A superyacht linked to one of Russian President,Vladimir Putin’s key allies has sail through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the ongoing blockade of the critical shipping channel.
The 142m-long (465 feet) Nord luxury boat, linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov, travelled from Dubai to Muscat, Oman over the weekend, one of a few private vessels to transit through the strait in recent months.
Iran has engaged with Russia in high-level talks this week as its standoff with the US over the strait’s re-opening continues.Approximately one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies normally pass through the waterway.
Mordashov, who has close ties to Putin, is not listed as the formal owner of the luxury boat. However, Nord’s records indicate it was registered to a firm owned by his wife in 2022.Nord, estimated to be worth over $500m (£370m), left Dubai on Friday night and arrived at Al Mouj, a marina in Oman’s capital, on Sunday morning, according to data on the Marine Traffic platform.
Maritime traffic through the Gulf channel is currently at a fraction of pre-war levels.
