Superyacht Pacific (IMO 9569293) valued at $150m and linked to sanctioned individual, and Russia’s second-richest citizen,Leonid Mikhelson reappeared near the Canary Islands on May 20th after 12 daysof AIS darkness, and was most recently spotted in the Eastern Mediterranee near Benghazi, Libya. Its final destination was unclear.
The 85-metre Pacific went dark on May 8th, at which time it claimed to be heading for the Bahamas. However, that island group had shown itself willing to help other governments
seize yachts linked to sanctioned Russian individuals, so the plans changed.
The Pacific was now signalling Port Said in Egypt as its next destination, having previously
indicated that it was en route to Barcelona’s Port Vell. Port Vell never seemed likely, given that Spanish authorities have seized at least four luxury vessels connected to sanctioned oligarchs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th.
The best guesses for the wandering superyacht’s real destination were either the Maldives or Turkey, with the latter taking a position of balance between the west and Russia, and therefore unlikely to arrest a Russian superyacht.
Turkey therefore has been a popular destination for Russian megayachts.
By May 30th the Pacific had docked in Marmaris, Turkey.
The other possible location – the Maldives has seen a number of yachts tied to sanctioned
Russians going dark shortly after arriving at the islands. This included the $300m Ocean Victory, which is linked to steel magnate Viktor Rashnikov.
The Pacific had been in Costa Rica in late January and has seemed to be on the move ever since. On May 5th it departed Marina Papagayo near Culebra Bay and headed southeast,
passing through the Panama Canal, before going dark on May 8th while cruising in the Caribbean Sea northeast of Colon (IMN May 16th 2022). The vessel was also given the name 319011300 on Marine Traffic.
Mikhelson has a fortune estimated at more than $25bn and is CEO of Novatek, the largest
non-state-owned natural gas supplier in Russia. He was sanctioned by the UK and Canada in early April. The company is currently on the US sanctions list, although Mikhelson himself is not a named individual under US sanctions. Novatek produces about 10% of the country’s gas and Mikhelson owns a quarter of it.
2010-built, Cayman Islands-flagged, 2,959 gt Pacific is owned by Oakleigh Commercial Corp care of manager YCO SAM of Monaco-Ville, Monaco.
