In a secret Arctic operation, Putin’s yacht was moved from Severomorsk to Kamchatka
The dictator’s luxury yacht, Kosatka, has been transferred to the Pacific via the Northern Sea Route, accompanied by the notorious salvage ship Voevoda.
A photo published by military observer Massimo Frantarelli on Bluesky shows the Voevoda in the Russian Pacific port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The same photo, reportedly taken on 14 September, also depicts a vessel that resembles the Kosatka.
The 82-metre yacht had been in Severomorsk, the headquarters of Russia’s Northern Fleet, since early July this year.
Together with the Voevoda and the anti-submarine destroyer Severomorsk, the Kosatka sailed from the Baltic Sea to the Kola Peninsula in an apparent attempt to move beyond the range of Ukrainian drones. After about one and a half months in Severomorsk, the yacht proceeded eastward along the Northern Sea Route to the far-eastern peninsula of Kamchatka.
As was the case during its voyage from the Baltic to Severomorsk, the Kosatka was likely accompanied by the Voevoda on its transfer to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The departure from Severomorsk likely took place in mid-August. The yacht was visible in satellite images from Dataspace Copernicus on 12 August but had disappeared by 14 August.
The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten published a high-resolution satellite image of the ship in Severomorsk dated 15 July.
It remains unclear whether the Kosatka and Voevoda sailed independently across the remote Arctic waters or were accompanied by supporting ships.
They may have been assisted by a heavy-lift carrier. Several heavy-load vessels have sailed in the region this summer, including the Bright Ocean (IMO: 9830769) and Glory Ocean (IMO: 9934498), which delivered LNG plant modules from China to Belokamenka on the Kola Peninsula via the Northern Sea Route in July. Both ships returned to China using the same Arctic route.
The Kosatka has no ice-class protection and is highly vulnerable in the harsh and remote Arctic waters. Although most of the Northern Sea Route is free of sea ice by late August, drift ice remains in areas such as the Vilkitsky Strait.
The yacht was originally named Graceful but was renamed Kosatka—the Russian word for "killer whale"—after the United States imposed sanctions on the vessel in 2022.
An investigation by Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation in 2023 found that the level of luxury on board the Kosatka is extraordinary.
The Voevoda is also no ordinary ship. It reportedly features premium accommodation, including eight suites—each with a bedroom, bathroom, and study—as well as a conference room and a passenger lounge with buffet facilities. The vessel can carry four motorboats and accommodate two helicopters.
The first ship in a new class of salvage vessels, the Voevoda was commissioned in early 2026 after nine years of construction.
