Norway has seized a Russian commercial cruise ship off the Svalbard archipelago at the request of Ukrainian oil and gas firm Naftogaz, which is seeking enforcement of a $4.22 billion award over Russia’s asset expropriation when it annexed Crimea.
“At the request of Naftogaz Group, Norwegian authorities have seized the Russian vessel Professor Molchanov at the port of Barentsburg in Svalbard as part of global efforts to enforce the arbitral award obtained by Naftogaz and other Group companies against the Russian Federation in connection with the unlawful expropriation of their assets in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014,” the Ukrainian company said in a statement.
In 2023, a tribunal in The Hague ordered Russia to pay Naftogaz more than $5 billion for Russia’s treaty violations and the seizure of Naftogaz assets following the Russian annexation of Crimea back in 2014.
Naftogaz and its international legal counsel Covington & Burling LLP have been tracking the Professor Molchanov vessel for months and the arbitral award has been recognized as enforceable in Norway.
The ship was finally seized off Svalbard after the seizure was ordered by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court in Norway on 31 August, 2026. The seizure was ordered to “secure enforcement of the Russian Federation’s outstanding obligations under the arbitral award, amounting to approximately $4.22 billion plus interest and costs,” Naftogaz said.
“We will continue to pursue Russian assets around the world until the compensation awarded to Naftogaz and other Naftogaz Group companies is paid,” Naftogaz’s acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko said.
The Professor Molchanov vessel is owned by the Russian Federation and is used for commercial expedition cruises, including to Svalbard.
Under the court order of the Norwegian district court, the vessel may not leave its current location. The Governor of Svalbard is required to take the necessary measures to prevent the vessel from being moved.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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