How the massive luxury Superyacht of Russia’s richest man used ‘vanishing tech’ while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, resurfacing 5,050 miles away in Bali
An enormous, 465-foot (142-metre) luxury superyacht linked to a Russian billionaire reappeared in Bali, Indonesia, after pulling off a ‘high-tech vanishing act’ in one of the world’s most dangerous maritime chokepoints. The vessel, named Nord, was spotted docked at the commercial harbor in Benoa, Bali. What makes Nord’s arrival in Bali particularly mysterious is how it got there. At a time when intense geopolitical conflicts have left many commercial shipping vessels stranded or terrified to enter the Strait of Hormuz, the massive superyacht casually cruised right through the waterway.According to the tracking data, the vessel was spotted around the Strait of Hormuz in late April and disappeared – crossing vast oceans starting from Dubai and landing in Indonesia. The six-deck explorer yacht has covered roughly 4,400 nautical miles (around 5,050 miles) across the Indian Ocean.
The ‘vanishing tech’
Shortly after passing through the strait, Nord effectively went invisible. The ship’s crew reportedly turned off its AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponder, a standard marine safety device or equipment that combines GPS and radio transmitters to continuously broadcast a ship’s identity, location, speed and direction to avoid collisions.By cutting the feed, the yacht went completely dark to public tracking systems. It managed to slip across the ocean entirely unseen, only to suddenly pop back up on tracking data and Instagram videos once it safely arrived in Bali, as per publication Luxurylaunches.
Nord: What makes this yacht different
Standing at 10,154 gross tons, Nord is too gigantic to hide, even when it tries to turn off its tracking tech. In fact, the vessel is so massive that it could not even fit inside Bali’s luxury Benoa Marina, hence, it was forced to dock at the commercial harbor alongside the towering cargo vessels and cruise ships that normally dominate the waterfront. While docked, the crew refueled the yacht’s 345,000-liter fuel tanks.Delivered in 2021 by the renowned German shipyard Lürssen, Nord is widely recognised as one of the most advanced private explorer yachts on the planet. Far more than a simple pleasure cruiser, it is built to survive massive ocean voyages.The floating palace can host up to 36 guests across 20 ultra-luxury cabins and requires a crew of more than 40 people to run. It has two functional helipads; a private swimming pool, spa and fitness gym; cinema room, a custom built-in submarine and a massive collection of water toys.The vessel is widely linked to Russian steel magnate and billionaire Alexey Mordashov, the primary shareholder of Severstal. The yacht is valued at an estimated $500 million.Keeping a ship of this scale operational requires an astronomical amount of cash. Running a superyacht reportedly costs about 10% of the vessel’s total value annually, which means that Mordashov could be spending up to $50 million a year on the maintenance, crew and fuel needed to keep Nord moving.
