Norway Arrests Russian Research Vessel Professor Molchanov at Naftogaz’s Request

Norway has arrested the Russian research and passenger vessel Professor Molchanov at the port of Barentsburg in the Svalbard archipelago.

Naftogaz Group’s press service reported the seizure.

The vessel was detained at the request of the Ukrainian company as part of efforts to enforce Russia’s payment of compensation for Ukranian assets seized in annexed Crimea.

The arrest was ordered by the District Court of Nord-Troms and Senja on August 31 to secure payments under a ruling by an international arbitration tribunal.

Russia’s outstanding obligations to Naftogaz Group total approximately $4.2 billion, excluding interest and legal costs.

The Professor Molchanov has recently been used for commercial passenger and research cruises in the Arctic.

Under the court order, the vessel is prohibited from leaving its berth, and the Governor of Svalbard was instructed to take measures to prevent it from being moved.

The vessel was built in 1982 at the Laivateollisuus shipyard in Turku, Finland, under Project 450 (Dmitry Ovtsyn class) as a specialized hydrographic and oceanographic vessel with enhanced ice-class protection. Under the modern classification system, it is designated Ice Arc4.

The vessel is 71.6 meters long, 12.8 meters wide and has a draft of 4.5 meters. It has a displacement of 2,140 tons and is equipped with a 1,560-kW diesel propulsion system that allows it to reach a speed of up to 14 knots.

In the 1990s, the vessel was modernized to carry up to 54 passengers in converted cabins while retaining its ice-strengthened hull for safe navigation in polar waters.

Earlier, the U.S. government sold two sanctioned oil tankers, ERA and LILEO, for scrap. The vessels had previously been seized by the U.S. military during maritime operations to block oil exports.

Both tankers will be sent to shipbreaking facilities in India.