The gargantuan superyacht owned by one of Vladimir Putin’s wealthiest and best-connected cronies has been spotted in Hong Kong.
Nord, which is 142 metres long and costed its steel magnate owner Alexey Mordashov around £500million, left Far East Russian port Vladivostok on Wednesday.
Mordashov has lost around £10billion since the start of this year due to western sanctions against him and his business interests.
One of Russia’s richest men, he is still worth around £14billion. That’s almost nine million times the £1,600 average salary in his homeland.
Video: Sanctioned Russian Oligarch’s superyacht docks in Hong Kong
Nord costs a whopping £200,000 to run every single day, with a crew of 40 uniformed men and women as well as room for 20 passengers. Its gross weight is just under 10,000 tons.
The German-built luxury vessel has a heliport and a custom-designed interior by Italian firm Nuvolari-Lenard.
Owner Mordashov is chairman of state-backed steel firm Severstal, which has 54,000 employees in 69 countries, CNN reported.
He was sanctioned by Britain in March before facing further financial penalties imposed by Washington in June.
Announcing the first round of sanctions more than six months ago, transport secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘Putin’s cronies aren’t welcome [in the UK] or in all of our overseas territories, too.’
A spokesperson for Mordashov told Bloomberg that he remains in Moscow, denying suggestions he is the latest wealthy Russian businessmen to flee the country.
Yachts worth a combined £2billion have been seized by European countries and the US since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Putin’s own £100million superyacht, recently renamed Killer Whale, was spotted days ago off the coast of Estonia.
The superyacht had beat a hasty retreat out of Germany for the Russian exclave at the onset of war, just as Western governments were threatening to embark on a seizing spree of oligarchs’ property should Putin invade Ukraine.
Reports from German newspaper Bild suggested the superyacht had escaped before repairs could even be finished.
They referenced UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who had told Putin and his allies they would ‘have nowhere to hide’ if Russia invaded Kyiv.
Featuring stunning and finely furnished interiors, a spiral staircase and a swimming pool the £73.2 million pleasure craft was originally built by Sevmash in Russia – with interiors and exteriors envisioned by H2 Yacht Design.
The interiors include glossy sleek surfaces, soft cushioned sofas and deck chairs, and a posh white marble-styled bathroom.
What appears to be an office room contains multitudes of shelves for books and a desk fronted with a stunning painting of a sailing boat.
Exercise equipment can also be seen out on the deck, which is also lined with lounge-style seating and barstools.
Putin’s largest superyacht, the luxurious £500million, 460ft-long Scheherazade – reportedly given as a Christmas gift by a group of fawning oligarchs in 2014 – was impounded in Italy in May.
Video: Superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch auctioned off
Source: dailymail