It was Sør-Varanger newspaper that mentioned the case first. The companies are also being investigated for breaches of the Export Control Act. Director of Communications in PST, Trond Hugubakken, says this to news: – PST has started 20 investigative cases after February 2022, which concern possible violations of the sanctions regulations and export control legislation. – We do not wish to provide any further information about which part of the country these investigations are taking place. There are 20 cases nationwide. We do not want to confirm or give any more information about where in the country they take place, says Hugubakken. – How serious is this? – It is difficult to say anything about severity. There are suspicions of possible violations of the sanctions regulations that apply to Russia and export control legislation. These are offenses that are serious in themselves, emphasizes Hugubakken. Possible violations of the law In Tromsø, the port authorities admit that there are possible violations of the sanctions. – We admit that we have not been good enough to familiarize ourselves with the regulations. We have now taken measures and will follow up on the clarifications that have come from the Norwegian authorities about which services we are allowed to offer to Russian trawlers, says maritime director in the port of Tromsø, Knut-Ivar Bendiksen to news Troms and Finnmark. Two Russian trawlers have been docked in Tromsø at the quay facilities of the municipally owned Tromsø harbour. The vessels have been in port since December 2022 and February 2023 respectively. They have announced their departure next week. – As of today, we have two vessels on our docks. We have approached them and informed them that they must make known which permits they have from the Norwegian authorities, says Bendiksen. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies that new sanctions have been introduced Earlier on Friday, the Kimek shipyard in Kirkenes announced mass redundancies for its employees, and indicated that the government is tightening sanctions against Russia. But to news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies that the sanctions have now been tightened. – The rules have been the same all along. What we are doing today is that we are reminding all actors that it is basically forbidden to provide shipyard services also to Russian ships in Norway, says Eivind Vad Petersson in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. – Have any Norwegian companies broken the sanctions rules? – Information we have received from the various control bodies we have means that there is reason to come out with such a reminder about this. Whether there are specific violations or not, it is not up to me to finally decide, he says. Kimek director Greger Mannsverk recalls that both the prime minister, the minister for industry and the finance minister have visited the shipyard. – They have been around the shipyard and seen for themselves what Kimek is doing on Russian vessels. There has not been a single negative comment from any of them that what we are doing could be in breach of the sanctions, says Mannsverk. When asked about this, Eivind Vad Petersson in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replies: – All Norwegian businesses have an independent duty to ensure that they follow Norwegian law and regulations, regardless of who comes to visit, says Petersson. Quotes from PST’s director of communications, Trond Hugubakken:
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PST is investigating several Norwegian companies for sanctions violations – news Troms and Finnmark
