Close to Vladimir Putin, the owner of the Ragnar has not been targeted by Western sanctions since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But no supplier agrees to sell him the fuel that would allow the boat to leave the port where it is stationed in northern Norway.
The yacht is 68 meters and it includes “a gym, spa, swimming pool, helicopter landing area, multiple sun decks, plus a garage containing snowmobiles, jet skis, ski gear and snowboards”, detailed The Guardian. But for now, the Ragnar is mostly stuck in northern Norway, in a port called Narvik.
The owner of the luxury boat, Vladimir Strjalkovsky, is “an old acquaintance of Vladimir Putin”, explains the British daily. Former of KGB (like the Russian president), he held the post of CEO of the Russian mining group Norilsk Nickel, before giving up its seat in exchange for compensation that would have amounted to 100 million dollars (around 90 million euros).
Strjalkovski “also, for a time, was an undersecretary for the economy in the Russian government and he currently sits on the board of directors of the football club Dynamo Moscow”. However, it does not appear to date on any of the sanctions lists enacted by the West in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Why, then, is his yacht stuck with its sixteen crew members in Narvik? Due to the “obstinate refusal of [ravitailleurs] locals to sell him fuel”reports The Guardian who observes:
The locals decided that the mega-yacht was not welcome and they decided to solve the problem themselves […] asking the Norwegian authorities to seize it”.
The captain denounces “discrimination”
Questioned by several elected officials and local business leaders, the latter argue that the seizure would be illegal as it stands. But the tankers seem to have decided to continue the showdown. Asked by the daily, Sven Holmlund, head of the Holmlund Oil Supplies company, said: “Russia’s behavior in Ukraine leaves me speechless. Why will I help them[en ravitaillant le Ragnar]? They just have to row or hoist the sails to get home”.
An attitude denounced by the captain of the yacht, Rob Lankester, “who introduces himself as a former British Navy”. As he argued in a complaint to the country’s leaders, the situation constitutes a “discrimination”, no sanction having been decreed against the owner of the ship and none of the crew members being Russian. The situation seems all the more unfair to him since the yacht (which is rented for 40,000 dollars a week) does not fly the Russian flag, but the Maltese one.
“But nobody listens to us”he told the Guardian, adding that he and his crew wish “just go home [eux]”.
Source
Independence and quality characterize this title born in 1821, which counts among its ranks some of the most respected columnists in the country. The Guardian is the reference journal for the intelligentsia, teachers and
[…]
Read more