Russian mega yacht gets approval to dock
Government says it has ‘no reason’ to apply sanctions brought against Russian tycoon Alexey Mordashov and that his $500m mega yacht is free to dock in Cape Town, reports Business Tech.
Mordashov is the biggest shareholder in steelmaker Severstal PJSC and was sanctioned by the EU, the UK and US after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The mogul’s 142-metre Nord passed north of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, yesterday and is expected to arrive in Cape Town on 9 November 2022, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
City mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on Monday called for the vessel to be denied entry. But the government, which in March abstained from a UN vote condemning the invasion, rejected the plea.
‘SA has no legal obligation to abide by sanctions imposed by the US and EU,’ said presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
‘We have no reason to prevent their entry into SA.’
When Tshwane’s then mayor Solly Msimanga (DA) visited Taiwan in 2016, the ANC blew a fuse and accused him of ‘treason’ because it said he had violated Beijing’s ‘One China’ policy, to which Pretoria adhered.
Msimanga eventually moved to defuse the row by writing to the Chinese embassy to explain that his trip had not been intended to violate Beijing’s policy, but only to explore opportunities for cooperation in good governance and business.
The Daily Maverick reports that the episode of the superyacht raises some interesting questions about the limitations of foreign policy conducted by subnational governments.
This foreign policy by provinces and cities has been termed ‘paradiplomacy’.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
