A protest flotilla is sailing to Russian oligarch Alexander Abramov's luxury lodge at Northland's Helena Bay, above, to object to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A sailing fleet that first took to the sea to protest French nuclear testing at Moruroa is on its way to Northland in a show of opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukraine Peace Flotilla '22 is expected at Helena Bay, north of Whangārei, this weekend, weather conditions permitting.
A $50-million waterfront mansion at Helena Bay is the New Zealand home of Russian steel magnate Alexander Abramov, who is said to have ties to President Vladimir Putin.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, has so far forced an estimated 1.5 million people to flee to neighbouring countries and caused an unknown number of deaths.
The flotilla sailors say their protest is not directed at Abramov personally but they want him, and other powerful Russians around the world, to put pressure on Putin to end the war.
A list of Russians banned from entering New Zealand was released by the Prime Minister late yesterday. It does not include Abramov.
The first vessel, a historic schooner named Windborne, left Whitianga on Saturday and will be joined by a number of Auckland-based vessels in coming days.
The flotilla will include the Whangārei-built ketch Vega, which first sailed to Moruroa Atoll in 1973 with Greenpeace founder David McTaggart at the helm.
Organisers have made contact with other veterans of the nuclear protest movement and hope the fleet will be boosted by vessels from Whangārei and the Bay of Islands.
Thomas Everth, one of the flotilla co-ordinators, said the idea sprang from a group of Whitianga residents who had opposed nuclear testing in the Pacific.
"With the situation now brewing in Ukraine, and with the Russian oligarch Abramov having a lodge at Helena Bay, we had the idea to start a peace fleet movement again. We want to send a message, show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and show the world stands united in condemning what's going on."
Everth said all oligarchs enjoyed protection from the Russian state and gave support to the regime in return.
"We feel putting pressure on the oligarchs and their assets is a good way to create internal pressure in Russia ... They may just sway the balance to bring change within Russia, which is the only hope we have to end this bloodshed."
Abramov, and the other 100 or so most influential oligarchs in Russia, stood to lose a lot from the war, including their cosmopolitan lifestyles and ability to jet around the world.
Some European states were planning to seize superyachts owned by members of Russia's central clique, Everth said.
Depending on conditions he expected the flotilla would gather in sheltered Whangaruru Harbour later this week before sailing to Helena Bay on Sunday.
Discussions were under way with Ngātiwai and local residents about an on-shore welcome for the flotilla. That would also provide a chance for people to voice their support for Ukraine.
"People listen to peaceful protests, they don't like protests that throw rocks. We're sailing and showing our support in a peaceful way," Everth said.
He said New Zealand had a long history of peace flotillas which had proved successful in "galvanising the national spirit" in the past.
Protests also played a part in France's decision to end nuclear tests in the Pacific in 1996.
Everth said he recalled Russian tanks rolling into Prague, in what was then Czechoslovakia, when he was a teenager in neighbouring Germany.
"What we're seeing now is a revival of that."
He did not know where Abramov was but strongly doubted he was in New Zealand.
Windborne skipper Avon Hansford, who is leading the fleet, said doing nothing wasn't an option.
"You can't be apathetic … We're just trying to send a message that we abhor what's going on and we'll do everything we can to help them [the Ukrainian people] out."
Hansford didn't expect a response from Abramov but hoped he would see images of the flotilla peacefully flying flags in front of his lodge.
Everth said stores in the Coromandel area had seen a run on yellow and blue nylon fabric as flotilla sailors sewed Ukrainian flags to fly from their vessels.
Abramov, who is 63, controls the steelmaking company Evraz along with fellow Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club in London.
Last week Abramovich put the club up for sale, ahead of potential moves by the British government to seize Russian assets. Abramovich has denied any links to Putin.
Abramov, who has a PhD in physics and mathematics, founded EvrazMetal in 1992.
According to Forbes' Billionaires List 2021, he made his fortune exporting metals and coal from the Ural Mountains and Siberia and is worth US$5.6 billion.
He completed his luxury lodge at Helena Bay in 2016.
Abramov is the main funder of New Zealand-based company Targa Capital, which in partnership with other firms has built apartments in Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown.
It's not clear how close Abramov is to Putin. In 2017 Putin awarded him the Decoration for Beneficence for his public and charity works.
It is not known whether Abramov has been granted New Zealand citizenship or residency.
Late last week the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the Advocate New Zealand did not have the ability to freeze assets or restrict financial services to individuals who were subject to sanctions by other countries.
That is about to change, however, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday announcing fast-tracked legislation for a first of its kind, autonomous sanctions regime targeting the Russian Government.
The sanctions can be imposed on people, services, companies and assets associated with the invasion, or anyone of economic relevance to Russia, including oligarchs.
It could stop, for example, oligarchs bringing superyachts to New Zealand or trying to use New Zealand to bypass sanctions imposed by other countries.
According to the ship-tracking website marinetraffic.com, Abramov's 78m superyacht, Titan, is currently anchored in the Maldives. It is not known whether he is on board.
An oligarch is defined as "a very wealthy business leader with a great deal of political influence", while an oligarchy is "a form of government in which all power is vested in a few people or in a dominant class or clique".
Russia's oligarchs made their fortunes during the privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The latest news bites from around the region.