Norway seizes Russian vessel near Svalbard to enforce Naftogaz award
The ship Professor Molchanov was detained after a 24-hour standoff — The Hague award from April 2023 orders $4.22 billion to Naftogaz.
Norway has seized a Russian research vessel in Arctic waters to satisfy an arbitration award won by Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz for the seizure of its assets after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. The award requires Moscow to pay $4.22 billion to Naftogaz.
The detained ship, Professor Molchanov, was intercepted near the Svalbard archipelago following a 24-hour standoff with the Norwegian Coast Guard, according to Covington, the American law firm representing Naftogaz. A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the Norwegian action as piracy.
Enforcement after a long-running legal battle
Naftogaz initiated legal proceedings against Russia in 2016 seeking compensation for the expropriation of its Crimean assets. In April 2023 a court in The Hague ordered Russia to pay $4.22 billion plus interest and legal costs, a judgment that Moscow has not complied with.
The seizure near Svalbard is the latest attempt to enforce that award by identifying and detaining Russian property abroad. The operation involved the Norwegian Coast Guard and resulted in the vessel being taken into custody to allow claimants to pursue the court-ordered recovery.
The move is likely to add tension to already strained relations between Norway and Russia, while offering Naftogaz a tangible step toward enforcing an international arbitral award that has remained unpaid for years.
Photo: Нафтогаз)
