Feds were seizing big boats from bad Russians last year after global sanctions were put in place following the invasion of Ukraine, but officials didn’t manage to scoop up all of the glitzy watercraft. Now one of the biggest, most luxurious yachts is heading for home after more than a year on the lam.
The Nord announced via transponder (which had been on and off since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022) that it would be heading home to Vladivostok, Russia, by June 25, according to Bloomberg. The boat belongs to billionaire Alexey Mordashov, the sixth-richest person in Russia. The Nord has been dodging officials looking to seize the boat by switching off its transponder while travelling. It showed up in Hong Kong, China, and Cape Town, South Africa, last year.
Stretching 141.73 m and costing an incredible half a billion dollars in 2021, the yacht comes with all the amenities a Russian oligarch might need, according to the Robb Report “…20 luxury cabins, two helipads, a swimming pool, and a sports and diving centre.”
Bloomberg notes that the elusive Nord challenges the notion that officials have been effective at seizing ships, but plenty of other vessels have been snatched up. The 80.77 m Alfa Nero was abandoned in Antigua and Barbuda last year, and recently sold for $US67.6 million, bumping up that nation’s GDP by four points.
Countries seized so many yachts that they’re now having a hard time paying for their maintenance, upkeep, and even required crew complement’s salaries. Even Putin himself couldn’t escape the long arm of global law, losing his $US700 ($972) million yacht, the Scheherazade, to Italian officials in March 2022.