Russian Naval Escort Accompanies Superyacht Graceful

An unusual convoy of three Russian vessels, including the superyacht Graceful, which foreign media outlets such as Forbes have described as Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal yacht, sailed through Danish waters on Monday.

The Graceful transited the Great Belt shortly after midnight before passing the island of Anholt in the morning and heading towards Skagen in the afternoon. The yacht was escorted by a Russian destroyer and a Russian patrol vessel.

According to Danish broadcaster DR, the voyage is unusual because the Graceful has had its Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmitter switched off since 30 August 2022, shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the yacht has largely remained off public tracking systems, although it was spotted in St Petersburg in the Baltic Sea.

Since Sunday morning, the convoy has been monitored by the Danish Navy and the German Coast Guard. On Monday, the Danish patrol vessel P521 Freja was trailing the Russian ships.

The Danish Defence Command said monitoring foreign vessels transiting the Danish straits is a routine task. The destination of the convoy remains unknown.

(dr, bak)