Iran war: How a $500 million Russian superyacht breached the blockaded Strait of Hormuz
Nord superyacht crosses Strait of Hormuz despite restrictions, raising questions as US-Iran tensions disrupt one of the world’s most critical shipping routes.
A superyacht crossed the blockaded Strait of Hormuz which was linked to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies, shipping data showed. It has become one of the very few vessels to have crossed the key waterway amid US-Iran conflict.
The 142 metre yacht named Nord, which is worth over $500 million, left Dubai around 2pm GMT on Friday and sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday morning while arriving in Muscat early on Sunday, Reuters reported quoting Marine Traffic platform data.
However, it remains unclear how the vessel, which was linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov, crossed the strait which has had severely restricted traffic since February. The key waterway handles around 20 percent of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply.
This comes as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Putin in St Petersburg on Monday and held high-level talks as the standoff with Washington continued over the strait’s re-opening.
Araghchi, while addressing the reporters said, “Iran is standing up to the world’s greatest superpower,” adding that Washington has “not achieved a single one of their goals”.
During the meeting, Putin told Araghchi that Iranian people fought “courageously” for their sovereignty in the face of US-Israel attacks, Russian news agency Tass reported.
The vessel, which has reportedly been linked to steel mogul Mordashov, isn’t the formal owner of the luxury boat, instead the records show that the yacht was registered to a firm owned by his wife in 2022, BBC reported.
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After Trump announced that the US Navy would block Iranian ports, Tehran has potentially restricted shipping through the vital waterway.
Only a few merchant vessels have been able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is a fraction of the daily passages of 125 to 140 vessels before the Iran war broke out on February 28.
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