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"Graceful," the superyacht believed to belong to the Russian president, was spotted off the coast of Denmark. Another yacht linked to Putin has also been spotted moving...
The Graceful is back at sea. On Monday, June 29, the 260-foot-long superyacht, described by Forbes magazine as owned by Vladimir Putin, left the Baltic Sea under heavy military protection. It was escorted by a destroyer and a Russian Navy patrol ship.
The unusual convoy passed through the Danish Straits and then continued along the coast of Jutland towards the North Sea. The news was reported by Danish media Danmarks Radio (DR), which relied on maritime traffic data and photographs taken from the Danish coast.
The Danish navy and the German coast guard also monitored the movement of the Russian convoy. Danish authorities describe this as standard procedure for any foreign military ship passing through the country's straits.
Destination remains unknown
This move has attracted particular attention, as the Graceful had not left Russian waters since the first months of the war in Ukraine.
The Automatic Identification System (AIS), which usually enables ship tracking, was deactivated for a long period after the yacht returned to Russia in August 2022. Since then, it has only been seen in St. Petersburg, in the Baltic Sea.
Graceful, valued at nearly $100 million (about 85 million euros) and over 80 meters long, has an indoor pool that can be converted into a dance floor, a private cinema and a marble-lined bathroom, writes La Voix du Nord.
In early 2022, the yacht underwent major repairs at a shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. According to an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin had ordered the yacht's return to Russia weeks before the invasion of Ukraine began.
At the time, this decision was considered unusual, but was later interpreted as a way to avoid the possible seizure of the yacht under Western sanctions.
However, not all yachts believed to belong to the Russian president have escaped these measures. In May 2022, Italian authorities seized the Shéhérazade, another 140-meter-long superyacht, with an estimated value of over 600 million euros.
The Graceful's destination has not yet been officially announced. According to the MarineTraffic platform, it was located on Wednesday morning near the coast of Norway.
Another ship that may be owned by Vladimir Putin, the Victoria, has also been seen on the move. Usually anchored in Sochi, it arrived near the Turkish coast on July 1.
Some observers believe the moves could be part of a strategy to protect the yachts from Ukrainian attacks, which have hit targets far from the front lines in recent months. However, there has been no official confirmation of this.
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