Summary: Russian cargo ships are no longer allowed to dock in the Netherlands. One of the reasons is that the Dutch government fears espionage, and the Russian doctrine has been interpreted as a militarization of the Russian fishing fleet. The Russian fishing group Norebo has received help from the Norwegian company Silver Sea to transport the fish. This is not contrary to the sanctions rules. Russian fish has not been sanctioned by the EU. Norebo rejects the accusations of espionage and believes that Western experts have misunderstood the doctrine. ————————————-The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. In a deserted fjord on Svalbard, the Russian cargo ship “Belomorye” lies side by side with the Norwegian freezer ship “Silver Copenhagen”. Normally, Norwegian ships do not accept fish from Russian ships, but this time 2,000 tonnes of frozen fish are lifted over to the Norwegian ship. – Here is a safe harbor where transshipment can take place, says Tormod Bo Fossmark of the Norwegian company Silver Sea. They are the ones who own “Silver Copenhagen”. The help from Norway comes after new restrictions on cargo ships from Russia. Russian fish has so far not been sanctioned by the EU. The Netherlands has been the country in Europe that has received the most Russian seafood in recent years. According to Russian Interfax, they will have received over 130,000 tonnes of Russian seafood in 2023. This was an increase from the previous year. But at the end of May, the cargo ship “Belomorye” was still refused access to the port of Eemshaven in the Netherlands. The ship belongs to Norebo, which is Russia’s largest fishing group. According to the newspaper Pointer, the reason is that the Dutch government fears espionage. Rejects accusation of espionage – We fish and catch in the same way as before, writes Norebo spokesperson Sergej Sennikov. Norebo sells fish worth several billion kroner each year, and is the company that has had the most fishing quotas for cod in the Barents Sea. Sergej Sennikov is a spokesperson for the Russian fishing group Norebo. He writes that the crew of their vessel has extremely little time when they are in port, and that this time is spent on maintenance and repair of the boat Photo: private The unexpected port refusal led to the cargo ship “Belomorye” having to turn around on the coast of the Netherlands. By then they had sailed for 16 days without landing the fish on board. – The maritime doctrine of Russia has been misinterpreted, clarifies Sennikov. What he is referring to is a document that President Vladimir Putin signed a few months after Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022. – It can be compared to the Emergency Act in Norway. The Norwegian Defense Forces can, for example, demand that the car be used for people or real property, should a war situation arise. This doctrine has been interpreted as a militarization of the Russian fishing fleet. Several experts believe the doctrine requires fishing vessels and other civilian vessels to be available for “special operations” for the Russian army at all times. But Norebo believes the experts in the West have misunderstood. – It allows for civilian vessels to be requisitioned and used by the Russian Navy in wartime or similar situations, and it must be publicly declared, writes Sennikov. According to Sennikov, they have not received such a message. – We have never experienced such things happening to our vessels, writes Sennikov. But associate professor Åse Gilje Østensen at the Norwegian Naval Academy has a different interpretation of the document: – As I understand this document, it does not limit the use of civilian ships for military purposes to war situations, writes Østensen. – Is the West at war with Russia? – Whether Russia and the West are at war, you will get different answers depending on who you ask. But if you ask Russia, you probably are, yes. At least that is the narrative in the Russian media: that you are at war with NATO in Ukraine. Photo: Erlend Koppergård / news – We also see that Russia continuously carries out influence operations in the West, Europe and Norway with the aim of sowing discord and weakening the Western democracies. She points out that in May of this year at the latest, NATO expressed concern over the increasing degree of hybrid attacks on several member states, many aimed at a handful of Eastern European countries. – As long as this has hostile intentions, many will say that we are in a kind of gray zone, where we are neither in direct war with Russia, but where we are also exposed to attacks below the threshold of pure conventional warfare. In December 2023, the Canopus sailed into Eemshaven to deliver frozen fish from the Barents Sea, but now the Dutch authorities refuse them to come ashore. Photo: Beth Mørch Pettersen / news She points out that the big difference between Norway and Russia is that the Norwegian total defense is a defense mechanism, not an attack mechanism. The idea behind total defense is that civil society as a whole, including civil agencies, but also business, supports the Armed Forces’ operations in a crisis. It can be anything from the police, fire service, healthcare, municipalities and many different companies. In short, everyone who ensures that society functions even during a natural disaster or if Norway were to be attacked. There, Russia’s plan differs from Norway’s, she believes. – The Russian doctrine expresses that Russian ships can also have a more offensive role, writes Gilje Østensen. The researcher has previously said that she doubts that Russian sailors have a choice if the Russian authorities ask them to carry out missions for the Russian state. Because Russia has an authoritarian system of government with little legal certainty for its own citizens, nor have they had strong distinctions between civilian and military missions. She believes that under the guise of legal activity, the civilian ships can be a useful military tool. – It is also reflected in practice, where we see that civilian ships have apparently carried out sabotage missions on foreign infrastructure in peacetime, as well as carrying out acquisitions in peacetime. – Something all countries do with Ola Kaldager is a former officer and head of the secret Norwegian intelligence group E14. He explains that intelligence can be seen as war in peace. The goal is to obtain information and uncover hidden threats, so that decision makers can make good decisions. He partially agrees that the Russian doctrine is reminiscent of the Norwegian Emergency Response Act. Ola Kaldager has worked for Norwegian intelligence. He believes the Russian doctrine is not so sensational. Photo: Beth Mørch Pettersen / news – The Russian doctrine is not that sensational. This is something everyone does, says Ola Kaldager. Kaldager says that Norwegian civilians have also been used to gather information for the country’s authorities. – Historically, Norwegian fishing boats have been used for intelligence, because they have been close to Russian territory at sea, says Ola Kaldager. – Is there reason to believe that Norway does not hold in the same way today? – After all, we have two vessels that conduct intelligence. They mostly frolic and walk up in the Barents Sea, and they probably have the equipment they need. So in that sense, there is perhaps less need today, says Kaldager. The Norwegian intelligence ship Marjata on its way to the quay in Hammerfest, 25 November 2023. Photo: Allan Klo / news Nor does researcher Åse Gilje Østensen think there is any widespread use of people for intelligence outside the defense today. – Of course, all Norwegian citizens are free to tip off the Norwegian security authorities about security-threatening incidents, behavior or objects. No to cargo ships – yes to fish The Norwegian company Silver Sea, which stood up for Norebo when they were not allowed to go ashore in the Netherlands, previously had a 20-year collaboration with Norebo. The general manager, Tormod Bo Fossmark, says they have their own people who check that they do not break the sanctions rules when transporting goods to and from Russia. – We relate to the sanctions, but we have been encouraged not to carry out self-sanctions beyond what the authorities have decided, says Bo Fossmark. Delayed by several weeks, the Russian fish was thus recently delivered to port via Norwegian “Silver Copenhagen”. According to the NVWA, which is the Dutch Food, Consumer and Safety Authority, it is completely inside. In an e-mail to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, they confirm that the sanctions do not affect transport vessels that are flagged to another country. Like Norway. Russian crew on board The Norwegian shipping company, Silver Sea, also confirms that some of their crew on board are Russian. The crew has worked for them for many years, but it varies from boat to boat how large a proportion of the crew is from Russia. Fossmark has been asked if he perceives it as a paradox that Russian ships are not allowed to dock in the Netherlands, but that ships with the Norwegian flag and Russian crew are allowed port access. He did not want to comment on that. news has tried to get a comment from the Dutch authorities on how they assess port access for ships that are under the Norwegian flag but with Russian crew. So far they haven’t come up with an answer. Hello! Thank you for reading the matter! We have previously written several matters about the relationship between Norway and Russia: If you have any tips for other matters we should look into more closely, please feel free to contact us. Published 19.06.2024, at 22.55
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Russian cargo ship was refused entry for fear of espionage – here they get Norwegian help – news Nordland
