Norwegian courts have ordered the seizure of a Russian ship in the Arctic as part of a $4.22 billion compensation claim won by Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz against Moscow.
The claim stems from Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, during which Moscow seized Naftogaz assets, prompting the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague to rule against Russia in 2023.
The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was stopped from departing the port in Barentsburg, a Russian coal mining settlement in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, late on Wednesday.
The US law firm Covington, which represents Naftogaz, was the first to announce the seizure after tracking the ship for several months prior to the action.
Covington’s application was approved on Monday by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court, which instructed Svalbard’s governor to ensure the ship remained docked upon arrival.
The Svalbard governor’s office confirmed the seizure in a statement, saying it would care for those aboard the vessel in collaboration with Trust Arktikugol, the Russian enterprise that administers the Barentsburg settlement.
Naftogaz acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko issued a pointed statement following the seizure, saying “Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award.”
Russia had refused to pay the arbitration fine, including legal fees and interest, and Naftogaz has since pursued the forced sale of Russian commercial assets through local courts in various jurisdictions.
Russia’s ambassador to Norway, Nikolai Korchunov, responded on Thursday, stating that Moscow would pursue the ship’s release through legal channels and insisting on “the immediate release of the vessel and on ensuring the safety of its passengers and crew.”
The Kremlin also summoned Norway’s ambassador in Moscow to lodge a formal diplomatic complaint over the seizure.
Norway’s Justice Ministry distanced the government in Oslo from the matter, noting that “Russia can demand that the district court reassess the case,” framing it as a legal rather than a political issue.
The Professor Molchanov, a repurposed research vessel, had arrived in Barentsburg on Tuesday carrying a party of Russian scientists, according to a journalist traveling with the group.
Andrei Gorbunov, editor-in-chief of Komsomolskaya Pravda radio, wrote on the outlet’s website that “the seizure has had no impact on the expedition participants or the ship’s crew,” adding that “no one has been arrested.”
Gorbunov noted that “the Professor Molchanov is simply forbidden from leaving the port of Barentsburg,” while acknowledging it remained unclear how long the restriction would remain in place.
Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago well north of mainland Norway, has been recognized as Norwegian territory since 1925 under an international treaty that designates it a demilitarized zone open to nationals of signatory states without visa requirements.
The Soviet Union developed three settlements on the archipelago, including Barentsburg, which now has a remnant population of around 300 mostly Russian nationals, alongside the near-abandoned Pyramiden and the ghost town of Grumant.
