Russian oligarch's yacht stranded in northern Norway for lack of fuel

The yacht "Ragnar" has been stuck in the port of Narvik in northern Norway for almost five weeks.

AFP - JONATHAN NACKSTRAND

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

An ultra-luxury yacht, owned by a Russian oligarch, has run out of fuel and is immobilized in the Arctic.

It has since served as a local curiosity.

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It is an imposing ship that detonates in the port of Narvik, a small town in northern Norway.

A luxurious 68-meter yacht is said to belong to Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, a former KGB officer and oligarch.

Having become a billionaire after a lucrative stint at the head of the mining giant Norilsk Nickel, this 67-year-old businessman is said to have links with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he served in the KGB in Saint Petersburg, when the city broke up. still called Leningrad.

Strzhalkovsky is not on the list of Russians targeted by European sanctions, but his supposed proximity to the head of the Kremlin is horrifying.

Since its stopover in mid-February, the yacht nicknamed “Ragnar” has not been able to leave for lack of fuel.

The Norwegians refuse to sell it to him, complains the captain of the ship.

“ 

Let them row home.

Or hoist sails

,” advises one of the local fuel suppliers.

Unable to return to its home port in Malta, the yacht has been ordered to remain docked for five weeks now.

►Also read: War in Ukraine: the yachts of the Russian oligarchs in the sights of Europeans

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