Norway seizes Russian expedition ship Professor Molchanov near Spitsbergen
The action on Sept. 3, 2026, was taken to enforce an arbitration award requiring Russia to pay Naftogaz roughly €3.6 billion.
Norway has seized a Russian expedition cruise vessel, the Professor Molchanov, near the archipelago of Spitsbergen on September 3, 2026, acting on a court order at the request of the Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz.
The Norwegian authorities said the move followed a judicial decision enforcing an arbitration award that ordered Russia to pay compensation to Naftogaz for property confiscated on the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea. Russian officials sharply condemned the action.
Legal background
The seizure is intended to give effect to an arbitration ruling that holds Russia liable to pay about €3.6 billion to Naftogaz for assets seized in Crimea after Moscow’s 2014 annexation. Russia has not complied with the award, and Norwegian courts approved enforcement measures against Russian-linked property.
Ship-tracking website Vesselfinder reported that the Professor Molchanov was anchored near the Russian mining settlement of Barentsburg on Spitsbergen at the time of the seizure.
The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the operation, calling it "piracy." Norwegian officials have described the step as a lawful execution of a court order requested by Naftogaz.
Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago, lies midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole and hosts Russian settlements such as Barentsburg. The case adds to mounting legal and diplomatic tensions between Russia and states enforcing court judgments linked to Crimea.
Photo: press material from the event
