Professor Molchanov held in Barentsburg under court order

The Barents Observer said a district court in northern Norway granted an application from Naftogaz on 31 August to seize the Russian vessel Professor Molchanov. Polar Journal said Sysselmesteren (the Governor of Svalbard) enforced the order on 2 September in Barentsburg. The ship must stay there until the governor or the competent court decides otherwise.

Polar Journal said the claim by the Ukrainian energy group Naftogaz against Russia is about US$4.22 billion with interest and costs, based on a 2023 arbitration award in The Hague. Russia does not recognise the tribunal's jurisdiction, the journal said. The Russian side cites state immunity and the ship's links with Roshydromet, while Naftogaz points to commercial use. The Barents Observer said the ship has played no big part in supplying Barentsburg, contrary to what the Russian Embassy in Oslo and Trust Arktikugol (Russia's state-owned company on Svalbard) have said. Arnt Angell, lawyer for Trust Arktikugol, told the court the trust and the people of Barentsburg and Pyramiden are hit financially by the arrest. He said the alternative supply lines are expensive and limited, also because of the geopolitical situation, NRK reported.

Nord-Troms og Senja tingrett (Nord-Troms and Senja District Court) heard lawyers for Trust Arktikugol and Naftogaz on 19 October, NRK reported. The Barents Observer said on 22 October that a ruling was expected within days. The ship remains in port in Barentsburg with a limited number of crew on board.

The Barents Observer said Naftogaz also has court orders for five Russian-owned properties in Oslo, according to VG. VG reported seizures of four bank accounts, 15 cars and 62 snowmobiles. Dagens Næringsliv reported earlier that the Russki Dom travel centre in Longyearbyen had been seized. The Governor rejected the Barents Observer's request for information about other assets, and Justis- og beredskapsdepartementet (the Ministry of Justice and Public Security) has not answered its questions. In mid-September the Norwegian government fast-tracked a special regulation on supplies to the Russian settlements, the paper said. The ministry adopted the regulation on 18 September. It limits seizure of assets in or on the way to Svalbard's local communities when they are needed to keep those communities running. The ministry said supply lines to some communities on Svalbard are more exposed than on the mainland.

Polar Journal said the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador on 3 September and said Norway had breached the Svalbard Treaty. Reuters reported, in a text carried by Arctic Today, that Moscow accused Norway of piracy after the seizure. The Russian ambassador to Norway, Nikolai Korchunov, said lawyers would challenge the decision in court, according to Polar Journal. It said the Ministry of Justice described Norway as not a party to the dispute, said the Governor had only enforced the order and said Russia could ask for a further judicial review. The 69 passengers and crew reached Russia on 8 September via Kirkenes, Polar Journal and Reuters said.

Correction, 26 October 2026: an earlier version's headline said Norway had seized the Russian research vessel. A district court in northern Norway granted Naftogaz's application to seize the Professor Molchanov, which is held in Barentsburg.

Coverage: Demokratis, Polar Journal, The Barents Observer, Arctic Today, NRK