A $ 208 million surplus linked to Russia’s second richest person has gone “dark” as he made a daring 11,000km journey to Turkey’s safe haven.
According to Bloomberg, the luxurious 85-meter Pacific, which has space on the deck for two helicopters, turned off its transponders for about half a month’s journey across multiple oceans and seas.
Linked to Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson, the Pacific sailed from the west coast of Costa Rica to the Pacific Ocean, moving across the Panama Canal, across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean Sea.
The $ 208 million Pacific superhero has now anchored in the port of Marmaris in southern Turkey. (YouTube)
On June 4, the ship sailed to the marina of Marmaris, waters where other esteemed superstars owned by oligarchs, such as the former owner of Chelsea football club Roman Abramovich, have sought refuge from US-led sanctions. .
Since Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to a series of sanctions by Australia and others, authorities have confiscated more than a dozen Russian-linked superiors worth more than $ 3.1 billion.
Hoping to increase pressure on the Kremlin, much of Putin’s inner circle of super-rich elites has been the target of widespread sanctions.
Many Russian-owned superiors have violated international maritime law by turning off their AIS transponders, a ship’s satellite tracking signal, to reach safe waters.
While transponders are off, yachts have generally sailed to Turkey, the Russian port of Vladivostok or other friendly ports, usually the Middle East or the Maldives.
“Sometimes ships can shut down their AIS intentionally and manually and engage in what are known as dark activities,” he said.
“Ships that have this behavior often try to hide their actual location or who they are with.”
Leonid Mikhelson is the second richest citizen in Russia and the owner of a gas company subject to US sanctions. (AP)
Turkey, a member of NATO, has close ties with both Russia and Ukraine.
Turkey has closed the Turkish strait connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea to most Russian warships, but has not imposed sanctions on Russia or closed its airspace to Russian flights.
Private aircraft owned by oligarchs have been able to land at Turkish airports, with open source tracking websites that control flights to and from places such as Russia and Israel.
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