Putin’s superyacht was spotted off the coast of Denmark, escorted by military vessels
The superyacht Graceful, which international media outlets – notably the Danish broadcaster DR – have linked to Vladimir Putin, passed through Danish waters escorted by two Russian warships.
On the night of 29 June, the yacht crossed the Great Belt, and in the morning it passed Anholt Island. The vessel was then due to round Cape Grenen in northern Jutland.
The yacht was escorted by a Russian destroyer and a Russian Navy patrol vessel. The Danish patrol boat P521 Freja was also in the vicinity. From Sunday morning, the German coastguard and the Danish navy took turns monitoring the convoy’s movements.
The Danish Armed Forces Command stated that the military regularly monitors vessels, including foreign state-owned ships, passing through Danish straits and territorial waters.
According to DR, the Graceful’s AIS transponder had been switched off since 30 August 2022. Since then, the yacht has effectively been outside radar monitoring, although it has been spotted on several occasions in St Petersburg and the Baltic Sea.
The vessel’s final destination has not been officially disclosed. However, a number of media outlets report that the yacht is heading for Istanbul.
The Graceful is over 80 metres long. The vessel is valued at around 100 million euros.
The Graceful is considered the second-largest yacht used by Vladimir Putin. The vessel had previously been spotted on several occasions near Sochi whilst the Russian president was there.
Before the start of the full-scale invasion, the yacht was undergoing repairs in Hamburg, Germany, and left the port on 7 February 2022, 17 days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
After the war began, the US imposed sanctions on the Graceful due to its links with the Russian president.
