dubai, April 28 -- A superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, shipping data showed, one of very few vessels to transit the blockaded shipping lane at the heart of the US-Iran conflict. Nord - a 142-metre yacht worth over $500 million - left a Dubai marina on Friday, crossed the strait on Saturday, and arrived in Muscat early on Sunday, according to data on the MarineTraffic platform. It is not clear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel gained permission to use the route. A representative of steel magnate Mordashov declined to comment on Monday. Just a few, mainly merchant vessels, have been passing daily through the crucial waterway at the entrance to the Gulf as Washington and Tehran maintain an uneasy ceasefire. In a countermeasure, the US has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports. This represents a fraction of the average 125 to 140 daily passages before the Iran war began on February 28. Mordashov, known to be close to Putin, is not officially listed as the owner of Nord. But shipping data and Russian corporate records from 2025 show the vessel was registered to a Russian firm owned by his wife in 2022. This firm is registered in the Russian town of Cherepovets, where Mordashov's steelmaker Severstal is also registered....