South Africa refuses to seize sanctioned Russian superyacht

On Oct 26, 2022

South Africa says it will allow a sanctioned Russian oligarch to dock his superyacht in Cape Town.

The $521m (£472m) vessel, which belongs to Alexei Mordashov – an ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin – left Hong Kong earlier this week.

South African opposition leaders had urged the government to seize the 465ft long (141m) yacht called The Nord.

But a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa said he saw “no reason” to comply with Western sanctions.

“South Africa has no legal obligation to abide by sanctions imposed by the US and EU,” Vincent Magwenya told reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday.

“South Africa’s obligations with respect to sanctions relate only to those that are specifically adopted by the United Nations,” Magwenya added, noting that Mordashov is not under any UN-sponsored sanctions.

Western countries and their allies have imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ramaphosa’s government has so far avoided directly criticizing Russia, abstaining in several UN votes that have expressly condemned the war. Pretoria has also called for a negotiated settlement to end the conflict.

On Monday, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis – a member of the opposition Democratic Alliance party – urged officials to block the superyacht’s entry, writing on Twitter that there could be “no place in our city for accomplices to, and enablers of, Putin’s war”.

“It must be said that so far, our country’s foreign policy conduct in relation to Russia’s illegal, imperialist war has been nothing less than shameful,” Hill-Lewis added in a further statement. “Here is an opportunity to correct some of those errors of judgment and stand up for what is clearly right.”

It is unclear whether Mordashov is actually onboard the vessel. Speaking to local media on Sunday, Hill-Lewis suggested that the billionaire was traveling on his yacht.

But last week a spokesperson for the oligarch said that he had been in Moscow since his yacht arrived in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s government recently offered similar justifications when refusing to prevent the entry of the superyacht, with Chief Executive John Lee saying the city would be accountable to UN sanctions but not “unilateral” ones imposed by “individual jurisdictions”.

Agencies