despite the ongoing blockade of the critical shipping channel. The 142m-long (465 ft) multi-deck luxury boat, named Nord, is linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov. It travelled from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, over the weekend - one of few private vessels to transit through the strait in recent months. Iran held high-level talks with Russia this week as its standoff with the US over the strait's re-opening continues. Approximately one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies normally pass through the waterway. Mordashov, who has close ties to Putin, is not listed as the formal owner of the Russian-flagged boat. However, Nord's records indicate it was registered to a firm owned by his wife in 2022. Nord, estimated to be worth more than $500m (£370m), left Dubai on Friday night and arrived at Al Mouj - a marina in Oman's capital - on Sunday morning, according to data on the Marine Traffic platform. The route shown on the tracker has been used by vessels crossing with agreement from Iran.

It is not clear whether Nord gained permission from Iran to sail through the route. Mordashov made his fortune largely through his steel and mining company Severstal - the largest such firm in Russia. With an estimated net worth of about $37bn (£27bn), he is the richest Russian national listed by the US business magazine Forbes. Iran has severely restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli strikes that began on 28 February. (BBC)