In the heart of the Persian Gulf, what seemed like an unthinkable scenario turned into reality: the Strait of Hormuz, the obligatory passageway for oil, cargo, cruises and superyachts, suddenly became blocked. Thousands of ships were trapped, along with a fleet of megayachts belonging to oligarchs, Gulf royal families and international billionaires.
Amid stranded oil tankers, crews in exhaustion, and suspended cruises, the case that attracted the most attention was that of the North, the giant 141-meter yacht of Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov. While large cruise ships (such as the MSC Euribia) forced their way through the strait on the night of April 17, turning off all lights and, most importantly, the AIS transponder (the system that allows radar tracking) so as not to be intercepted, the Nord crossed Hormuz in broad daylight on April 24 with the AIS transponder regularly turned on, making itself perfectly visible to radars halfway around the world.
Persian Gulf unprepared for worst-case scenario
The question many are asking today is simple: is it possible that no one really foresaw such a scenario? Oil companies, commercial fleet owners, cruise companies, and superyacht owners seemed to consider Hormuz an untouchable corridor.
Yet, at the time of the closure, more than 3,000 naval vessels were stranded in the area, including some 350 luxury yachts, almost all of them of great value and many owned by the ruling families of the states surrounding the Persian Gulf-Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.
The crisis has also reignited the debate on the fragility of the world’s major sea passages. The best-known precedent remains the Bosphorus, which has been regulated by international treaties since the 19th century and the 1936 Montreux Convention, which limits Turkey’s closing powers to military vessels only in wartime.
A similar issue concerns Bab el-Mandeb, the strategic passage between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, which has been threatened for years by Yemeni Houthi attacks. More and more commercial ships now avoid the Suez Canal, preferring to circumnavigate Africa to reach Rotterdam.
The big picture
Until a few weeks before the crisis, the Gulf was experiencing its busiest tourist season. Thousands of passengers were arriving daily at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports to board cruises in the area, while private jets transported VIP guests to large yachts anchored in the Emirates’ marinas.
Many of these boats were ready to head to Seychelles, Maldives or new emerging destinations such as the Laccadive in the Indian Ocean. Then, within a few days, everything came to a halt.
Megayacht owners quickly left the Gulf on their private planes. For cruise ship passengers, however, the return was much more complicated: some 17,000 people were evacuated by charter flights organized over weeks.
As the blockade continued, the problem spread to the crews of commercial ships and oil tankers: thousands of seafarers began to face shortages of fuel, water and food supplies, in addition to the difficulties associated with managing waste on board.
The Dubai International Boat Show has also been directly affected: the event, among the world’s most important for luxury yachting, has been postponed from October to late November.
Hormuz: the overnight escape of large cruise ships
The first real breakout from the Gulf took place on the night of April 17-18. After weeks of preparations, five large cruise ships attempted the passage of Hormuz by taking advantage of a moonless night.
To minimize the chance of being detected, the units turned off all external lighting and disabled the AIS system, the transponder that enables radar tracking of ships. This was an extreme choice, especially in a strait as difficult to navigate as Hormuz, which has been characterized by obligatory routes taken by oil tankers for decades.
Leading the convoy was MSC Euribia of Gianluigi Aponte’s MSC Group, followed by Aroya Manara, Celestyal Journey and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 4 and 5.
Ships passed through the trickiest stretch skirting the Omani peninsula of Musandam, sailing in total darkness. It was critical for cruise lines to save the 2026 European season after weeks of forced downtime in Dubai.
The Nord case: the superyacht that showed up for all to see
If cruise ships have chosen the strategy of invisibility, the North has done exactly the opposite.
On April 24, the megayacht left Abu Dhabi and two days later appeared in Al Mouj marina in Muscat, Oman. Throughout the crossing of the Strait of Hormuz, its AIS was kept on and sailing was in broad daylight.
A choice that many observers interpret as a definite political message. According to various reconstructions, the move would have been authorized due to the privileged relations between Moscow and Tehran.
Indeed, maritime tracking data show the North’s path along one of the most sensitive routes in the area, with no attempt at concealment.
A $500 million-plus giant
The North is one of the largest private yachts in the world. Built by the German shipyard Lürssen and delivered in 2021, it flies the Cayman Islands flag and has an estimated value of more than $500 million.
At 141 meters long, it has five decks, two helipads-one of which has a retractable hangar-and can accommodate 36 people in 20 luxury suites, assisted by a crew of between 60 and 70 members.
The exterior and interior design is by Venetian firm Nuvolari-Lenard, while propulsion is provided by four MTU engines of 8,500 horsepower each, capable of propelling the yacht up to 20 knots.
On board are a swimming pool, beach club, spa, gym, sauna, beauty center, and even a small submarine stored in the indoor garage along with dinghy and jet ski.
Before the war in Ukraine, North routinely spent his summers between the French Riviera, Greece, Spain and Italy, frequenting locations such as Sardinia, Argentario and the Amalfi Coast. By 2022, however, he had left the Mediterranean before European sanctions could affect him.
Mordashov and yachts under sanction
Alexey Mordashov, considered one of Russia’s richest men and close to Vladimir Putin, is the largest shareholder in the Severstal steel group.
The Nord is not the only vessel linked to the Russian tycoon. In 2022, Italy seized the Lady M, a 65-meter yacht with an estimated value of about $60 million, in the port of Imperia.
Permanent sensors have been installed on board to prevent their escape, while maintenance costs continue to burden the Italian state: berthing alone costs about 40,000 euros per month.
Hormuz: the other giants still stuck in the Gulf
The North was the only megayacht to cross Hormuz after the Iranian blockade. Many other luxury yachts still remain stranded between the Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar.
These include the Flying Fox, a 136-meter yacht also built by Lürssen and designed specifically for ultra-luxury charter. Moored at Dubai Marina, it belongs to Russian billionaire Dmitry Kamenshchik, owner of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
The Flying Fox can be rented for between $3 million and $4 million per week. It has two heliports, 11 suites with private terraces, a 400-square-meter spa, cinema, cryotherapy, professional dive center and decompression chamber.
Meanwhile, several yachts appear to have been temporarily abandoned by their crews, who fled the Gulf on the first available flights.
The most critical situation, however, concerns commercial ships: hundreds of seafarers, including about 150 Italians embarked on container ships, are still stranded in the area, while many companies continue to refuse to arrange for the exchange of their now exhausted crews.
by Ida Castiglioni
