Russian crab vessels at port in Kirkenes. Photo:
Thomas Nilsen
Government prolongs Russia's permission
to call on ports in Northern Norway
The Norwegian Government on Friday made
clear that Russian fishing vessels are welcome to visit the three ports of
Tromsø, Båtsfjord and Kirkenes. Simultaneously, stricter control measures are
introduced.
By
Thomas Nilsen
July 05, 2024
“It’s
a fundamental interest for Norway to maintain the fish stocks in the Barents
Sea. This is important for employment and people in the north, especially so
for Finnmark,” says Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Marianne Sivertsen
Næss.
Norway
was soon to introduce exceptions to EU-sanctions on Russian vessels to European
ports after the outbreak of the full-scale war against Ukraine in February
2022. Later, measures were taken to strengthen control and port calls were limited to three ports.
Further
restrictions will now be implemented, the Government says in a statement Friday afternoon.
“Control
activity is already high, but the police and customs are now strengthening
their controls, and we are placing stricter requirements on Russian fishing
vessels when staying in port,” says Minister of Justice and Public Security,
Emilie Enger Mehl.
Sabotage
fear
Russian
vessels will from now only get access to pre-defined areas in the harbors,
Customs will work in closer cooperation with the Police Security Service (PST),
and the Armed Forces will be in charge of control at sea.
A
Russian flagged ship will only be allowed to stay in port for a maximum of five
days, the Government makes clear.
The
new regulations are introduced amid increased fear of hybrid sabotage
operations across Europe by actors linked to Moscow.
There
is a growing concern in northern Europe about Russia targeting seabed
infrastructure like communication cables and pipelines, the EU Today reported this week.
Russia
is totally unhappy with Norway limiting access of trawlers and other fishing
vessels to harbors along the coast. The two countries shares common stocks of
cod and other spices in the Norwegian- and Barents Seas.
“The
Russian side considers Norway’s unilateral restrictions concerning Russian
fishing vessels to be illegitimate,” the protocol for this year’s fishery agreement reads.
Moscow
continues with a direct threat:
“In
the event that further unilateral restrictions will apply to the Russian
fishing vessels’ access to ports in Norway are introduced, the Russian
party reserves the right to suspend this protocol without regard to the
deadlines set in §7 of the Rules of Procedure for the Norwegian-Russian Joint
Fisheries Commission.”
It
is this statement that scares the Norwegian Government.
Minister Marianne
Sivertsen Næss says the new regulations “take care of both sustainable
(fishery) management and better control in ports.”
Chief
of Police in Finnmark, Ellen Katrine Hætta, has previously said it is difficult
to have a good control of all Russian ships.
Asked
by TV2 about possible export of sanctioned items, Hætta
said: “We have no reason to believe that it has not happened.”
Last
winter, NRK together with other Nordic broadcasters, documented that Russian
fishing vessels sailing in and out of Tromsø had a special interest in US
Navy submarines when they made port calls after missions in northern
waters.
The
documentary, The Shadow War, also pointed to suspicious sailings by Russian
trawlers near Norwegian critical subsea infrastructure.
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