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Norway seizes Russian research ship in Arctic waters at Kiev’s request

Signs of the Times, 3 Sept 26

The Professor Molchanov, which was carrying scientists, passengers and vital supplies, was seized in Svalbard as Ukraine’s Naftogaz pursues Russian assets.

Norway has seized a Russian research vessel in Svalbard at the request of Kiev, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to denounce the capture of civilian vessels as “state terrorism.”

The vessel, called the Professor Molchanov, was detained while docked in Barentsburg, a Russian-operated settlement on the Norwegian-administered Arctic archipelago. The ship has been barred from leaving after a local court granted a request by Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz.

Moscow has since summoned Norway’s ambassador in protest and vowed to challenge the seizure.

Why was a Russian state vessel in Norway in the first place, why does Kiev want it, and what could happen to the ship now?

What exactly happened

The Professor Molchanov arrived in Barentsburg on Tuesday on a scheduled voyage from Murmansk carrying scientists, passengers and supplies for the Russian settlements on the Norwegian-administered Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.

Norwegian officials first boarded the vessel for what Svalbard Governor Lars Fause described as an ordinary border and customs inspection, of a kind the ship had undergone numerous times before.

On Wednesday, Norwegian police, accompanied by an interpreter, boarded the ship again and read a court order to its captain, barring the vessel from leaving. Nobody aboard was arrested.

The order was issued on August 31 by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court after an application from Ukraine’s Naftogaz.

What happened to the passengers and crew

The exact number of people on board when the ship arrived in Barentsburg has not been officially confirmed. The Professor Molchanov can accommodate up to 80 people, including at least 20 crew members and as many as 60 scientists and other expedition personnel.

Norwegian media have reported that around 50 passengers and crew were affected by the seizure………………………………………………

The Professor Molchanov

The ship, named after renowned Soviet meteorologist Pavel Molchanov, is a Russian state-owned, ice-strengthened research vessel with more than four decades of experience operating in polar waters.

Built in Finland for the Soviet hydrometeorological service and launched in late 1982, the 71-meter-long ship was designed for Arctic oceanographic and weather research. It carries four laboratories on board and can accommodate dozens of researchers alongside its crew.

The ship continues to be actively used in Arctic research, including studies of weather, marine ecosystems, microbiology, biodiversity and environmental conditions in the Barents and Kara seas…………………..

Why is goes to Svalbard

The voyage to Svalbard was part of a regular route between Murmansk and Barentsburg, a Russian mining settlement where the state-owned Arktikugol trust has operated for decades.

Since 2025, the Professor Molchanov has carried scientists, Arktikugol employees, contractors, family members and supplies to Barentsburg and another Russian settlement called Pyramida. Ten round trips were planned for 2026………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. https://www.sott.net/article/508230-Piracy-Norway-seizes-Russian-research-ship-in-Arctic-waters-at-Kievs-request

September 8, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, Russia, weapons and war