Luxury Yacht Linked to Russian Oligarch Passes Through Strait of Hormuz

Notes and Essays -- John Brown, The New York Times


An enormous yacht, with the word NORD written on its front. Hong Kong’s skyline is in the background.
The Nord, anchored off Hong Kong in 2022. In that year, the U.S. State Department publicly raised concerns after Hong Kong said it would not seize the vessel.Credit...Reuters

Luxury Yacht Linked to Russian Oligarch Passes 

Through Strait of Hormuz May 01, 2026 Mr. Mordashov, 60, is the chairman and main stakeholder of Severstal, one of Russia’s biggest steel makers. Shipping records show that the Nord is registered to Yurkon, a Russian firm that Mr. Mordashov’s wife, Marina A. Mordashova, owned for a brief period in 2022. ... 

Like most Russian oligarchs, Mr. Mordashov is loyal to Mr. Putin, and he and his wife are under sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. When the Nord anchored in waters off Hong Kong in 2022, the authorities there said they would not seize it, prompting the U.S. State Department to raise concerns about the “possible use of Hong Kong as a safe haven by individuals evading sanctions.” ...

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