Norway seized the Russian expedition cruise ship Professor Molchanov off the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard on Wednesday to enforce a compensation claim by Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz linked to Russian expropriation of assets in Crimea.
Moscow had failed to pay Naftogaz $4.22 billion plus interest and legal costs after a 2023 tribunal ruling at The Hague. Covington, the U.S. law firm representing Naftogaz, said the vessel was taken after a 24-hour standoff with the Norwegian Coast Guard and that the firm had tracked the ship for months.
In a post on X, Naftogaz said the seizure was part of global efforts to enforce the arbitral award for unlawful expropriation of assets in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko said Russia cannot evade responsibility by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award and that Naftogaz would continue pursuing Russian assets worldwide.
Russian state news agency TASS quoted a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson calling the Norwegian action “piracy.” Alexei Chekunkov, Russia’s minister for the development of the Far East and Arctic, said Moscow would challenge the ruling and, according to Interfax, called the seizure another example of Western “legal nihilism and lawlessness.” Naftogaz said passengers aboard were being handled by Norwegian authorities.
Sources: Al Jazeera.
