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🇮🇱 Israel /Energy & Infrastructure

Norway Seizes Russian Ship to Enforce $4.2 Billion Ukrainian Energy Claim

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources In the courts
  • Norway seized the Russian-owned Professor Molchanov near Svalbard to enforce a $4.22 billion arbitration award won by Ukraine’s Naftogaz.
  • The award concerns Russian seizure of Naftogaz assets in Crimea after Moscow’s 2014 annexation, but Russia has not paid it and is appealing the enforcement process.
  • Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the seizure “piracy,” while Naftogaz said it would continue pursuing Russian assets in multiple jurisdictions.

Norway has seized a Russian-owned commercial cruise vessel in the Arctic at the request of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, seeking to enforce a $4.22 billion compensation award against Russia.

The Professor Molchanov was taken off Svalbard after a 24-hour standoff with the Norwegian Coast Guard, according to Covington, the US law firm representing Naftogaz. The Nord-Troms and Senja District Court approved the arrest application on Monday and ordered the governor of Svalbard to hold and supervise the vessel and prevent it from being moved.

piracy

· Russian Foreign Ministry spokespersonRussia’s Foreign Ministry rejected Norway’s seizure of the vessel.

Naftogaz has pursued compensation since 2016 over the expropriation of its property in Crimea after Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014. A tribunal in The Hague ordered Russia in April 2023 to pay $4.22 billion, plus interest and legal costs. Moscow has not complied and is appealing the enforcement process, saying it received no notice.

Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award

· Sergii FedorenkoThe Naftogaz acting chief executive defended the enforcement action.

Covington said it had tracked the vessel for months and anticipated its arrival in Svalbard on the way to Barentsburg, a Russian mining settlement. The governor’s office confirmed that the ship had been seized and would remain in Svalbard.

“Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award,” said Naftogaz Acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko. The company said it was coordinating enforcement measures in the United States, France, Britain and Finland, where Russian assets have been frozen. “We will continue to pursue Russian assets around the world until the compensation awarded to Naftogaz and other Naftogaz Group companies is paid,” the company said. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the action “piracy,” according to TASS.

We will continue to pursue Russian assets around the world until the compensation awarded to Naftogaz and other Naftogaz Group companies is paid

· NaftogazThe Ukrainian company described its plans to enforce the arbitration award.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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