A $500 million superyacht will be able to dock in Cape Town, South Africa, despite sanction from its Russian oligarch owner via the US. US, UK and EU.
North, the 465-foot ship owned by metal-rich billionaire Alexei Mordashov, has made several stops in the Eastern Hemisphere since it was sanctioned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sea traffic data shows Nord left the Seychelles in March before staying in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East until Sept. 28, when he visited Hong Kong.
At the time, Washington warned Hong Kong to oppose offering a “safe haven” for sanctioned oligarchs, appealing to the city-state’s reputation as a foreign monetary center.
The North has now left the city-state and sails for South Africa, where it is expected to dock on Nov. 9, according to maritime traffic data. The yacht’s latest reported position in western Indonesia on Wednesday, according to Spire Maritime.
When it arrives in South Africa, it will be allowed to dock, despite protests from some in the country.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis told the Wall Street Journal that the city could be “a new favorite destination for Russians fleeing sanctions in the rest of the world” if North is allowed to dock.
Hill-Lewis also said she had obtained conflicting data on whether Mordashov was aboard her superyacht, but the oligarch’s spokesman said he was staying in Moscow, according to the newspaper.
The mayor, a member of the opposition Democratic Alliance of South Africa party, added: “South Africa has a duty to do what it can to protest against unjust war, state terrorism and gross violation of human rights. “
However, the country’s government rejected his call to reject Nord, which has among the luxuries two helipads and a swimming pool.
“South Africa has no legal responsibility to comply with the sanctions imposed by the United States and the EU,” Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, told the BBC.
“South Africa’s sanctions obligations relate only to those followed in particular through the United Nations. “
South Africa among the 35 countries that abstained from a UN solution in March calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
Mordashov’s smaller superyacht, Lady M, was seized by the Italian government in March due to EU sanctions. Bloomberg also reported that Nord replaced its flag from Russia to the Cayman Islands in June.