The Russian passenger ship Professor Molchanov has been seized by Norwegian authorities near the Arctic island of Svalbard, following a request submitted by the Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz. The company announced the news in a statement, and it was confirmed to the media by police.
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The action is linked to the enforcement of an arbitration ruling under which Moscow must pay $4.22 billion for the “illegal seizure” of assets belonging to the Ukrainian group during the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
A Norwegian court ordered the seizure on August 31, 2026, to ensure the repayment of the Russian debt, interest and related costs, the Ukrainian company said.
Naftogaz’s acting chief executive, Sergei Fedorenko, described the measure as another important step toward delivering justice following Russia’s illegal seizure of the company’s assets in Crimea.
Fedorenko added that the search for Russian assets would continue worldwide until the compensation awarded to Naftogaz and the other companies in the Naftogaz group was paid in full.
According to VesselFinder data, the Professor Molchanov is anchored in the mining town of Barentsburg.
Svalbard police also confirmed that the measure had been enforced. Police officer Håkon Finstad said the institution had received a court order for the preliminary seizure of the Professor Molchanov and that the procedure had been carried out that day in Barentsburg.
