Alexei Mordashov, the sanctioned Russian billionaires superyacht Nord is pulling off an Amadea with the sudden back and forth. After a short stay in Hong Kong, the luxury vessel is moving from Hong Kong on a 19-day journey to Cape Town. However, the South African port city is not interested in playing the polite host. Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is moving to block the sanctioned megayacht from landing in the Mother City. The $500 million ship departed for South Africa from Hong Kong on 20 October, expected to arrive in Cape Town on 9 November.
Per Marine Traffic, Yacht Nord is currently located at INDO – Malacca Strait and sailing at 15.4 knots. But with the mayor already closing his doors on a soon-approaching Nord, it is only a matter of time before we may hear news of the 464-footer re-routing.
Hill-Lewis made matters crystal clear with a tweet that read, ‘I have asked Minister Pandor to block the entry of an R9 billion superyacht, owned and sailed by sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov, to Cape Town’s port. There is no place in our city for accomplices to, and enablers of, Putin’s war.’ He further added, I call on Minister Pandor, therefore, to bar Mr Mordashov’s docking in Cape Town and his entry into the Republic. In the words of the father of our nation, the late President Mandela, “Do not look the other way; do not hesitate. Recognise that the world is hungry for action, not words. Act with courage and vision.”
According to Business Tech, the vocal Cape Town mayor stated without hesitation that if the yacht is allowed to dock in South Africa, it would pose a moral crisis for the country and damage its reputation and standing as a peace-loving nation.
The mammoth vessel is on a tedious and expensive 8467 nautical-mile journey between hong kong and cape town. The trip will cost the Russian tycoon more than $480,000 in fuel alone. The boat’s tanks have a fuel capacity of 345,000 liters and with Hong Kong not allowing the vessel to dock it will have to stop somewhere in the journey for fuel and supplies as well.
The $500 million Nord was mostly forced to Leave Hong Kong –
Mordashov’s megayacht Nord is turning out to be an unwelcomed guest. Hong Kong officials first welcomed the luxury boat with open arms and painted a picture of resilience. But they soon crumbled under pressure created by U.S. authorities. According to a report by Reuters, the U.S. State Department immediately warned Hong Kong of harboring the Nord, saying that could harm the city’s reputation as an international financial center. The Hong Kong Marine Department later confirmed that the Nord had departed Hong Kong on Thursday but said it could not comment further. The sanctioned billionaires’ vessel is the first one seeking refuge in South Africa. With the South African officials taking a much more rigid and clearer stand on how unwelcomed Nord motoryacht is, it is unclear if Cape Town is Nord’s final destination after all.
