---
title: "Yacht Graceful escorted by a destroyer passes through Danish straits: convoy movement details"
description: "A Russian convoy with the yacht Graceful, linked to Putin, passed through the Danish straits under the escort of a destroyer. The vessel, which turned off its tracker in 2022, was escorted by the Danish fleet and the German coast guard. 🚢🇩🇰"
date: 2026-06-29T12:58:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/yacht-graceful-escorted-by-destroyer-passes-through-danish-straits
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Yacht Graceful escorted by a destroyer passes through Danish straits: convoy movement details

![Yacht Graceful at anchor in the port next to MSC cruise liner](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/29/yakheta-graceful-proshla-cherez-datskie-prolivy-pod-escortom/yakheta-graceful-proshla-cherez-datskie-prolivy-pod-escortom-1.webp)

An unusual Russian convoy was recorded in the waters of Denmark. It included the megayacht Graceful, which international observers and media link to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Information about the route is confirmed by data from the Danish public broadcaster DR and reports from the DR Verificer project.

### Route and Escort

The vessel's movement began on Monday night. The yacht passed through the Great Belt strait, passed the island of Anholt in the morning, and by day reached the area of Skagen Cape. Graceful did not travel alone: it was accompanied by a Russian destroyer and a patrol ship.

The movement of the convoy was monitored by the security forces of two countries. Since Sunday, the ships have been watched by the Danish fleet and the German coast guard. Directly in Danish territorial waters, the escort was carried out by the patrol ship P521 "Freya".

### Military Reaction and Vessel Status

The Danish Defence Command commented on the situation, calling the military actions routine practice. The department's statement clarifies that the Armed Forces regularly escort foreign state vessels passing through the Danish straits, using appropriate resources.

The route aroused special interest due to the history of the vessel. On August 30, 2022, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the yacht Graceful turned off the Automatic Identification System (AIS). Since then, it has almost disappeared from international tracking systems, appearing only in St. Petersburg.

### Characteristics and Context

Graceful is a vessel more than 80 meters long. According to Forbes estimates, the cost of the yacht exceeds 750 million Danish kroner (approximately $115 million). The final destination of the current convoy remains unknown at this time.

Previously, in 2023, the investigative center "Dossier" reported that the fleet associated with Putin could include up to ten yachts and auxiliary vessels. At that time, the megayacht Victoria and the boat Orion were identified, which had not previously appeared in open sources.