Alex Finley has four yachts. Each ship seems more imposing than the previous one. This March 13, in Tarragona, near Barcelona, on the Tarraco port, the former CIA officer who has become the author of spy novels is launched with two friends on a somewhat special hunt. They are looking for the Crescent. One hundred and thirty-five meters long, five levels, a swimming pool, two helipads and a “atrium surrounded by bay windows”, according to YachtCharterFleet.com.
The latest GPS coordinates available on the MarineTraffic platform, released in November, placed the vessel in Catalonia, near Barcelona. It is there on this pier specially designed to accommodate “superyachts”, from 45 meters to 160 meters long. the Crescent is separated from other boats, partly camouflaged by a barrier to avoid prying eyes. “Given its size, it only covered a tiny part at the stern,” says Alex Finley, by WhatsApp.
She investigates, hoping to discover the identity of the owner, which has remained secret. On March 16, the Reuters agency revealed that it belonged to the oligarch Igor Setchin, CEO of the hydrocarbon company Rosneft, targeted by European sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the aftermath, the gigantic ship is seized by the Spanish authorities.
Symbols of a “kleptocracy” linked to Putin
Based in Barcelona, Alex Finley first conducted this type of “research” for his intelligence work within the CIA. Once converted into an author, she uses her knowledge to feed her fictions. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, she has been posting the results of this unprecedented quest on his Twitter account (followed by more than 40,000 people today), with the hashtag #yachtwatch. Until becoming one of the most respected personalities of stalking enthusiasts.
Today, thousands of people actively participate in this little game of cat and mouse, Russian oligarch version. It is difficult to estimate their number more precisely. This amazing community randomly brings together anonymous people, former intelligence services, students and a few tech entrepreneurs. “In two weeks, I tracked down so many yachts,” says Alex Finley.
And the hunt continues. To track yachts and private jets belonging to the Russian elite, this online community multiplies the strategies. The revelations contained in journalistic investigations, such as the “Pandora Papers” published in the fall of 2021, allow them to find the owners of these assets. So just follow them. For this, the GPS coordinates of private planes and yachts are generally publicly available. So much so that, since the beginning of March, four oligarchs have decided to break the law by stopping the dissemination of their contact details to the maritime authorities.
You have 49.13% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.