Yacht linked to Russian billionaire mysteriously appears in Hong Kong

A large yacht linked to a sanctioned Russian billionaire has docked in Hong Kong amid efforts by the West to seize luxury goods from Russian elites in allied ports as the war in Ukraine drags on.

Called the Nord, the nearly 142-meter yacht – possibly one of the largest in the world – was spotted by CNN on Friday (7) in Hong Kong waters, just minutes from the city center. The vessel is estimated to be worth at least $500 million and is believed to belong to Alexey Mordashov, an industrial billionaire, according to a yacht broker who spoke to the company. CNN .

The yacht, 1.5 times the size of a football field, arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday from the Russian port of Vladivostok, according to the Chinese city’s Navy Department. The government agency told CNN that she had not been notified when the yacht would depart for her next destination.

On Friday afternoon, Nord was seen flying a Russian flag, with the name of her base, “Vladivostok”, emblazoned on her stern. A few people, apparently uniformed crew members, were seen on the ship’s deck.

Mordashov is one of Russia’s richest billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $18.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That’s down by $10 billion so far this year, according to the wealth tracker.

The tycoon is chairman of Severstal, a Russian steel and mining giant that, at last count, had 54,000 employees in 69 countries.

The US State Department sanctioned him and Severstal in June, along with three other companies owned by Mordashov, his wife and two children.

In a statement at the time, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Treasury Department was taking other steps to “degrade the networks that allow Russia’s elites, including the president to [Vladimir] Putin, anonymously use luxury assets around the world.”

The United States is not the only country to repress. Several superyachts linked to Russian businessmen were seized this year in high-profile cases around the world, including in Spain, Germany and the UK.

Mordashov challenged sanctions against him in European courts. In May, he argued that a European Union court should overturn a decision to add him to a list of those punished for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to EU documents.

“I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tension and I don’t understand why the EU imposed sanctions on me,” he said at the start of the war, according to TASS, Russia’s state news agency.

Hong Kong can provide some refuge. wanted by CNN on Friday to address the matter, the Hong Kong Department of the Navy said it would “not comment on any individual case of incoming ships.”

The city requires overseas yacht owners to obtain permission from authorities to enter, including proof of insurance, according to the Department of the Navy.

“We have observed that certain countries may impose unilateral sanctions against certain places based on their own considerations,” he said.

But the government “does not implement, nor do we have the legal authority to act on, unilateral sanctions imposed by other jurisdictions,” the department added, saying only that it would apply “sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council.”

Russia and China – of which Hong Kong is a part – are two of the five Security Council members with veto power. Russia has consistently vetoed resolutions on the council in recent months, barring action in Ukraine.

Severstal did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Mordashov on Friday.

A ‘free ticket’

MarineTraffic, a global provider of marine analytics, shows that the Nord arrived in Hong Kong this week after a seven-day journey across the Sea of ​​Japan and the East China Sea.

It’s hard to know exactly why the crew chose to come to the Asian hub now, said Michael Maximilian Bognier, yacht broker for Next Wave Yachting in Hong Kong.

But he noted that the port of Vladivostok can get relatively cold in winter, making such a vessel difficult to maintain.

“It’s not an ideal climate to keep a boat like that,” Bognier told CNN .

Asked whether the lack of sanctions could be an attraction, Bognier acknowledged that the current political climate was not helping.

“This could be the reason she’s here,” he said, referring to the yacht. “It might be a free ticket.”

It is rare to see proof of direct ownership of such luxurious ships. Bognier noted, however, that news often circulated about major industry sales and said it was common knowledge that Mordashov owned the yacht.

“To drive a boat this size is almost [como] run a city or a business,” he added.

Nord was built by German naval giant Lürssen.

“This is definitely one of the most iconic yachts,” said Bognier. “It has a very flat bow, not unlike an aircraft carrier actually. That is a very distinctive feature about this yacht. So it’s really, really hard, let’s say, to mistake it for something else.”

Sky-high transport costs can make it difficult for even the world’s richest to maintain these assets. Bognier estimated it could range from approximately $45 million to $70 million just to keep the yacht running each year, without considering the variable costs of fuel or maintenance after long voyages.

This would boil down to an average bill of $100,000 to $200,000 a day.

The yacht Nord has two helipads and would likely have an extensive crew on board, including a full-time chef, gym instructor, massage therapist and possibly a helicopter pilot, according to Bognier.

“When we talk about boats this size, these are standard items,” he said.

*Contributed to the report Wayne Chang, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Josh Pennington of CNN.