How an ex-CIA agent is tracking the luxurious superyachts of Russian oligarchs | CBC Radio

Yacht watching has emerged as the newest global sport, as Russia's mega-rich oligarchs rush to move their massive, luxury boats out of Western waters.

Following sanctions from the European Union and the United States, governments and residents are sharing their sightings of the superyachts as they attempt to cruise away.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union speech last week that his country will find and seize the yachts, luxury apartments and private jets of sanctioned Russians.

"We are coming for your ill-begotten gains," he said.

Alex Finley is a former CIA officer living in Barcelona, Spain, near a busy harbour at Port Vull. She started the hashtag #YachtWatch after spotting some significant yachts in her neighbourhood, such as Russian business magnate Alisher Usmanov's Dilbar, valued at $600 million US ($765 Cdn).

"These are really big, glimmering, sleek, technologically-advanced machines," Finley told As It Happens guest host Gillian Findlay.