Norwegian authorities have seized the Russian vessel Professor Molchanov in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, following a request from Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz.
The seizure is linked to a $4.22 billion compensation award that an international tribunal in The Hague ordered Russia to pay Naftogaz in 2023. The award relates to Russia’s seizure of the Ukrainian company’s assets in Crimea following Russia’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula.
A Norwegian court ordered the vessel to be held in Svalbard as part of efforts to enforce the arbitration ruling. The ship, which is owned by the Russian state, was in Barentsburg, a Russian-operated settlement on Svalbard, when it was seized.
Naftogaz said Russia cannot avoid its financial obligations simply by refusing to comply with the international ruling and vowed to continue pursuing Russian assets in other countries until the compensation is paid.
Russia has strongly condemned the seizure, describing it as “piracy” and accusing Western countries of acting unlawfully. Norway, however, says the action is a legal enforcement measure based on a Norwegian court order rather than a direct political action by the government.