Debate began in the first official sitting of the Upper House in Antigua and Barbuda on Monday regarding the sale of the Russian super-yacht Alfa Nero.

The vessel is reportedly worth about 81-million US dollars.

An amendment to the Port Authority Act seeks to strengthen the government’s legal standing as it prepares to auction the vessel which was left languishing in Antiguan waters for more than a year.

Auctioning the 2-hundred-and-96-foot boat has been at the forefront of the government’s mind for weeks, with the expectation that, upon passage of the amendment in the Senate, details of the auction will be published in both local and international newspapers.