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The South African Government Just Let a Russian Oligarch Dock His $500 Million Megayacht

A spokesman for president cyril ramaphosa said the nation was under "no legal obligation" to comply with western sanctions., rachel cormack.

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After making waves on an international scale, Alexey Mordashov’s $500 million megayacht appears to have found safe haven in South Africa .

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Western authorities have imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses in response to President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. South Africa has so far avoided directly criticizing Russia and abstained from several UN votes condemning the war.

Mordashov—the largest shareholder in the steelmaker Severstal and the third-richest man in Russia—has been targeted by the Western sanctions due to his ties with Putin. The billionaire maintains he has had no involvement in Russian politics and has been fighting the sanctions since May.

Mordashov lost his 215-foot superyacht , Lady M , back in March after it was seized by Italian police. Nord is believed to be his biggest yacht asset, though. Indeed, the vessel, which is larger than a football field, features two helipads, a retractable hangar, a diving center, a swimming pool and 20 staterooms across six decks. It was delivered by German yard Lürssen in November 2020.

After leaving Hong Kong earlier this week, Nord is now en route to South Africa and is expected to moor in Cape Town on November 9, according to Marine Traffic data. The yacht was west of Indonesia as of Wednesday. You can track Nord ’s journey via Spire Maritime .

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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South Africa to let Russian billionaire's $500 million superyacht dock, despite mayor's request to block entry

Topic: Unrest, Conflict and War

Luxury mega yacht Nord left Hong Kong on a journey across the Indian Ocean to South Africa last week. ( AFP: Isaac Lawrence )

South Africa will allow a $500 million superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov to dock in Cape Town, despite a bid by the city's mayor to block its entry.

Key points:

• The South African government will allow the $500 million Russian superyacht to dock in Cape Town
• It believed to be owned by Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov, who is thought to have close ties with Vladimir Putin and is sanctioned by the US and the EU
• Cape Town's mayor asked his country to block the yacht from docking

On Tuesday, the South African government announced its intention to let the mega yacht, Nord, to dock amid claims that steel and mining magnate Mr Mordashov was seeking a new harbour to shield it from seizure.

A day later, a South African official said Cape Town was perfect for the 141.6-metre-long boat because it has the technical means to maintain luxury yachts that many other harbours do not.

"If you're parking a $500-million asset, you need it looked after properly," the official told the Associated Press, on the condition of anonymity because he's not permitted to speak publicly on the issue.

Vincent Magwenya — spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa — said there was "no reason" for South Africa to deny the Nord entry as Mr Mordashov was not the subject of United Nations' sanctions — only sanctions imposed unilaterally by the United States and the European Union.

The mega yacht — which left Hong Kong on a journey across the Indian Ocean to South Africa last week — would be allowed to dock in Cape Town harbour, as long as those on board "abide by our immigration laws", Mr Magwenya said.

Mr Mordashov is not believed to be on board the yacht.

"Currently there are no UN-imposed sanctions on the particular individual and, therefore, South Africa has no legal obligation to abide by the sanctions that the US and the EU have decided to impose within specific jurisdictions," Mr Magwenya said. 

Mr Mordashov is thought to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was sanctioned by the US and the EU because of the war in Ukraine.

He is the main shareholder and chairman of Severstal, Russia's largest steel and mining company, and one of Russia's richest men, with a net worth of more than $20 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire's Index.

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the Russian has benefited financially from the war in Ukraine and was "an accomplice to the unconscionable crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians".

He asked the South African government to block the Nord from docking, eliciting the response from President Ramaphosa's spokesman.

South Africa has adopted a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine, frustrating Western partners, who had hoped that Africa's most-developed economy would also condemn Russia's invasion and act as a leading voice for the continent.

The country abstained from a UN vote condemning Russia's actions and called, instead, for dialogue and diplomacy.

Mr Hill-Lewis is a member of South Africa's main opposition party, which has been fiercely critical of the neutral stance taken by Ramaphosa's government.

The fate of the yacht has captured attention since it arrived in Hong Kong from Vladivostok, Russia, earlier this month, sparking a diplomatic row between the US and Hong Kong authorities over the enforcing of sanctions.

South Africa will allow a Russian oligarch to moor his superyacht in Cape Town as it continues on epic global cruise avoiding Western sanctions

• A $500 million oligarch-owned superyacht has cruised between the Seychelles, Russia, and Hong Kong.
• The yacht, owned by sanctioned billionaire Alexei Mordashov, is now headed to Cape Town, South Africa.
• Cape Town's mayor and the South African president are at odds over allowing the yacht to dock.

A $500 million superyacht will be allowed to dock in Cape Town, South Africa despite its Russian oligarch owner being sanctioned by the US, UK and EU. 

Nord, the 465-foot vessel owned by billionaire steel magnate Alexei Mordashov , has made multiple stops across the eastern hemisphere since he was sanctioned in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Data from Marine Traffic shows that Nord left the Seychelles in March before staying in Vladivostok , in the Russian far east, until September 28, when it made its way to Hong Kong . 

At the time, Washington warned Hong Kong against providing a "safe haven" for sanctioned oligarchs, questioning the city state's reputation as an international financial center.

Nord has now left the city state, and is sailing towards South Africa where it is expected to moor on November 9, Marine Traffic data shows. The yacht's last reported position was west of Indonesia on Wednesday, per Spire Maritime .

When it arrives in South Africa, it will be allowed to dock, despite outcry from some in the country.

The mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, told the Wall Street Journal that the city could become "a new favorite destination for Russians fleeing sanctions in the rest of the world" if Nord is allowed to dock.

Hill-Lewis also said that he had received conflicting reports as to whether Mordashov is on board his superyacht, but the oligarch's spokesperson said he remains in Moscow, per the Journal.

The mayor, a member of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance party, added: "South Africa has a moral duty to do what it can to protest unjust war, state terrorism, and the gross violation of human rights."

However, the country's government has rejected his call to turn away Nord, which has two helicopter pads and a swimming pool among other luxuries. 

Related stories

"South Africa has no legal obligation to abide by sanctions imposed by the US and EU," Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said, per the BBC.

"South Africa's obligations with respect to sanctions relate only to those that are specifically adopted by the United Nations."

South Africa was among the 35 countries which abstained from a UN resolution in March which demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

Mordashov's smaller superyacht, Lady M, was seized by Italian authorities in March due to EU sanctions. Bloomberg also reported that Nord changed its flag from Russia to the Cayman Islands in June.

• Main content

Sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov allowed to dock superyacht in Cape Town

Before the West imposed sanctions on oligarchs over Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, Alexey Mordashov was the richest man in Russia with an estimated net worth of $29.1bn, according to Forbes.

OSINT producer @OliveLineham

Wednesday 26 October 2022 13:27, UK

A superyacht owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch will be allowed to dock in South Africa.

The country has "no legal obligation" to abide by sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, a spokesman for Cyril Ramaphosa, the president, said.

Nord, a luxury 465ft yacht worth more than $500m, is owned by Alexey Mordashov, a billionaire ally of Vladimir Putin, and will be allowed to dock in Cape Town.

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The case exemplifies the limits of sanctions imposed by the US and the EU in response to Mr Putin's war in Ukraine.

Mordashov was one of several oligarchs targeted with sanctions by the US and EU, but not the United Nations, after the invasion of Ukraine in February for their ties to Mr Putin.

Vincent Magwenya, Mr Ramaphosa's spokesman, said South Africa's obligations on sanctions "relate to only those specifically adopted by the United Nations" - of which it is a founding member.

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• South Africa

The yacht, which has six decks and a helipad, left Hong Kong last Thursday and is en route to Cape Town, according to MarineTraffic, a maritime tracker.

The decision has been criticised by South African opposition leaders, including the mayor of Cape Town, who urged the government to block Nord's entry.

Geordin Hill-Lewis, a member of the opposition Democratic Alliance party, tweeted: "There is no place in our city for accomplices to, and enablers of, Putin's war."

Mordashov had an estimated net worth of $29.1bn before sanctions hit, according to Forbes, which made him the richest man in Russia.

The yacht docked in Hong Kong after a seven-day voyage from Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East near the border with China, down through the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.

I have asked Minister Pandor to block the entry of a R9 billion superyacht, owned and sailed by sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov, to Cape Town's port. There is no place in our city for accomplices to, and enablers of, Putin’s war. https://t.co/yTqZGs1Eka pic.twitter.com/MAxOFf267t — Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) October 24, 2022

Before its arrival, John Lee, the Beijing-backed leader of Hong Kong, said the authorities would not act on unilateral sanctions imposed on Mordashov by individual jurisdictions.

"We cannot do anything that has no legal basis," said Mr Lee, who himself has been sanctioned by the US for his role in a crackdown on local freedoms.

China, a traditional ally of Russia, has opposed economic sanctions against Russia and refused to condemn Mr Putin's invasion, though last month at the UN General Assembly it called for a negotiated end to the war.

In a statement to Sky News Mr Mordashov said: "It is terrible that Ukrainians and Russians are dying, people are suffering hardships and the economy is collapsing. I sincerely hope a way can be found in the very near future to resolve this conflict.

"I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tension and I do not understand why the sanctions were imposed on me."

Read more: How a KGB agent from Leningrad rose to the top of the Kremlin Russia could take 10 years to recover from sanctions

Mordashov built his wealth around the Russian steel producer Severstal.

Multiple Russian-owned superyachts have been seized since the start of the war in Ukraine.

In recent months, a number have been moved to parts of the world considered beyond the reach of Western sanctions, including Turkey, parts of Asia and the Caribbean.

Related Topics

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South Africa to let Russian billionaire's superyacht dock

Hong kong russia yacht.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Cape Town port is ideally suited to host a $500 million superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov, a South African official said Wednesday, after the country announced its intention to let the vessel dock there despite a bid by the city's mayor to block its entry.

The South African government made the announcement Tuesday amid claims steel and mining magnate Alexey Mordashov is seeking a new harbor to shield the superyacht from seizure.

The official said Cape Town was perfect for the Nord because it has the technical means to maintain luxury yachts that many other harbors don't.

“If you’re parking a $500-million asset, you need it looked after properly,” the official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he's not permitted to speak publicly on the issue.

Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said Tuesday that there was “no reason” for South Africa to deny the Nord entry as Mordashov wasn't the subject of United Nations sanctions, only sanctions imposed unilaterally by the United States and the European Union.

The Nord, which left Hong Kong on a journey across the Indian Ocean to South Africa last week, would be allowed to dock in Cape Town harbor as long as those on board "abide by our immigration laws," Magwenya said.

Mordashov is not believed to be on board the yacht.

“Currently there are no U.N.-imposed sanctions on the particular individual and therefore South Africa has no legal obligation to abide by the sanctions that the U.S. and the EU have decided to impose within specific jurisdictions,” Magwenya told reporters in the South African capital, Pretoria.

Mordashov is thought to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was sanctioned by the U.S. and the EU because of the war in Ukraine. He is the main shareholder and chairman of Severstal, Russia’s largest steel and mining company, and one of Russia’s richest men, with a net worth of over $20 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire's Index.

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said Mordashov has benefited financially from the war in Ukraine and is “an accomplice to the unconscionable crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians.” Hill-Lewis had asked the South African government to block the Nord from docking, eliciting the response from President Ramaphosa's spokesman.

South Africa has adopted a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine, frustrating Western partners who had hoped that Africa’s most developed economy would also condemn Russia’s invasion and act as a leading voice for the continent. South Africa abstained from a U.N. vote condemning Russia’s actions and called, instead, for dialogue and diplomacy.

Hill-Lewis is a member of South Africa’s main opposition party, which has been fiercely critical of the neutral stance taken by Ramaphosa's government.

“It must be said that, so far, our country’s foreign policy conduct in relation to Russia’s illegal, imperialist war has been nothing less than shameful,” Hill-Lewis said.

The Nord flies a Russian flag, is 141.6 meters (465 feet) long and has two helipads, a swimming pool and 20 cabins. It sailed out of Hong Kong after the U.S. accused that city of operating as a safe haven for sanctioned persons. It is expected to arrive in Cape Town on Nov. 9, according to the Marine Traffic shipping website.

The fate of the yacht has captured attention since it arrived in Hong Kong from Vladivostok, Russia, early this month, sparking a diplomatic row between the U.S. and Hong Kong authorities over the enforcing of sanctions.

Russian oligarchs have been looking for suitable harbors for their luxury yachts since they were targeted by American and European sanctions over the war in Ukraine. Some have also found new homes in Turkey, which has maintained diplomatic ties with Russia.

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