Jobs family yacht freed as payment dispute is resolved

A financial dispute with designer Philippe Starck has been resolved and the mega-yacht commissioned by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is now free to leave the dock where it was previously impounded.

A lawyer representing the Jobs family told French newspaper Le Monde via The Next Web) that a resolution has been reached between them and Starck. As a result, the yacht is now free to leave the dock it is stationed at in the Netherlands.

Source: One More Thing

The yacht was sequestered by lawyers last week in Amsterdam over the financial dispute, in which Starck believed he was due 9 million euros, while the Jobs family felt he was owed 6 million euros. The terms of the final agreement between Starck and Jobs' heirs is unknown, but it was suggested that the designer did not receive as much as he was asking for.

The boat was reportedly built on a mutual trust between Jobs and Starck, and the contract between them was not very detailed. Jobs began designing the ship, named "Venus," after returning from a cruise that traveled from Italy to Turkey.

The super yacht was first revealed in October. Word of the yacht was first revealed by Starck himself in April, though it wasn't seen until months later.

The 80-meter-long ship is made completely of aluminum, with huge plate windows covering the wheelhouse and main deck entrances. The yacht relies on 27-inch iMacs for navigation, systems control and other seafaring software.