Luxury superyacht owned by Russian oligarch appears in Hong Kong amid continuing sanctions

The Russian superyacht Nord is seen anchored in Hong Kong.

(Image credit: Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images)

published 8 October 2022

A massive luxury superyacht owned by a Russian billionaire appeared in the harbors of Hong Kong on Friday amid continuing efforts to sanction the assets of Russian oligarchs.

Nord, a 466-foot yacht estimated to be worth over $500 million, was spotted by CNN dropping anchor in the city. The vessel, which is 1.5 times the size of a football field, is owned by Alexey Mordashov, a yacht broker told CNN. Mordashov, an industrial steel tycoon, is one of Russia's wealthiest businessmen, with Bloomberg reporting his net worth to be $18.7 billion.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

In a statement, Hong Kong marine officials said that they did not have any authority to take action on foreign sanctions. In a statement to the Financial Times, the U.S. State Department decried Hong Kong's decision to allow the vessel in its waters, saying, "The possible use of Hong Kong as a safe haven by individuals evading sanctions from multiple jurisdictions further calls into question the transparency of the business environment."

Explore More

Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox