Norway seizes Russian ship in Arctic over Crimea compensation claim

Moscow challenges Norway’s seizure of vessel, the Professor Molchanov, calling it an act of piracy.Published On 3 Sep 20263 Sep 2026Norway has seized a Russian ship in ⁠the Arctic to ⁠enforce a compensation claim by Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz, linked to Russian asset seizures in Crimea.Norway seized the ship on Wednesday, after Moscow failed to pay Naftogaz $4.22bn plus interest and legal costs to compensate for ⁠assets it seized in ⁠Crimea after a tribunal ruling at The Hague in 2023.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Putin and Zelenskyy issue threats as strikes rock Ukraine, Russialist 2 of 3Three myths about the Russia economic warlist 3 of 3Putin slams West’s ‘war hysteria’ as EU mulls Russian assets for Ukraineend of listIn a post on X, Naftogaz said the seizure made up “part of global efforts to enforce the arbitral award obtained by Naftogaz against the Russian Federation in connection with the unlawful expropriation of their assets in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014”.The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was taken off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard after a 24-hour standoff with the Norwegian Coast Guard, according ⁠to Covington, th...