'They can row home': Norwegian oil supplier refuses to fuel Russian oligarch's yacht

A Russian super-yacht owned by a longtime associate of President Vladimir Putin is stranded at the dock in northern Norway because local oil suppliers are refusing to refuel the vessel due to Russia's war in Ukraine and the sanctions that many countries have imposed on Moscow.

The New York Times reports that the 224-foot yacht, "Ragnar," is owned by Russian oligarch Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, who is a former K.G.B. agent. Strzhalkovsky made a fortune in nickel mining and is a longtime associate of Putin. He also has served as a deputy minister.

The ship, available for luxury charters at the starting rate of $525,000 per week, has been moored for several weeks in the port city of Narvik. The boat’s captain, Rob Lancaster, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, “We are a Western crew of 16. We have nothing to do with the owner.”

That argument doesn't impress Sven Holmlund, a local oil supplier. He has little sympathy for those aboard the vessel. “Why should we help them?” he told NRK. “They can row home. Or use a sail.”

Strzhalkovsky is not on the European Union’s sanctions list targeting Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, politicians from several Norwegian parties have urged their government to confiscate the super-yacht. Norwegian law prevents the government from doing so without a directive from the EU, of which Norway is not a member.