Ukraine-News: Oligarch yachts turn off tracking system
Created: 03/30/2022, 11:18 am
By: Patricia Huber
The Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has already brought his yacht "Solaris" to safety in Turkey.
© Carl Groll/Imago Images
The search for the Russian oligarchs' yachts is in full swing.
Research has now shown that some yachts even have their tracking systems on display.
Moscow/Bodrum – Russian oligarchs and Putin friends were subject to severe sanctions by the USA and the EU after the outbreak of the Ukraine war*.
A number of Russian millionaires and billionaires have brought their luxury ships to safety for fear of confiscation.
They drove to countries that do not participate in the sanctions.
This includes, for example, Turkey, where the oligarch Roman Abramowitsch is now parking his two yachts “Solaris” and “Eclipse”.
Ukraine War: Nine yachts have positioning system on display
But there are still some yachts that cannot be tracked.
As the American news portal
Bloomberg
reports, at least nine yachts are said to have turned off their tracking services.
And that was between February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine, and March 11, when US President Joe Biden announced that he would confiscate the assets of Russian oligarchs.
Most of the missing yachts are said to belong to Russian oligarchs who are on the sanctions list.
A small portion is owned by moguls who have not yet been sanctioned.
Oligarch yachts: Days of failure of the tracking system unlikely
In fact, international maritime regulations require passenger ships to communicate their position to other ships and coastal authorities.
The automatic identification system AIS should therefore actually be in constant operation.
"There is no reason why their AIS transmissions should be down for days," Windward Ltd's Gur Sender told
Bloomberg
.
The company specializes in maritime risk management and artificial intelligence in the maritime sector.
“Even if you are in the middle of the ocean, a satellite will pick up your transmission at least once every eight hours.
If you're a large yacht, it's in your interest so everyone can see your ship to avoid accidents," Sender continues.
According to
Bloomberg
's data, several yachts have already made their way to the Middle East.
Most leave the European holiday resorts on the Mediterranean and head for destinations in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia or Oman.
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