Russian fishery tycoon, who sues Norway, seeks Arctic sway

When Vladimir Putin visited Kamchatka, in Russia’s Far East, in early September 2022, he held a video conference in which a top representative of Norebo was given five minutes of speaking time.

At the meeting, Vladimir Valter, who heads Norebo's logistics department, outlined how the company is building port infrastructure, shipyards, and fish processing plants.

"The Norebo Group is actively implementing investment projects in the Far East and the North-West aimed at developing port infrastructure, specifically the construction of terminals—notably in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Murmansk—which connect the two endpoints of the Northern Sea Route," he told Putin.

However, more support is needed, Valter emphasised. He explicitly called for favourable long-term financing for the company’s ship repair yard on Kamchatka.

Vladimir Putin expressed his full support for Norebo.

"I believe this is a very important priority," he said. "We’ll do our very best to support you," he added.

Norebo is Russia’s most powerful fishery company. It is owned and managed by Vitaly Orlov, the richest man in the Russian fishing industry, with a net worth of €1.2 billion, according to Forbes (2026).

Orlov has built his fishery empire since the 1990s—initially together with partners Magnus Roth and Aleksandr Tugushev, and since 2016 as the 100 percent owner of the company.

Over the years, an estimated $600 million has been invested in numerous company acquisitions, according to Forbes. Norebo Holding, the parent company, now operates at least 15 companies.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Orlov has expanded significantly within port development and shipbuilding.

In 2022 alone, he bought two shipyards in St Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The Neva-Stapel and Otradnoye shipyards have enabled Norebo to expand the construction of new trawlers and reefers.

On Kamchatka, Orlov is investing heavily in the Seroglazka terminal, which is reported to have the capacity to handle up to one million tonnes of container cargo per year by 2027.

In Minkino, outside Murmansk, Orlov’s new Udarnik terminal reportedly has a capacity to handle 800,000 tonnes of container cargo. It has been developed to serve traffic on the Northern Sea Route, the company informs.

Leading representatives of the Russian government and the Kremlin have been regular guests at Orlov’s facilities.

In September 2024, Putin’s plenipotentiary for Northwest Russia, Aleksandr Gutsan, paid a visit to the Udarnik terminal in Minkino. He was accompanied by Governor Andrei Chibis and Vladimir Grigoriev, director of Norebo Holding, a local newspaper reported.

In December 2023, Governor Chibis accompanied federal Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov on a visit to the Otradnoye yard in St Petersburg.

In December 2021, Yuri Trutnev, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Putin’s plenipotentiary in the Far East, visited Norebo’s ship repair plant in Kamchatka. Photos from the visit show Trutnev together with Vitaly Orlov and Vladimir Valter, as well as Minister for the Far East and Arctic Aleksei Chekunkov and regional governor Vladimir Solovyev.

The new shipyards controlled by Vitaly Orlov allow him to benefit from a generous federal support scheme for the shipbuilding industry. The so-called Programme for Investment Quotas has been designed to help boost the construction of Russian-made trawlers.

According to Ilya Shestyakov, head of Russia’s Fishery Agency, 48 vessels had been built as part of the programme by November 2025. Of these, 25 were fishing vessels and 23 were crab-fishing vessels, he said in a meeting with Vladimir Putin. In addition, 30 fish processing plants had been built in the period. According to Shestyakov, another 24 vessels—13 fishing vessels and 11 crab-fishing vessels—will be built in 2026.

Vitaly Orlov’s shipyards account for a significant share of the new vessels. Reportedly, at least 12 ships were under construction at the two yards in St Petersburg in late 2023.

Putin has repeatedly expressed support for the fishing industry.

"I am confident that the Russian fishing industry—despite all external challenges and attempts to exert pressure through sanctions—will continue to develop steadily and enhance its competitiveness. And the state will certainly provide companies and their workforces with the necessary support to tackle their priority tasks," he said in July 2022.

The comment was made as Putin attended the commissioning ceremony of three new trawlers in St Petersburg, among them Norebo’s Kapitan Sokolov.

According to investigative journalists at the Dossier Centre, Vitaly Orlov and his Norebo are linked with people close to the Kremlin. Reportedly, lawyer Nikolai Yegorov, a former classmate of Vladimir Putin, has helped Orlov obtain major credits from state bank Sberbank. According to Dossier, Sberbank has granted Norebo loans amounting to almost one and a half times the value of the group itself. This is what has allowed Norebo to continue its aggressive expansion, the investigation concludes.

When requesting a comment from Norebo, the journalists from Dossier, all of them living in exile, were told that they would only get answers if they came in person to the company’s Murmansk office

The close relations between Norebo and the Russian authorities have backfired following the war of aggression against Ukraine and Russia’s mounting hostile activities aimed at neighbouring countries.

In May 2025, the company was added to the EU’s sanctions list for alleged involvement in intelligence activities.

According to the EU Council, Norebo’s vessels are involved in espionage.

"The movement patterns [of Norebo’s vessels] have been linked, including by Member States and the authorities of third states, to the Russian state-sponsored surveillance campaign that employs inter alia civilian fishing trawlers to conduct espionage missions directed against civilian and military infrastructure in the North and Baltic Seas. Those activities can facilitate future sabotage operations. […] Norebo JSC has also received several loans from Sberbank, a Russian state-owned bank."

In July 2025, Norway followed suit with the EU and sanctioned Norebo, a move that effectively banned the company from Norwegian ports and waters.

Norebo subsequently took the Norwegian state to court. In addition, the company has threatened Norwegian newspapers, among them Fiskeribladet and the Barents Observer, over their coverage of the company.

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In connection with this article, the Barents Observer has sent several questions to Norebo. We requested feedback on the company’s plans for shipments on the Northern Sea Route and the building of new trawlers, the alleged relationship between Vitaly Orlov and lawyer Nikolai Yegorov, and the effects of international sanctions on company activities. We also requested a comment on Norebo’s lawsuit against the Norwegian state, as well as threats against Norwegian media companies.