April 28 (Reuters) – A superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov was able to transit the blockaded Strait of Hormuz after undergoing maintenance in Dubai because neither Iran nor the United States objected, a source close to Mordashov said on Tuesday.
It has been unclear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel, worth over $500 million, gained permission to sail on Saturday through the commercially important waterway at the heart of the U.S.-Iran conflict, where traffic has been severely restricted since February.
Sailing under a Russian flag, the yacht, called Nord, crossed the strait on an approved route in compliance with international maritime law, the source said.
“Iran did not interfere with the movement of the yacht, as it is a civilian vessel of a friendly country conducting a peaceful transit. The American side also raised no questions regarding the yacht’s movement, as it did not call at Iranian ports and has no connection to Iran,” the source said.
Just a few, mainly merchant vessels, have been passing daily through the crucial waterway at the entrance to the Gulf as Washington and Tehran maintain an uneasy ceasefire. This represents a fraction of the average 125 to 140 daily passages before the Iran war began on February 28. In response, the U.S. has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports.
Russia is a longstanding ally of Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi travelled to St Petersburg on Monday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after discussions with peace mediators in Pakistan and Oman over the weekend.
After crossing the strait, Nord has been located near the coast of Oman since Sunday, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Additional reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Alison Williams)
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