How Norway was able to arrest a Russian state-owned ship in Svalbard
Norwegian authorities arrested the Russian state-owned vessel Professor Molchanov in Svalbard at the request of Ukraine's Naftogaz. A legal analysis suggests such action is possible only in narrow circumstances and does not amount to a general licence to seize Russian ships.
On 2 September, Norwegian authorities seized the Russian state-owned vessel Professor Molchanov in the port of Barentsburg in Svalbard. The order came from the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court at the request of Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz. The company is trying to enforce a USD 4.22 billion arbitration award against Russia over energy assets expropriated after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia has refused to pay, but the award has already been recognised as enforceable in Norway.
State immunity
States normally enjoy immunity from foreign courts, and their property is shielded from enforcement measures. These are separate matters: a court's power to hear a claim against a foreign state does not automatically allow it to seize that state's assets. The UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property, which Norway ratified in 2006 although it is not yet in force internationally, reflects a restrictive approach. Commercial assets receive less protection than property used for sovereign purposes. The ship's use is therefore decisive. Naftogaz says the Professor Molchanov is used for commercial expedition cruises, including trips to Svalbard.
Jurisdiction in Svalbard
Svalbard is part of Norway, but it has a special status under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty. The treaty gives nationals and companies of signatory states, including Russia, equal rights to access, fishing, mining and commercial activity, but this is not shared sovereignty. Norway holds full and absolute sovereignty, so Russian operators must follow Norwegian law. The Governor of Svalbard, as the local enforcement authority, was responsible for stopping the ship from leaving Barentsburg.
Law of the sea and the Baltic
The vessel was arrested in port, not while passing through Norway's exclusive economic zone or territorial sea, which placed it firmly within Norwegian jurisdiction. The Baltic Sea is entirely covered by coastal states' territorial seas and exclusive economic zones. A state could not normally arrest a Russian vessel just for passing through its economic zone. If a Russian state-owned ship entered a Baltic port or internal waters, an arrest might be possible, depending on recognition of the award, domestic procedural rules and state immunity. The Norwegian case is therefore not a general licence to seize Russian ships.
