Russian oligarch’s Malta-registered superyacht stuck in Norway because no one will sell it fuel

A Russian-owned superyacht is unable leave a dock in Norway – not because of sanctions – but because no one in the port will sell it fuel.

The Malta-registered 68m Ragnar is a custom-built superyacht made from the hull of a former service ship that can push its way through ice.

Its amenities include “a BigBo amphibious ATV, heli-skiing equipment, four See-Doos, four ski scooters, six Seabobs, a multipurpose island and a giant slide” – but it currently cannot find anyone who will fill its fuel tanks.

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The Ragnar is owned by Russian oligarch Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, a former KGB agent who has long been linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Strzhalkovsky is the former head of mining giant Norilsk Nickel.

“We find the discrimination against us, extremely unjust,” the yacht’s captain, Robert Lankester, wrote in a message decrying the ship’s predicament.

Strzhalkovsky is not currently on a European or U.K. sanctions list, and the yacht’s crew is not Russian.

Lankester’s public notice was highlighted by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, which reports that the Malta-registered ship is sitting at a quay in Narvik, a port city in northern Norway.

The Ragnar, which was listed for sale a year ago, offers charter trips for winter getaways. But its captain says a recent trip fell through, and he now wants to bring the ship back to its home port in Malta.

When Strzhalkovsky left Norilsk Nickel in 2012, he did so with a $100 million golden parachute.