Bloomberg reported last week (October 21) that the 142-meter superyacht Nord anchored on Thursday, October 20 and departed for South Africa from Hong Kong, and is expected to arrive in Cape Town on 9 November

Hill-Lewis said he had written to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, asking him to intervene to block the ship’s entrance and asking Mordashov not to allowed to enter this country.

“To our knowledge, Mr. Mordashov is on board and intends to enter South Africa via the port of Cape Town. If that happens, Mr Mordashov – and his luxury yacht – will be treated as a guest of the state of South Africa,” said the mayor of Cape Town.

The Cape Town mayor said that if the yacht is allowed to dock in South Africa, it would pose a moral crisis for the country and damage its reputation and standing as a peace-loving nation.

He added that South Africa has a moral duty to do what it can to protest unjust war, state terrorism, and the gross violation of human rights.

“The international community has recognised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its annexation of four areas of Ukrainian territory by force as illegal,” he said.

“Clear evidence exists for war crimes and crimes against humanity having been committed by the Russian state against the Ukrainian people, including deliberate attacks against civilian targets, massacres of civilians, torture, and the rape of women and children. Many thousands of people have died, and many more have had their homes destroyed and their lives torn apart.”

Mordashov is the main shareholder and chairman of Severstal, Russia’s biggest steel company. The steel industry is of important strategic importance to the Russian government and to the Russian war effort.

He is also the chairman of the company Severgroup, is one of the main shareholders of Bank Rossiya, of which he personally owns a significant portion, the mayor said.

“After Russia illegally annexed Crimea, Bank Rossiya actively expanded in the region, opening branches in Crimea and Sevastopol, forcing the economic integration of the Ukrainian territory into Russia. As a result, Mr. Mordashov personally benefited financially from illegal activities,” Hill-Lewis said.