Norwegian authorities have seized a Russian cruise ship in the Arctic on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, which is seeking to enforce a $4.22 billion compensation award for assets that Moscow
Norwegian authorities have seized a Russian cruise ship in the Arctic on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, which is seeking to enforce a $4.22 billion compensation award for assets that Moscow took when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Officials said the vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was seized late on Wednesday in Barentsburg, a coal mining settlement that Russia operates on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the terms of a 1920 treaty.
Russia called the arrest of the ship an act of piracy and said it had summoned the Norwegian ambassador to deliver a strong protest. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it would work to secure the vessel's release.
"Amid the restrictive measures imposed by Norway against Russia on Svalbard - measures that violate international law - Russian organizations and citizens operating on the archipelago are effectively under blockade," it said, accusing Norway of violating the treaty.
Norway said the matter was between Naftogaz and Russia and did not involve the Oslo government.
NAFTOGAZ FIGHTS LONG LEGAL BATTLE WITH RUSSIA
Naftogaz has been pursuing Russia since 2016 to seek compensation for the expropriation of its property in Crimea. An arbitration court in The Hague ordered Russia
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