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Fleeing Putin yacht verlieren to have arrived at Severomorsk
The Putin yacht 'Kosatka' left the Baltic Sea last week and sailed north along the Norwegian coast under the escort of the anti-submarine destroyer 'Severomorsk' and the 'Voevoda'. The yacht had been absent from public tracking systems since August 2022. On June 29, its AIS was switched on, showing the vessel underway in the Skagerrak, north of Denmark. At the time, its next destination was listed as Istanbul, and the vessel appeared under the name 'Graceful'. The yacht was renamed 'Kosatka', after the USA imposed sanctions on the vessel in 2022. Once in the North Sea, the superyacht altered course and headed north, continuing along the Norwegian coast. The Russian convoy was shadowed by NATO forces. The apparent decision to move the yacht north was believed to be driven by concerns that Ukrainian drones could target the vessel while it is berthed either in Kaliningrad or near St. Petersburg. Ukrainian drones have in recent weeks struck the strategically important Russian naval base at Kronstadt and several oil terminals in the area. The vessel group sailed across the Norwegian-Russian maritime border north of the Varanger fjord on the night of July 4. A few hours later, the 'Severomorsk' was spotted at anchor outside the Northern Fleet's main warship base Severomorsk in the Kola Fjord. Photos from the base also show the tank landing ship 'Ivan Gren', the icebreaker 'Ivan Papanin' and a submarine rescue vessel. Two submarines, a training ship, and a landing ship were also deployed to the Northern Sea.
Salvage ship escorts Putin yacht to safety
Russia started fleet movements during the last week. The German and Danish navies, along with the Federal Police, immediately stepped up their presence when several vessels set sail from Kronstadt and Baltiysk, including corvettes, landing craft, tugs, a destroyer and the Putin yacht 'Graceful' (IMO: 1011551). Putin had used it in May 2021 in the Black Sea for a meeting with the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. In the fall of 2021, the yacht, costing approximately 100 million euros, returned to the builder's yard in Hamburg and was scheduled for refit by the summer of 2022. On Feb 7, 2022, she left Hamburg unfinished and headed for a shipyard in Kaliningrad. Two weeks later, Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, the "Graceful" has only rarely been seen in the Baltic Sea. The yacht, sheltered with drone nets, was escorted across the Baltic by the 'Voevoda', which was officially commissioned as a rescue and salvage ship in Kaliningrad only in March. Unofficial sources had already speculated last year that the 'Voevoda' served as a support vessel for the 'Graceful'. When the yacht, accompanied by the 'Voevoda' and the destroyer 'Severomorsk', passed Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen at midday on June 28, 2026, it quickly became apparent that they were heading for the North Sea. The flotilla steered westward at a speed of just twelve knots. However, the 'Graceful'’s voyage hardly resembled a holiday trip for the president. All decks and exterior surfaces were covered with netting as protection against drones, and anti-drone systems were installed on the superstructure and mast. The withdrawal of these prestigious vessels from the Baltic was likely a consequence of Ukrainian drone attacks. The attacks during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, in particular, seem to have led to the realisation that even high-value ships are no longer safe in the Baltic. On June 27, the Russian Navy also moved two submarines and a landing craft from the Baltic Sea through the Fehmarn Belt to the Skagerrak, and on Juen 26 an ocean going tug and a rescue ship. "Presumably, these units, which are very valuable to the Russian president, were thought to be better protected within the area of the Northern Fleet than in the Baltic ports. The German Federal Police escorted the units with the patrol ships "Bamberg" and "Bad Bramstedt". The German Navy deployed the Kiel-based tender "Rhein". By the morning of June 29, the yacht had sailed past the island of Anholt, and by midday, it was heading toward Cape Skagen. Investigators traced the route using vessel tracking services and eyewitness photos. While moving through Danish waters, the yacht was accompanied by the patrol vessel 'Freya-P521'. The escort provided by Danish and German military forces underscored their readiness to monitor situations in their territorial waters and respond to potential threats. Reports with photos: https://www.kn-online.de/schleswig-holstein/luxusyacht-graceful-von-wladimir-putin-verlaesst-ostsee-flucht-vor-drohnen-der-ukraine-FCVDGOESCZCLNB377BLICT7KNY.html https://prm.ua/en/putin-s-yacht-spotted-off-the-coast-of-denmark-under-guard-of-ships-photos-emerge/
Russia's new patrol ship could be a covert yacht for Putin
After nine years of construction, the United Shipbuilding Corporation has delivered the 'Voyevoda' to the Russian Marine Rescue Service, MORSPAS. With wraparound glass on a forward observation deck; refined, curving lines and livery; a reported complement of eight residential suites; and a top speed of 22 knots, the vessel's real purpose may be to serve as a semi-covert yacht for dignitaries, possibly including Vladimir Putin. It is the only ship in the agency without any workboat features, like an aft working deck, a heavy-lift crane or a towing winch, and it appears unequipped for the marine salvage and pollution-response tasks that the division is known for. The patrol ship is fitted to carry four response boats and two helicopters and has a reported range of 5,000 nautical miles. The keel was laid at the Yantar Baltic yard in Kaliningrad in 2017, and the ship was slated for a 2019 delivery. That date was pushed back through the COVID era, and the vessel was finally launched in late 2023. Sea trials and work carried on throughout 2024 and 2025. The ship's completion was formally announced in December 2025.
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