$500 million superyacht linked to Putin aide sails through Hormuz amid blockade

Battered by blockades, with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz trickling to near zero, a superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire and Vladimir Putin aide Alexey Mordashov sailed through the critical shipping lane at the centre of the US-Iran conflict. The rare transit has raised eyebrows as movement through the waterway has remained heavily restricted since the war began in February.

According to MarineTraffic data, the 465-foot vessel, Nord, left a marina in Dubai on Friday afternoon, crossed the strait on Saturday morning and arrived in Muscat early on Sunday. The yacht is valued at more than USD 500 million. It is not known how the vessel obtained permission to make the passage.

Iran has sharply reduced movement through the strait, which lies at the entrance to the Gulf and usually carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Daily transits through the route have fallen to only a few, mostly merchant vessels, compared with around 125 to 140 a day before the Iran war began on February 28.

The US has meanwhile imposed a blockade on Iranian ports as a countermeasure amid an uneasy ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.

Russia and Iran have long maintained close ties and have moved closer in recent years, including through a 2025 treaty that expanded intelligence and security cooperation. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi arrived in Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin after holding talks with mediators in Pakistan and Oman over the weekend.

Mordashov, who is known to be close to Putin, is not officially listed as Nord’s owner. However, shipping data and Russian corporate records from 2025 show that the yacht was registered in 2022 to a Russian company owned by his wife. That company is registered in Cherepovets, the same Russian town where Mordashov’s steelmaker Severstal is registered.

Mordashov was among several Russians sanctioned by the United States and the European Union after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over their links to Putin. Nord is among the world’s largest yachts and has 20 staterooms, a swimming pool, a helipad and a submarine, according to industry publication Superyacht Times. The vessel’s transit through the Strait of Hormuz has drawn attention because of the restrictions on the route and Mordashov’s links to the Kremlin.

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