Alexei Mordashov's vessel Nord sailed through the blockaded waterway after maintenance in Dubai, with neither Iran nor the US objecting.
4:14 PM
A superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, one of few private vessels to navigate the blockaded waterway in recent months.
The 465-foot multi-deck luxury vessel, named Nord and valued at more than $500 million, sailed from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, on Saturday after undergoing maintenance in the United Arab Emirates. A source close to Mordashov said Tuesday that neither Iran nor the United States objected to the yacht's passage through the strategically critical shipping channel.
Mordashov, with an estimated net worth of approximately $37 billion, is Russia's richest national according to US business rankings and is linked to President Vladimir Putin as one of his key allies. The vessel sailed under a Russian flag and arrived in Muscat on Sunday morning, according to data from the Marine Traffic platform.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to most commercial shipping since February, with traffic severely restricted amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. Approximately one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass through the waterway. Iran held high-level talks with Russia this week as its standoff with the United States over the strait's reopening continues.
The successful transit of the Nord represents a rare instance of a private vessel passing through the blockaded strait. A source close to the billionaire indicated that Iran did not interfere with the movement of the yacht, characterizing it as a civilian vessel of a friendly country conducting peaceful transit. The American side raised no questions regarding the yacht's movement, the source said, noting that the vessel did not call at Iranian ports.
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