‘They can row home’: No sympathy for crew of Russian oligarch’s superyacht stranded in Norway

British skipper of £64m yacht says his colleagues have ‘nothing to do with owner’

A superyacht owned by a Russian oligarch remains stuck in a Norwegian port because no one is willing to sell it fuel in protest at the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

The Ragnar is a 68m long luxury vessel that boasts nine guest cabins, is valued at $85 million (£64m) and is reportedly owned by Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, a former KGB agent who has been linked to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

He denies any wrongdoing and is not on the EU's sanction list.

It had been previously reported that the yacht is stuck in Norway because the local port is refusing to refuel the vessel. Now the crew is saying they are the innocent victims of the standoff.

“We are a western crew of 16,” the yacht’s British captain, Robert Lankester, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, adding that none of the crew is Russian. “We have nothing to do with the owner.”

However, locals in Norway are refusing to help the vessel. They say they do not want to help entities linked in any way to Putin's regime.

"Why should we help them?" Holmlund Oil Service's general manager, Sven Holmlund, told NRK.

"They can row home. Or use a sail."

Earlier this month, authorities in France seized a yacht they linked to Rosneft boss Igor Sechin, who has ties to the Kremlin, in a Mediterranean port.

This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

Finance minister Bruno Le Maire said at the time the vessel was being held in La Ciotat under the terms of the European Union’s massive sanctions package against Russia for starting a war against Ukraine.

“Thanks to the French customs officers who are enforcing the European Union’s sanctions against those close to the Russian government,” M. Le Maire said in a tweet.

A finance ministry press release said the yacht was owned by an entity of which Mr Sechin had been identified as the main shareholder.

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