{"id":88016,"date":"2026-04-28T18:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/88016\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T18:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:25:12","slug":"500-million-superyacht-linked-with-russias-richest-man-just-passed-through-blockaded-hormuz-strait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/88016\/","title":{"rendered":"$500 million superyacht linked with Russia\u2019s richest man just passed through blockaded Hormuz Strait"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed as the war in Iran enters its ninth week, that hasn\u2019t stopped one of the world\u2019s largest luxury superyachts from gaining passage through the chokepoint.<\/p>\n

The Nord, a 464-foot vessel tied to Russian businessman Alexei Mordashov<\/a>, left Port Rashid in Dubai on Friday and sailed through the Hormuz Strait over the weekend before it was anchored in Oman on Sunday, according to data from maritime traffic tracking databases VesselFinder<\/a> and Kpler<\/a>. The ship is associated with Mordashov, a Russian billionaire and owner of steel magnate Severstal, with shipping records showing Mordashov\u2019s wife Marina Mordashova, owning the vessel for a brief window in 2022. Mordashov is Russia\u2019s wealthiest person, with a net worth of about $37 billion<\/a>, according to Forbes.<\/p>\n

The vessel, valued at about $500 million, is the 12th largest superyacht in the world. In addition to two helipads, the yacht also has<\/a> a helicopter hanger that converts into a squash court, as well as a 25-meter long swimming pool. It\u2019s the larger of two yachts that Mordashov appears to own, the other being<\/a> the 137-foot Lady M.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Nord is the world\u2019s 12th largest superyacht and worth about $500 million.<\/p>\n

PETER PARKS\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Nord is among only a handful of vessels that have been able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel\u2019s initial attack on Iran at the end of February. Since the beginning of the war, nearly 800 vessels<\/a> have been stuck in a holding pattern near the passage, impacting about 20,000 mariners. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, traffic in the strait has plummeted from more than 150 vessels daily<\/a> before the war to fewer than 25.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The trade route through which 20% of the world\u2019s oil usually passes, the Strait of Hormuz\u2019s closure has resulted in significant supply chain disruptions<\/a> and oil prices topping $110 per barrel<\/a>, and poised to increase further.<\/p>\n

The Nord\u2019s complicated geopolitical past\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is unclear how the Nord was able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Mordashov has close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Russia has been a longtime ally of Iran. On Monday, Iran foreign minister Abbas Araghchi met Putin in Russia to discuss the war<\/a> as Russia works to maintain support for its ally while not becoming too involved in the war.<\/p>\n

The Nord has drawn U.S. scrutiny since 2022. Mordashov is under sanctions imposed by the U.S.<\/a> and European Union<\/a> in 2022 following the onset of Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine. At the time, the EU said in a statement<\/a> it imposed the restrictions due to Mordashov\u2019s links with television stations that \u201cactively support the Russian government\u2019s policies of destabilization of Ukraine.\u201d Mordashov\u2019s assets in the U.S., UK, and EU are frozen, including his $25 million yacht Lady M, which was seized and impounded<\/a> by Italian authorities in 2022. In 2022, the Nord was able to avoid U.S. seizure<\/a> after sailing from Hong Kong to Cape Town.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Though the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed as the war in Iran enters its ninth week,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[102,34,55,150,101,31262,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-88016","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-strait-of-hormuz","8":"tag-hormuz","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-russia","11":"tag-shipping","12":"tag-strait-of-hormuz","13":"tag-superyacht","14":"tag-war"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116483740460765746","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}