Norway seizes Russian ship in Arctic as Ukraine hunts Moscow's assets over $4.2b debt

Norway has seized a Russian state-owned ship in the Arctic after Ukraine's energy company Naftogaz tracked it down as part of its efforts to recover $4.2 billion from Moscow.

The vessel named Professor Molchanov was seized on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, after arriving at a Russian mining settlement known as Barentsburg on Norway's Svalbard archipelago.

Naftogaz, the largest oil and gas company of Ukraine, has been trying to make Russia pay since 2016, when it launched legal action over property taken from the company after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

A tribunal in The Hague ruled in 2023 that Russia must pay Naftogaz around $4.22 billion, plus interest and legal costs. Moscow has not paid the money.

So Naftogaz has started looking for Russian assets in other countries.

According to the U.S. law firm, which is representing the energy company, they had been tracking the Russian vessel for months and knew that the ship would be in Norwegian waters, therefore it went to a Norwegian court to get it seized.

The Nord-Troms and Senja District Court approved the request on August 31.

The ship is now being held in Barentsburg and cannot leave. The Governor of Svalbard said Norwegian authorities would take care of the passengers and crew while the vessel remains there.

Russia has reacted angrily. Its Foreign Ministry called the seizure “piracy,” while Russia's ambassador to Norway demanded that the ship be released and said Moscow would challenge the decision.

Norway has said the seizure is a legal matter and not a government action against Russia. The order came through the Norwegian court after Naftogaz sought to enforce the earlier arbitration ruling.

The Professor Molchanov is owned by the Russian Federation and is used for commercial expedition cruises, including trips around Svalbard.

Naftogaz said it will keep looking for Russian assets around the world until Moscow pays the compensation.

The company has already taken similar enforcement action in countries including the United States, Britain, France and Finland.