- A Russian oligarch's yacht has stopped broadcasting tracking signals for five days, per Bloomberg data.
- It was sailing towards the Bahamas, where authorities have helped the US to seize ships.
A sanctioned Russian oligarch's $150 million yacht has stopped sending out tracking signals for five days while heading towards the Bahamas, according to Bloomberg data.
The superyacht, called Pacific, belongs to Leonid Mikhelson, who was sanctioned by the US and Canada and owns Russian gas giant Novatek that has come under US sanctions amid the
Pacific, a 279-foot vessel, was last located in the Caribbean Sea on May 8 before its trackers turned off in the late evening, per Bloomberg data. The yacht's next port destination was listed as Nassau in the Bahamas, according to the data.
The luxury yacht was docked in a marina in Costa Rica until May 5, when it then sailed through the Panama Canal, heading in a northeast direction towards the Caribbean, Bloomberg data shows.
Docking in the Bahamas could leave the Mikhelson's yacht at risk of being seized given that the authorities there have previously worked with the US to detain vessels. In February, two Crystal Cruises ships were arrested in the Bahamas over an unpaid fuel bill.
Ships of 300 gross metric tons or more that go on international voyages are required to have tracking systems to provide information about their locations to authorities and other vessels, according to the International Maritime Organization's website.
Mikhelson has a net worth of almost $26 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index. His yacht can accommodate two helicopters, as well as 12 guests and 28 crew members, according to Superyacht Fan.