Norway repatriates 69 Russians from ship seized in Arctic

Norwegian authorities said Tuesday they helped repatriate 69 Russians who got stranded in the Arctic after a Russian ship was seized at the demand of Ukrainian state energy group Naftogaz. Citing a Norwegian court order, the governor of Svalbard on September 2nd announced the seizure of the Professor Molchanov - a vessel used to shuttle people between Russia and Barentsburg, a Russian mining community in the Norwegian archipelago located 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) south of the North Pole. "After good dialogue with the consul general of the Russian Federation in Barentsburg and representatives from (Russian state-owned coal mining company) Trust Arktikugol, the governor has today assisted 69 Russian citizens back to Russia," a statement from the governor's office said. The Russian nationals returned via Kirkenes, a town in northern Norway near the Russian border, on Tuesday afternoon, it added. The vessel was seized as Naftogaz sought $4.2 billion from Russia in compensation for the seizure of its assets following Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea. In 2023, a Hague-based arbitration tribunal ruled in favour of the Ukrainian company, a ruling Norway recognises. Naftogaz is seeking the sale of the vessel to cover part of its claim, but the Norwegian courts have postponed final decisions to give Russia the opportunity to challenge the seizure of the vessel. The Russian embassy in Norway has already announced that it will appeal the decision handed down on August 31st by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court. The financial dispute has also sparked diplomatic tensions. Advertisement Russia's embassy in Norway last week called for the vessels "immediate release", slamming the seizure as "a politically motivated violation of international law". The Russian foreign ministry also summoned the Norwegian ambassador to Russia in Moscow. Norwegian authorities meanwhile argue they are not "a party" in the case, and that Svalbard's governor is obliged to execute the court's order. Svalbard is governed by a 1920 treaty, which while recognising Norwegian sovereignty also grants nationals of all the contracting parties the right to exploit natural resources there "on a footing of absolute equality". Russia operates a coal mine in the village of Barentsburg, where around 350 Russian and Russian-speaking Ukrainians live, as well as another smaller settlement called Pyramiden.