Norway seizes Russia's Svalbard liner
The Governor of Svalbard confirms that the Professor Molchanov, the Russian passenger vessel operating a second season of voyages between Murmansk and the Russian settlement on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago, has been seized at port in Barentsburg.
Norwegian authorities have seized the Russian vessel Professor Molchanov at the port of Barentsburg in Svalbard. The arrest is made after the request of Naftogaz Group, the company said.
Naftogaz Group is Ukraine’s state-owned energy group, centred on the National Joint Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine. It is one of the country’s largest energy companies and plays a central role in Ukraine’s energy security.
The seizure is part of global efforts to enforce an arbitral award secured by Naftogaz and other Group companies against the Russian Federation over the unlawful expropriation of their assets in Crimea, which Russia illegally occupied in 2014.
The Nord-Troms and Senja District Court ordered the seizure on 31 August 2026 to secure enforcement of the Russian Federation’s outstanding obligations under the award, which amount to approximately $4.22 billion, plus interest and costs.
The arbitral award had previously been recognised as enforceable in Norway, according to a statement from the Naftogaz Group.
"The Governor of Svalbard, acting as the enforcement authority, seized the vessel on Wednesday, 2 September 2026, following an order from the Nord-Troms District Court," the Governor said in a statement Wednesday evening.
"It has been decided that the vessel will remain berthed in Barentsburg until the Governor or the Nord-Troms District Court decides otherwise," the Governor said.
The Governor assures that it will take responsibility for the crew and passengers on board in cooperation with Arktikugol.
The Professor Molchanov has previously sailed with students and researchers from the Northern Arctic Federal University (NArFU) in Arkhangelsk. It made its first voyage to the Russian settlement of Barentsburg in June 2025.
The Professor Molchanov - an oceanographic research vessel originally built in Finland 43 years ago - is owned by the Russian Federation and has made several voyages between Murmansk and Barentsburg this season, carrying various groups of passengers.
As previously reported by the Barents Observer, the plan was for the vessel to make ten return trips in cooperation with Arktikugol, the Russian state-owned company that operates Moscow’s businesses on Svalbard.
Until the vessel began sailing directly from Murmansk last year, Russian citizens travelling to Svalbard had to fly via Tromsø or Oslo. This required a valid Schengen visa and passage through Norwegian passport control. After Norway stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens, only those affiliated with Arktikugol were able to obtain visas to transit through mainland Norway.
Svalbard is outside the Schengen area, and citizens of all countries that are party to the Svalbard Treaty have the right to enter the archipelago. For passengers arriving on expedition cruise ships, the only requirement is that the shipping company submits a passenger list 48 hours before docking. The Governor of Svalbard then carries out identity checks upon arrival.
