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- Russian oligarch’s yacht captain told the WSJ the crew has barbecued freshly-caught fish as suppliers refuse to fuel the ship.
- $85 million superyacht believed to belong to Vladimir Strzhalkovsky has been stuck in Norway for over a month.
- Strzhalkovsky hasn’t been sanctioned by the EU, meaning Norway can’t seize the vessel.
- For more stories go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
The crew aboard a Russian oligarch’s superyacht in Norway is catching and barbecuing fish after local businesses refused to refuel the vessel, leaving it stranded, the captain told The Wall Street Journal.
The vessel, Ragnar, is believed to be owned by Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, a former KGB agent who has ties to President Vladimir Putin but has so far avoided sanctions, the paper reported.
Ragnar, worth $85 million (about R1.26 billion) per SuperYacht Fan, has been stuck in the port of Narvik, Norway, for over a month because fuel suppliers are refusing to do business with Strzhalkovsky.
Strzhalkovsky isn’t among the list of Russian oligarchs who have been hit by Western sanctions, but Norwegian fuel suppliers told the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK last week that they didn’t want to help any entities associated with Russia.
The US, UK and European Union have levied sanctions against oligarchs who are believed to be close to Putin, leading to seizures of yachts and private jets.
However, some countries have witnessed protests against Russian goods and entities that have fallen outside of sanctions measures. Dockworkers in the UK this month refused to handle consignments of Russian natural gas, despite UK sanctions at the time not outlawing the import of the goods.
With no one willing to refuel the boat and nowhere to go, the crew of the Ragnar has been barbecuing freshly-caught cod, Rob Lancaster, the yacht’s captain, told the Journal.
“We did not realise why there was so much fuss with us,” Lancaster told The Journal. “It happened so quickly.”
Lancaster told NRK last week that the 16 crew members onboard were Western and “have nothing to do with the owner of the boat.”
While the Ragnar is not subject to sanctions measures, a number of oligarch’s yachts have been impounded in Europe. A $75 million yacht belonging to Russian businessman Dmitry Pumpyansky was seized on Monday after it docked in Gibraltar, the local government told Insider.
It follows Spain’s detention of a $153 million superyacht linked to arms tycoon Sergei Chemezov, France impounding a $120 million vessel linked to Putin confidant Igor Sechin, and Italy seizing a $578 million vessel linked to oligarch Andrey Melnichenko.
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