Men in arctic protective clothing walk toward an anchored ship. Barentsburg, Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard, Norway.. (Photo by: Sergio Pitamitz / VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The war between Russia and Ukraine has largely stayed inside their borders. Their legal war has spread to NATO countries. Ukraine has waged a sophisticated and state-sponsored lawfare campaign against Russia since 2014. Last week, Norway seized a Russian ship to satisfy a judgment for expropriating property of the Ukrainian company Naftogaz during Russia’s invasion of Crimea. Researchers say the ship has been involved in Russian hybrid operations to contest Norwegian sovereignty over the strategically located Arctic territory of Svalbard. Ukraine’s lawfare campaign has now put Russian assets within reach of creditors everywhere. It has also handed NATO members a new weapon to counter Russian provocations.
On September 2, Norwegian police boarded a 43-year-old research vessel known as the Professor Molchanov at the quay in Barentsburg, Svalbard, a Russian coal-mining settlement of 455 residents operated by Trust Arktikugol. The ship was seized to enforce a $4.22 billion arbitration award won by Naftogaz in 2023 before a tribunal in the Hague. Norway, Finland, Austria, the UK, and France have confirmed that the award is enforceable within their jurisdictions. Naftogaz filed its arrest petition on August 28. The local court granted it without notifying Russia, noting danger in delay because of Russia’s history of taking steps to avoid enforcement of foreign judgments. The ship’s seizure marks the first time enforcement of Ukraine’s lawfare campaign occurred against a physical asset Russia was actively using, as opposed to frozen assets, shares, or real estate. The Norwegian government claims it “was not aware of the case before the decision on arrest was taken.” Svalbard Governor Lars Fause said, “we have only acted as a messenger,” simply enforcing a civil judgment.
How A $4.22 Billion Award Reached A Russian Ship In Svalbard
Ukraine has waged a sophisticated lawfare campaign against Russia since 2014 to achieve strategic victories against Russia and support its war effort. Ukraine’s most prominent victory was obtaining provisional measures in the International Court of Justice for its claim that Russia violated the genocide convention by alleging that Ukraine was committing genocide against ethnic Russians and using that as a pretext for invasion. Ukraine successfully used that judgment to pressure other states to impose sanctions against Russia and bolster Ukraine’s defense. Ukraine and its state-owned companies have also successfully won international arbitrations over Russian expropriation of property and treaty violations. These lawsuits, which will likely continue for decades, will raise the cost of Putin’s war.
Naftogaz’s choice to seize the Professor Molchanov was convenient for Norway. The Svalbard archipelago, with a population of 3,000 is one of the northernmost points of human settlement in the Arctic. Norway administers and retains sovereignty over the islands, but parties to a 1920 treaty can settle and conduct research there, and Norway does not require visas in Svalbard. The area served as a utopia of sorts for many years, with Russians and others from around the world snowmobiling and playing chess together. In recent years, however, Russia has begun to contest Norway’s sovereignty over Svalbard.
Russia has been trying for four years to erode Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard. Russian nationalist demonstrations and provocations have increased in recent years. Among other events, in 2023, Russia began holding a Victory Day military-style parade in Barentsburg, including trucks, snowmobiles and a low-flying helicopter. In 2024, Arktikugol planted three Soviet flags, including one replacing a Norwegian flag on the Barentsburg coal crane. Russia has also asserted itself diplomatically, claiming that Norway is violating the 1920 Treaty.
At the time of the arrest, the Professor Molchanov was involved in activities that support Russian claims over Svalbard. According to the Russian business daily Kommersant, the ship was carrying 51 people at the time of the arrest, including an expedition of the Russian Geographical Society. Vladimir Putin is the head of the Russian Geographical Society’s Board of Trustees and Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, is its President. The other passengers aboard were from the First Arctic Bienniale, which was installing works in Barentsburg and preparing an exhibition in a local museum. The exhibition was supported by miners and specialists from Trust Artikugol.
The Professor Molchanov had been used for several years to conduct seabed mineral surveys around Svalbard. NRK reported the vessel is linked to the Shirshov Institute, which has been sanctioned by the US and Ukraine since December 2022. The US State Department described Shirshov as developing observation and guidance systems for Russia’s navy. A professor interviewed by the New York Times stated that the ship has been used for both surveillance and Russian hybrid operations, ferrying Russian agents who raised Russian flags and promoted Russian claims to Svalbard.
Why A Ship Seizure In Svalbard Puts Russia’s Assets At Risk Everywhere
The value of the seizure goes far beyond the vessel. Naftogaz has asked the court for a forced sale of the ship. But the sale of a 43-year-old converted hull will make barely a dent in a $4.22 billion judgment—and Naftogaz knows it. The symbolism is the greater victory. Naftogaz has shown Russia that if it does not pay the judgment, Naftogaz will bolster its neighbors’ sovereignty and undermine Russia’s nationalist claims to territory abroad. It will also reach Russian assets anywhere it can until the judgment is satisfied.
The seizure of the Professor Molchanov demonstrates that Russian state property can be reached anywhere. Any state-owned fleet in commercial service, like the Professor Molchanov, is now exposed, with broader implications for shipping, marine insurance, and anyone chartering state-linked tonnage. Norway has also demonstrated—wittingly or not—that Ukraine’s lawfare can have other geopolitical consequences for Russia. A commercial creditor’s actions can inadvertently escalate geopolitical tensions. They can also be a stealthy tool for countering Russia’s hybrid warfare.
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