Sanctioned Russian oligarch anchors mega yacht in HK

A mega yacht belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarch and Vladimir Putin friend Alexei Mordashov is anchored in Hong Kong.

According to the log of the Marine Department the super-yacht Nord arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon and stopped at the Western Quarantine and Immigration Anchorage at 4.14pm under the agency of Lodestone Yachts.

Harbor and ship watchers spotted the vessel appearing in Hong Kong waters on an online vessel traffic monitoring website and took to the web to share their sighting.

A ferry commuter then confirmed the 10,154-ton yacht with an overall length of 141.6 meters and 22.4 meters high was anchored off Stonecutters Island.

He photographed the Nord from a ferry on his morning commute and posted it to Twitter.

The vessel belonging to billionaire Mordashov is estimated to be worth US$500 million (HK$3.89 billion).

The air-conditioned yacht has six stories served by an elevator and has among its various features a gym, swimming pool, movie theater, spa room and sauna and a beauty salon. There are also facilities for setting out a swimming platform, BBQ and beach club facilities plus underwater lighting.

There are also two helicopter landing pads - one on the bow and the other on the top deck with a hangar.

It is understood that Mordashov, the main shareholder and chairman of Russia's largest steel and mining company, Severstal, is not on board the Nord at present.

Sanctioned by the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, Mordashov is said to serve as the "personal banker" of senior Russian officials who benefited from the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. He was also mentioned in the Panama Papers and the so-called FinCEN files leak.

The leak concerns a company associated with Mordashov that paid for several of Putin's pet projects and gave generously to close associates of the Russian president.

And in May Mordashov linked with leading Russian businessmen trying to fight against sanctions imposed by the European Union.

The United States and the EU have seized a dozen yachts owned by sanctioned Russian businessmen worth over US$2.25 billion. Nord is among the "lucky ones" that fled and relocated to ports where sanctions do not apply.

In March, Nord remained under the ownership of Mordashov and was registered in the Cayman Islands, with a listed value there of US$300 million.

On March 12, the vessel left the Seychelles.

Having topped up with US$465,000-worth of fuel and sailing at top speed, Nord arrived at Vladivostok on April 11.

The vessel had allegedly turned off its mandatory location responders and sailed the 6,701 nautical miles in stealth mode.

The Nord took one more jaunt through the Sea of Japan and called at Busan in South Korea before heading back to Vladivostok, where it was recorded as being anchored on June 6.

According to the Marine Department's website, all visiting vessels must fill in a three-page form to apply for permission to navigate in the waters of Hong Kong, including providing details of a berthing location.

It is understood the department approves applications as long as the vessels comply with all requirements, including having appointed an legal agent in the SAR and possessing safety and pollution prevention certificates. Sanctions on a vessel's owner are not among the considerations.

Permission to remain is usually granted on a monthly basis or less, but a visiting yacht cannot stay in Hong Kong waters for more than 182 consecutive days.

As for crew members, it must have "sufficient qualified crew on board to carry out necessary duties to ensure the safety of the vessel and other port users," according to Marine Department guidelines. That includes at least two qualified operators.

While the department oversees the vessel, people on board must have clearances from the Immigration Department issued upon arrival and prior to the departure from local waters.

The yacht would have to stop at one of the three immigration anchorages - Eastern, Western and Tuen Mun - for examination by officers, during which a master has to provide the names of crew and passengers on board together with details of the their travel documents.