Norway seizes Russian passenger ship at Ukraine’s request
OSLO, Sept. 03 (YPA) – Norway’s authorities have detained the Russian passenger vessel Professor Molchanov in the Svalbard archipelago at the request of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, as Kyiv seeks to enforce a $4.22 billion arbitration award against Moscow.
The vessel was detained following a decision issued by the Nord-Troms District Court on August 31. Svalbard Governor Lars Fosse subsequently ordered that the ship be barred from leaving its current location in Barentsburg.
Naftogaz secured a $4.22 billion arbitration award in 2023 over Russia’s seizure of the company’s assets in Crimea following Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014. After Russia refused to enforce the ruling, the Ukrainian company turned to courts in several countries seeking the seizure of Russian commercial assets to recover the funds awarded to it.
Naftogaz CEO Sergei Fedorenko described the detention as a step demonstrating that Russia would not be able to evade its responsibilities, saying the company would continue tracking down Russian assets in different parts of the world.
Moscow, meanwhile, rejected treating the case as merely a commercial dispute. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the seizure of Russian civilian vessels and attacks on commercial shipping as acts of “state terrorism.”
Putin also criticized recent warnings by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to foreign airlines operating flights to Russia, linking the warnings to the detention of the vessel and saying such developments further complicate prospects for future peace negotiations.
Moscow said the Norwegian decision has political implications and should not be treated as a purely commercial dispute. Russian Ambassador to Norway Nikolai Korchunov described the detention as a politically motivated violation of international law, saying Russia would challenge the decision. The Russian Embassy also said it remained in contact with the vessel’s crew and passengers.
The Professor Molchanov is used for commercial expedition and tourist voyages and is particularly known for trips around the Svalbard archipelago.
The detention comes amid broader Ukrainian efforts to pursue Russian assets abroad to recover billions of dollars, with the dispute evolving from a conflict over energy assets in Crimea to efforts to seize Russian commercial assets in distant regions, including Arctic waters.
Moscow views the Norwegian move as part of a growing series of measures with political implications, despite its formal presentation as a legal action related to enforcement of the arbitration award.