A $ 150 million super-luxury yacht linked to Russia’s second-richest citizen, Leonid Michelson, facing sanctions, has reappeared nearly two weeks later without revealing its location. Its final destination is unclear.
The 85-meter (280-foot) Pacific Ocean, which can hold two helicopters, was traveling past Malta in the Mediterranean after reappearing near the Canary Islands on May 20, when its location transponder was switched on again, ship details show. collected by Bloomberg News. . It had faded 12 days earlier, shortly after the broadcast, that he was heading to the Bahamas, which is known to be helping other governments confiscate yachts.
The Pacific is signaling Port Said in Egypt as the next destination, after earlier indicating that it is on its way to Port Vell in Barcelona. Spanish authorities have seized at least four luxury ships linked to sanctioned oligarchs since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Once in Egypt, the Pacific could likely continue to the Maldives or Turkey, jurisdictions where other Russian-linked yachts have sought refuge on sanctions lists.
“Port Said is more likely to be a temporary destination as it enters the Suez Canal to reach another location,” said Andrew Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates LLC. “Potentially it will go to the Maldives or another place that is a friendly destination for Russian megayachts.”
Russian oligarchs and tycoons are receiving increasing attention as the war in Ukraine continues for its fourth month. The United States and the United Kingdom are among the countries using sanctions to punish those closest to President Vladimir Putin for the invasion. The governments of Italy, Spain and other European governments have seized villas, bank accounts and luxury cars belonging to Russia’s richest citizens. More than a dozen yachts worth more than $ 2.25 billion have already been confiscated.
The seizures have sent luxury vessels racing across the oceans to places less likely to impose or impose sanctions. Some have traveled more than 5,000 nautical miles since the invasion began in February. Working with Spire Global Inc., an analytical firm that uses nanosatellites to collect data, Bloomberg tracks ships linked to Russian tycoons on sanctions lists.
Turkey is a popular destination for Russian megayachts, including the $ 100 million Titan of billionaire Alexander Abramov, who crossed the Suez Canal in early May to get there. Other yachts linked to the sanctioned Russians darkened as they reached the Maldives, including the $ 300 million Ocean Victory, linked to steel tycoon Viktor Rashnikov. No one has made Port Said a final destination.
The Pacific Ocean has been anchored in various ports and bays in Costa Rica since late January. On May 5, he left Marina Papagayo near Culebra Bay and headed southeast, passing through the Panama Canal, according to Bloomberg. The superyacht was traveling in the Caribbean Sea northeast of Colon when it stopped broadcasting on May 8, in violation of international maritime law. He indicated that he was heading for Nassau in the Bahamas.
Michelson, the 44th richest man in the world with a fortune of 26.5 billion dollars, was sanctioned by the United Kingdom and Canada in early April. He is the CEO of Novatek, Russia’s largest non-state gas supplier. Novatek is also on the US sanctions list, although Michelson himself is not facing US sanctions. The billionaire owns about a quarter of the publicly traded company, which produces about 10 percent of the country’s gas.
It is unclear whether Michelson is on board the Pacific. Its representatives in Novatek did not respond to requests for comment.
Pacific was built in 2010 by the German company Luerssen Verwaltungs GmbH. It has an elevator, a swimming pool and a smaller speedboat and has room for 12 guests and 28 crews.
Add Comment