Given this situation and the fact that the principal clients of Auto-San are the Japanese embassy and representative offices of Japanese companies and other foreign companies in Moscow, Marubeni Corporation is considering the possibility of closing the enterprise out of concern for its business reputation. If reasons for closing the enterprise explained above were not sufficient, there is also an "economic factor" that makes Auto-San unprofitable and impedes is further growth, as the following facts demonstrate:

· Moscow-based Chechen criminal groups enjoy free use and service of approximately sixteen Auto-San cars;

· Bonuses are paid to the Chechens who "guard" the facility;

· Mr. Merov, despite the fact that he quit his job at Auto-San in 1991, is still paid a salary of $710 per month, annual bonuses in the amount of three months’ wages, and enjoys the right to use cars belonging to the enterprise free of charge;

· Two members of the Auto-San staff are assigned to Mr. Merov as drivers, and their wages, along with those of his bodyguards, are paid by the joint venture;

· 1,500 DM are allocated every month to finance so-called "public relations activities" such as dinner parties for friends, Moscow government officials, and other important people;

· Mr. Merov still has his own office at the joint venture, an office that was furnished and remodeled at the expense of Auto-San;

· The joint venture paid for repairs on Mr. Merov’s apartment on Serafimovich street (this apartment building is known as the "House of Old Bolsheviks"), but in the accounting ledgers, these expenses were recorded as payment for repair to the Krasnokholmsky Bridge;

· The joint venture is forced to rent furnished flats for Mr. Merov and his numerous relatives and friends from the North Caucasus (a luxurious suite in the Volga Hotel, for example, costs the enterprise $1,000 per month);

· Auto-San was forced this year to grant Merov "material aid" lump sum payments of $3,000 (to finance a family trip to Spain) and $1,000 (to finance Merov’s dental work in Austria), respectively.

Representatives of the Russian intelligence services are requesting that appropriate measures be taken to protect the Japanese employees of Auto-San and Marubeni Corporation from the encroachments of Mr. Merov and Chechen criminal groups, to ensure the conditions necessary for the normal functioning of Auto-San, and to guarantee control over disbursements from the enterprise’s hard currency fund for such purposes as dividends, remittances to the state budget, etc.

The last straw was a scandal which erupted at Auto-San’s repair shop on February 15. Aslanbek B. Shidayev, an ethnic Chechen who lives in the Ukraine Hotel, Room No. 1823, and nephew of eminent Chechen authority Salaudi (the head of the private guard firm "Vityaz") came to Auto-San to pick up his rental car, which was being repaired. When he learned that the repairs had not been completed, Shidayev went berserk. He threatened to chop off the head of Ilya Demirov, the Auto-San Service Department head, as punishment for the delay. Shidayev explained that he needed a car badly to ride to Grozny to fight against Russian soldiers.

"Dudaev’s agents feel quite at home in Moscow today. They ride luxurious foreign cars with the license plates of joint ventures, foreign companies, or even embassies. They carry not only small arms, but machine guns, grenades, and grenade launchers. They make no secret of their connections with the [Russian] Defense Ministry and other "very special" organizations. They spend their leisure time with high-ranking state officials and generals at dachas and other such places. Documents about the activities of Dudaev agents in Moscow are filed in multi-volume folders in the Interior Ministry and the Moscow Division of the Federal Security Service, but these folders only gather dust on the shelves. It appears that a macabre game is being played with Dudaev: On one side are moans, blood, death, and destruction. On the other, colossal money, the corruption of Moscow’s bureaucratic apparatus, and a mutual cover-up," Salambek Aslakhanov informed me.

Aleksandr Zhilin is editor of the security affairs department of Moskovskie Novosti.

Translated by A. Kondorsky

THE PERFORMANCE CRUISER

A true GT, capable of extended high speed cruising, with improved efficiency and ride in open water.

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CRUISING WITH CONFIDENCE

Cockpit ergonomics that really work for extended cruising with excellent visibility and protection from the elements, coupled with top quality suspension seating for additional comfort. The standard GT comes with a well appointed electronics package and navigational aids to assist with safe passage at speed, at night and when encountering poor visibility.

With triple D6 370 diesel inboards, the BR45 GT provides instant acceleration and drivability in heavy seas. Capable of 50 knots combined with a range of up to 400Nm, the BR45 GT has the potential to truly extend your cruising boundaries.

Light and airy cockpit featuring state of the art Ullman Dynamic suspension seating, enhanced by full span electric drop side windows, the BR45 GT is a comfortable place to be, whatever the weather.

The BR45 GT provides safe predictable handling and an extremely dry ride, even when presented with challenging conditions. The unique Bladerunner GEN 3 hull delivers comfort at speed and rewards with an engaging driving experience.

EXPANSIVE LAYOUT

Spacious easily accessible outdoor spaces for relaxation, sunbathing and swimming. Large side decks for easy walk-around access along the entire length of the boat.

Everything you need out on the water

Below deck has been configured for indulgent day-boating with a full height cabin, complete with saloon seating for 5, a well-appointed galley and a separate toilet and shower compartment.

A light and comfortable double berth features up forward and a cuddy cabin midships provides an additional double berth for overnighting.

The standard package also includes a powerful air conditioning system for times when you just need to escape the strong summers’ heat.

Specification

Principle dimensions.

LENGTH OVER ALL: 13.7m

BEAM (MAX): 4.2m

DRAFT: 0.9m

Displacement Light Ship: ~9750 kg

Displacement Full Load: ~11,750 kg

FUEL CAPACITY: 1,400 litres

WATER CAPACITY: 250 litres

PERFORMANCE

ENGINES (DEISEL INBOARD):

Triple Volvo D6 370                                                                                     (with high performance DPR Duo Prop Stern drives)

MAXIMUM SPEED: 50 knots (light ship)

RANGE: Up to 400 NM

CE CATERGORY: B

*Every attempt has been made to give accurate information, but performance and range figures are estimates given as a guide only. Dirt or growth on the hull, tuning of the engines, size, make of engines fitted, damage to the propellers, the temperature of the air and water, the weight of the fuel, water stores and number of people can affect the boat’s performance and range. For these and other reasons we can give no performance guarantees and they do not constitute to treat to term of contract. There may be items shown in these photographs that are not included in the standard inventory of the model shown. This specification refers to models sold in the United Kingdom. Actual specification for models sold in other markets may vary and specifications and models may be changed or withdrawn at any time without prior notice. The individual specification of each vessel will be agreed as part of the sales contract between the purchaser and the ICE Marine dealer. Ice Marine dealers and distributers are not owned agents of Ice Marine or any subsidiary companies to pledge, contract or agreement in any form or by any means unless first accepted by Ice Marine Limited.

Carbon composite hard top with large panoramic glass roof

Double curved bonded safety glass windscreen

Heavy duty windscreen wipers

Full span electric drop side cockpit windows

Four Ullman Dynamic Echelon suspension seats

Twin air conditioning cockpit units with reverse cycle

Twin upholstered 3 person bench seats with under seat stowage

Rear sun lounger with large stowage compartment

Flexiteek 2G deck and cockpit floor

LED cockpit, sidewalk and step lighting with remote switching

USB power outlets

Hot and cold swim shower

Retractable cassette stainless steel swim ladder

Electric windlass with polished stainless steel anchor

High powered Fusion Audio System with:

Uni dock, cabin and cockpit controls; blue tooth, iPhone and iPad compatible.

8 Fusion marine speakers driven by 2 x 1600 5 channel marine amplifiers.

HELM AND NAVIGATION

Radar mast with HD Radome, GPS, VHF  antenna and horn

Twin electronic engine controls (controlling all 3 engines)

Remotely operated key fob battery switching and lighting

Electric bow thruster with variable control

VHF (DSC) radio

Helm & navigator networked 16″ chartplotter stations

High performance radar/speed/log/depth systems

LED navigation lights

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

Electric retractable cassette stainless steel swim ladder

Twin de-mountable cockpit picnic tables

Thermal night vision Camera

Heater (warm air system)

Forward sun cushion

Marine WiFi & marine 4G internet communication

AIS (Automatic Identication System) Class B

Electric cockpit roof blind

Underwater stern lights.

Natural teak decking

De- mountable rear sunshade with carbon fibre posts

Name and homeport signage

Halogen twin plate hob

Smeg microwave

Custom integrated refrigerator

High grade composite galley top

Sink with hot/cold pressurised fresh water system

Stowage lockers

Saloon seating for 5 with carbon fibre telescopic table

Forward double V berth with stowage

16000btu air conditioning system with reverse cycle

Rear cuddy for stowage / double berth aft

Smart TV linked to premium Fusion Audio entertainment system

Programmable LED cabin lighting

HEADS COMPARTMENT

Ceramic toilet with electric seawater flush and sanitiser

Hot and cold water shower

Ceramic surface mounted sink with mixer tap

Bathroom fittings including towel rail, robe hook, soap dispenser, object holder, toilet roll holder, sanitary bin, WC cleaner.

High grade composite counter top

230V AC shore power via isolation transformer

230V 10Kw AC generator

Battery charger / 230V AC inverter system

STAT X automatic fire system

Automatic bilge system with manual control

Calorifier with thermostat controlled immersion heater

DISCOVER MORE BLADERUNNER

BLADERUNNER 45 GTO

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ICE MARINE LTD. UNIT 11, STONE PIER YARD, WARSASH, SOUTHAMPTON, SO31 9FR

+44 (0)1489 582 222 info@icemarine.com

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