A super-yacht owned by a Russian oligarch has mysteriously vanished from radar as Western leaders continue to slap Vladimir Putin's cronies with sanctions over his unjust invasion of Ukraine.
The £60million Galactica Super Nova, which is owned by Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov, appears to have turned off its tracking system after luxury vessels belonging to other Russian tycoons were seized or frozen.
The 230-foot yacht arrived in Montenegro on March 1 after sailing from Barcelona.
The next day the yacht departed, according to data from the yacht-tracking group MarineTraffic.
Not long after leaving, the yacht's automatic tracking system stopped sending signals and the boat has yet to update its location.
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It is a violation of international maritime regulations to turn off their tracking systems because it is a legal requirement for all yachts of such size to have it on "at all times".
Sam Tucker, head of super-yachts at VesselsValue, said the team has not received a signal from the yacht.
He told the Daily Beast : "For the past 12 months, we have had a very reliable signal coming from this vessel, so after seeing it (leave) Porto Montenegro, we are very surprised that there has been no signal received from either of our satellites or ground stations.”
Marine lawyer Duncan Bateson told the outlet it was likely that “if captains of Russian-linked boats are turning off their AIS tracker, then it's because they're trying to evade being tracked”.
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Last week, data from MarineTraffic revealed at least four yachts owned by Russian oligarchs were cruising around the Seychelles, Montenegro and the Maldives, their home country was hit with sanctions.
Meanwhile, the teenager who went viral on Twitter for tracking Elon Musk's private jet has launched a new account monitoring planes belonging to Russian oligarchs.
Jack Sweeney, 19, said he launched the account @RUOligarchJets after being inundated with requests.
It comes as the West has hit companies and oligarchs who are closest to Putin's brutal regime with sanctions worth billions of pounds, asset freezes and travel bans.
This week, MPs rushed through the first stages of the Bill aimed at targeting Moscow-linked illicit cash in the UK, sheltered in property, land and assets, and often purchased via secretive shell companies.
Recently, Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov has had his 512ft yacht seized by German authorities in Hamburg - just two days after he was slapped with sanctions by the European Union.
Usmanov, who had commercial links with Everton until the Toffees cut ties with USM, had his assets frozen at the start of the week due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
A number of oligarchs have been targeted across Europe as a direct result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Usmanov the latest to face ramifications.
