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🇮🇸 Iceland /Conflict & Security

Russian ship seized over $4 billion Naftogaz claim

From Morgunblaðið · () Icelandic

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

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • The Svalbard governor seized and detained the Russian research and passenger ship Professor Moltsjanov in Barentsburg, while a Norwegian court ordered it to remain there until further notice.
  • Naftogaz is seeking to enforce a $4.2 billion international arbitration award against Russia over assets seized after the annexation of Crimea.
  • The ship’s crew and passengers have not been arrested, and the vessel’s detention concerns the ship itself.

The Russian research and passenger ship Professor Moltsjanov is being held at anchor in Barentsburg after the governor of Svalbard seized it over a Ukrainian claim worth 4.2 billion U.S. dollars, or about 510 billion Icelandic krónur.

The District Court of North Troms and Senja ordered the vessel to remain detained until the court or the Svalbard governor decides otherwise. The crew and passengers have not been arrested. They are receiving hospitality from the governor and Trust Arktikugol, the Russian mining company that has operated on Svalbard for years and now focuses mainly on tourism rather than coal mining.

An important step toward achieving justice for Russia’s illegal takeover of Naftogaz’s assets in Crimea.

— Sergii FedorenkoNaftogaz’s acting chief executive described the ship’s detention as part of efforts to enforce the arbitration award.

The Norwegian newspaper VG reported that the detention followed a request from Naftogaz, Ukraine’s oil and gas company. Naftogaz won an international arbitration case in The Hague over Russian seizures of its assets in Crimea after the peninsula’s 2014 annexation. Russia has been ordered to pay $4.2 billion in compensation.

Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitration ruling.

— Sergii FedorenkoFedorenko said Russia could not avoid the compensation order by rejecting the arbitration decision.

Sergii Fedorenko, Naftogaz’s acting chief executive, called the detention “an important step toward achieving justice for Russia’s illegal takeover of Naftogaz’s assets in Crimea.” He added that “Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitration ruling.”

Naftogaz is searching for Russian assets in Europe to enforce the award, and Svalbard has drawn attention because Russia owns substantial property there. Writer and Svalbard specialist Per Arne Totland said Russian assets in Western Europe offered limited opportunities, while the archipelago presented more options. After sanctions complicated the transport of Russian goods and passengers through Norway, Russian operators began sailing between Murmansk and Barentsburg last year. Professor Moltsjanov was used for that route and carried both goods and passengers.

There is no fat pig to butcher among Russian assets in Western Europe, but they own assets in Svalbard. That is why the Ukrainians are looking there.

— Per Arne TotlandThe Svalbard specialist explained why Naftogaz was focusing on Russian property in the archipelago.
About this summary

Originally published by Morgunblaðið in Icelandic. 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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