PACIFIC X

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Russian oligarch's yacht fled to Marmaris

After not broadcasting its location for almost two weeks, as required by international maritime law, and after a nearly month-long journey that took it more than 7,000 miles, the 'Pacific', linked to the Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson, moored at the port of Marmaris on June 2. The voyage shows the risky measures the crews of these vessels are undertaking to get to jurisdictions deemed unlikely to arrest the floating palaces. The US, Italy and other European governments have seized more than a dozen yachts worth over $2.3 billion to punish Russian tycoons close to Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine. Turkey has been a favoured destination for superyachts connected to Russian oligarchs and tycoons facing scrutiny as countries look to step up sanctions on Russia. The steel billionaire Alexander Abramov’s yacht 'Titan' traversed the Suez Canal at the beginning of May to get there. The 'Eclipse', linked to former Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, is in waters off southern Turkey, while the 'My Solaris', also connected to him, is anchored off the Turkey’s southwestern coast. The 'Clio', tied to the aluminum billionaire Oleg Deripaska, stopped transmitting its position once it reached the Bosphorus Strait near Istanbul in April.

Oligarch yacht reappeared after turning off AIS for 12 days

The 'Pacific', which is linked to Leonid Mikhelson — the richest person in Russia after Vladimir Putin — has reappeared after almost two weeks of silence. The superyacht appeared sailing past the Canary Islands on May 20, 2022, after 12 days without broadcasting its position, and more recently has been seen near Malta. Sailing with the AIS shut off violates international maritime law. While the vessel has indicated it will be heading to Port Said as its next destination, analysts predicted the ship will continue from there toward either the Maldives or Turkey—jurisdictions that are kinder to the yachts owned by Russian oligarchs. The yacht last broadcast 12 days earlier that it was headed to the Bahamas. It also previously indicated it might head to Barcelona’s Port Vell. The erratic movements of the vessel show the increasing desperation of oligarchs to keep their ships off the radar of governments trying to seize them. Mikhelson, the CEO of Russian gas company Novatek, has faced sanctions from the U.K. and Canada since Russia's war on Ukraine began. Mikhelson owns a quarter of the shares of Novatek—the largest non-state-owned natural gas provider in Russia, producing around 10% of Russia's gas. Novatek is sanctioned by the U.S.; Mikhelson himself is not.