Professor Molchanov: Legal dispute over Russian ship in Svalbard

The Norwegian authorities detained the Russian Professor Molchanov in Barentsburg on 2 September under a court order. The measure stems from a compensation claim by Ukrainian energy group Naftogaz against Russia. All 69 passengers and crew members have now returned to Russia. The legal dispute over the ship continues.

The seizure of the Professor Molchanov follows a court decision dated 31 August 2026.
The Governor of Svalbard enforced the order on 2 September 2026 in Barentsburg, the Russian mining settlement on the archipelago under Norwegian sovereignty. According to the Governor’s statement, the ship must remain there until the authority or the competent court decides otherwise.

The measure stems from a compensation dispute over assets in Crimea that has been ongoing for years.
Ukraine’s state-owned energy group Naftogaz is seeking compensation for oil and gas assets that Russia expropriated following its annexation of the peninsula in 2014.

In 2023, an arbitration tribunal in The Hague awarded compensation to Naftogaz and several companies within the group.
The claim that the proceedings in Norway seek to enforce amounts to approximately US$4.22 billion, plus interest and costs. Russia does not recognise the arbitration tribunal’s jurisdiction and has not paid the compensation. Naftogaz is therefore seeking to enforce the claim against Russian state assets abroad.
The seizure of the Professor Molchanov is part of this effort.

The ship’s use as a point of dispute

The Professor Molchanov was built in Turku, Finland, as an ice-strengthened research vessel for the Soviet Union.
She was launched in late 1982 and entered service in 1983. From 1991 onwards, she was used mainly for tourist expedition voyages to the Arctic and Antarctic. From 2012, she served as a training vessel for Russia’s “Arctic Floating University”, whose expeditions took place mainly in the Russian High Arctic.
In June 2025, she began regular voyages between Murmansk and Barentsburg.

The ship’s different uses play an important role in the dispute. The Russian side points to the vessel’s affiliation with the state weather and environmental monitoring service Roshydromet, as well as her scientific tasks and role in supplying the Russian settlements in Svalbard.
On this basis, it claims protection from seizure under state immunity.
Naftogaz, by contrast, points to the ship’s commercial use.

All 69 people have returned to Russia

The 69 passengers and crew members who had originally been due to return to mainland Russia aboard the Professor Molchanov reached Russia on 8 September. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the return journey was organised with the support of the Norwegian authorities and in coordination with Arktikugol and Russian diplomatic missions. It took them to Russia via Kirkenes on the Norwegian mainland.

Russian protest and Norwegian clarification

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Norwegian Ambassador Heidi Olufsen on 3 September and protested against the seizure. It demanded that the seizure be lifted and accused Norway of violating the Svalbard Treaty.

Russia’s ambassador to Norway, Nikolai Korchunov, described the measure to the Russian outlet RBC as a “politically motivated violation of international law”. He based his accusation of coordinated action on the timing of the court order before the ship’s arrival. He announced that lawyers would challenge the decision in court.

The Norwegian Ministry of Justice, however, emphasised that Norway itself was not a party to the legal dispute.
The dispute concerned Naftogaz and Russia. The Governor had merely enforced the court order. The Russian side could request a further judicial review of the measure.

With the return of the passengers and crew members, their journey home is complete.
The legal dispute over the ship remains unaffected: the published order requires her to remain in Barentsburg until a decision to the contrary is made.

Marcel Schütz, PolarJournal