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Attempt to lift arrest rejected by court
An attempt by the state-owned Russian company Trust Arcticugol to lift the arrest of the 'Professor Molchanov' in Svalbard was rejected by the Senja district court. The company, which operates in Barentsburg and Pyramiden, was affected by the fact that the ship has been arrested, since it has been transporting goods to Svalbard. The ship was taken into custody by the Governor of Svalbard on Sep 2, following an order from the district court, which followed a legal request from the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz, and ordered to dock in Barentsburg. The background for the request is a judgment in The Hague from 2023, in which Russia was required to pay a compensation of 5 billion dollars to Naftogaz for seized values in Krym. In dealing with the claim from Trust Arcticugol, the court pointed out that Russia was originally the defendant in the case, and that Russia had every opportunity to pursue the claim for the lifting of temporary protection. The Trust Arcticugol was sentenced in the district court to pay NOK 2.9 million in legal costs.
Russia filed formal objection regarding seizure
On Sep 11, Russia filed a formal objection regarding the seizure of the 'Professor Molchanov' in Barentsburg by the lawyer Arnt Angell, who represented the state-owned Russian company Trust Arktikugol in Svalbard. The Nord-Troms and Senja District Court has received the objection to the seizure and a request for an oral hearing, but a date for the court hearing has not yet been set. The seizure stemmed from a legal request by the Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz to recover assets expropriated by Russia during the annexation of Crimea in 2014. In April 2023, a tribunal in The Hague ordered Russia to pay the state-owned gas company Naftogaz $4.22 billion in compensation, plus interest and legal costs. Based on the arbitration tribunal's decision in The Hague, Naftogaz has utilised the legal systems of several countries to pursue compensation. The PCA ruling was issued with a dissenting opinion, and Russia has challenged the validity of the judgment in The Hague; this case has not yet reached a final, binding conclusion. Several countries have authorised Naftogaz to use their legal systems to collect the compensation, including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Austria. Legal proceedings were also underway in the United States. Russia claimed the seizure violated the Svalbard Treaty. Late last week, 69 people from the seized ship were sent back to Russia.
Passengers and crew members repatriated to Russia
Norway has repatriated passengers and some crew members from the seized 'Professor Molchanov'. The 69 Russian citizens were flown out via the Norwegian town of Kirkenes on Sep 8. The seizure was based on a Norwegian court order enforcing an arbitration ruling that required Russia to pay compensation to Naftogaz. The case concerneds assets that Russia had seized during its annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The Governor of Svalbard stated that they had merely enforced applicable law. On Sep 3, the Russian Embassy in Norway demanded the "immediate release" of the ship and announced plans to challenge the measure legally. According to the Russian Embassy, the ship served as the sole supply link for Russian settlements on Svalbard, given the sanctions Norway has imposed since the Russian attack on Ukraine. The archipelago is under Norwegian sovereignty pursuant to a 1920 treaty. However, nationals of the contracting states have been permitted to extract mineral resources there under equal conditions. Russia operates a coal mine in Barentsburg.
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