The multi-deck luxury yacht, with an estimated value of over 400 million francs, passed through the strait at the weekend.image: https://www.lurssen.com/de/new-build/yachts/nord/
A luxury yacht attributed to sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov has passed through the closed Strait of Hormuz. The passage raises questions – and comes in the middle of a new phase of Russian-Iranian rapprochement.
April 28, 2026, 7:42 p.mApril 28, 2026, 7:42 p.m
The 142 meter long yacht “Nord” left Dubai on Friday evening and reached the capital of Oman, Muscat, on Sunday morning. This is shown by data from the Marine Traffic platform. The “Nord” is one of the few private ships that has passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months. It is not known whether the yacht had permission from Iran for passage. However, the route corresponds to that used by ships with Iranian permission.
Yacht worth over $500 million
The “Nord” is not formally registered to Mordashov, but to a company that belongs to his wife. According to the trade magazine “Superyacht Times”, the ship has a pool, a submarine and a helipad. The estimated value is over 500 million dollars. Mordashov, who built his fortune primarily with the steel company Severstal, is considered the richest Russian in the Forbes list with an estimated net worth of around $37 billion. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has been on the sanctions lists of the USA, the EU and Great Britain.
Blockade since the end of February
Iran has severely restricted the Strait of Hormuz since late February after the US and Israel began attacks on Iranian territory on February 28. Typically, around a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquid natural gas passes through the strait. At the beginning of April, Tehran warned that any ship approaching the strait would become a target. The US then said its forces would intercept or turn back ships traveling to or from Iranian ports. Shipping traffic through the Gulf is currently a fraction of pre-war levels. The price of North Sea Brent oil rose to around $109 per barrel on Monday.
Russia and Iran are moving closer together
The passage of the “Nord” comes during a week of intensive Russian-Iranian diplomacy. On Monday, President Vladimir Putin received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg. Araghchi described the relationship between the two countries as a “strategic partnership” and thanked Russia for its support. Putin, for his part, said the Iranian people are fighting “courageously” for their sovereignty in the face of American and Israeli pressure.
Oligarch yachts fleeing sanctions
The “Nord” is not in the headlines for the first time. In March 2022, Italian authorities confiscated Mordashow’s smaller yacht “Lady M” in the port of Imperia. The “Nord” itself escaped at the time – Hong Kong and the Maldives refused to detain the ship, even though Western states had called for them to do so. Since then, several Russian oligarchs have moved their yachts to the Middle East and Asia to keep them out of the reach of Western authorities. (mke)