For weeks, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has dominated world economic events - and the international headlines. The mutual blockade by both parties to the conflict, Iran and the USA, has brought shipping traffic through the bottleneck between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and therefore the Indian Ocean, to an almost complete standstill.
High-risk security situation
Since then, only a few ships have passed through the strait, which is less than 30 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point. Despite the current uneasy ceasefire, the risk is high - those who take the risk run the risk of being shot at or captured. A few days ago, a mega yacht attempted to break through for the first time - with success: the 142 metre long "Nord.
Delivered by Lürssen in 2021, the "Nord" has a steel hull, aluminium superstructure and teak deck. In the ranking of the largest superyachts The most striking feature is the foredeck, whose wide deck has a helipad and from the bow looks like a specialised military vehicle or even an aircraft carrier. The grey colour scheme reinforces this impression.
A mega yacht like an aircraft carrier
It is not known what prompted "Nord" to risk the passage in an easterly direction. The megayacht is Russian-flagged and the regular crew is said to be around 40 people. With an interior volume of 10,154 gross tonnes, it can reach a top speed of 20 knots with four MTU propulsion units.
Both the USA and Iran have announced different conditions for a possible passage, but traffic remains minimal: while before the crisis an average of around 140 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in both directions, there are currently barely 20, a situation that has caused an economic state of emergency since the beginning of March - and is being felt not least at petrol stations in this country.
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Christian Tiedt
Editor Travel
