– We told him that our lawyers are considering the text that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has drawn up, as saying that we may be in breach of the sanctions, says director Greger Mannsverk at the Kimek shipyard. He refers to a meeting that the cornerstone company in Kirkenes had with State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on 1 March this year. By then, almost ten months had passed since the sanctions against Russia were introduced. Greger Mannsverk and the Kimek shipyard make a living repairing Russian boats. Now the work has stopped completely. Photo: Kristina Kalinina / news Mannsverk describes that the Foreign Ministry’s people at the meeting were surprised by what he told. – Then they rolled their eyes and said that we will come back very quickly with a clarification, he says. But a full two months were to pass before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervened. It only happened last week when Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt came up with a reminder of how the sanctions rules against Russia must be followed. In the meantime, according to Mannsverk, it has been impossible to get in touch with the ministry. Russian boats at the Kimek shipyard in Kirkenes on a previous occasion. Photo: Kristina Kalinina / news Believes the rules cannot be misunderstood In Norway, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the sanctions introduced against Russia. news has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson about the meeting with Kimek in March, and why it took over two months before they responded that the yard probably broke the law. In an e-mail to news, he fails to answer any of these questions. He is currently reproducing a comment that the Foreign Minister has made to the media in recent days, that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has long been clear that shipyard services for Russian ships are basically prohibited.” But he also writes: – All Norwegian businesses have an independent duty to comply with laws and regulations, including the Sanctions Act. Norway is a state governed by the rule of law. Norwegian politicians cannot disregard Norwegian law when dealing with individual companies. State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson has chosen not to comment on why it took two months to give Kimek feedback on whether they probably broke the law. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news In Kirkenes, the foreign minister’s reminder has been perceived as a tightening. Anniken Huitfeld flatly rejected during news Helgemorgen on Saturday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may have been unclear about the regulations or that there has been room for misunderstandings, – No, there can be no reason for misunderstandings at all, she said. Had a meeting with PST On the same day that Huitfeldt made his clarification, it also became known that the Police Security Service (PST) is investigating 20 Norwegian companies for violating the sanctions. Greger Mannsverk says he has not received any information that Kimek is being investigated. – I don’t know anything about that, as PST only informs you if charges are brought or if the case is dismissed. However, he had a meeting with PST on April 17 this year. – They said nothing about what we are doing with Russian vessels being illegal, he says. According to PST, they started investigating in February this year, but will not comment on which companies are involved. Employees at Kimek during a demonstration on Monday 15 May. Photo: Christina Gjertsen / news Weakening Norwegian sovereignty At the shipyard in Kirkenes, 74 employees and 13 apprentices may now be out of a job. At the same time, other suppliers may also be affected. On Monday evening, the employees showed their dissatisfaction with the government by holding a demonstration outside the shipyard. On Tuesday, both the Minister for Business and the Minister for Local Government came to Kirkenes, but neither brought any proposals for immediate measures. – If it goes straight west, we will have to consider moving from here, says skilled worker Daniel Malin at Kimek. And this is precisely what the Kirkenes community fears will happen if Malin and his colleagues do not have a job to go to. It could potentially worsen the already declining population in Eastern Finnmark. It can be alarming in terms of maintaining settlements along the border with Russia. Daniel Malin works at Kimek, but now fears losing his job because the sanctions are affecting the company. Photo: Christina Gjersten / news No one reacted to the work Greger Mannsverk is annoyed that none of the politicians have reacted to the fact that Kimek was probably operating illegally. Several people from the government have visited the shipyard after Russia went to war in Ukraine. – We have been in all the country’s newspapers, news and TV 2 have shown what we are doing at Kimek, with pictures of all the ministers and the prime minister present, why the hell don’t they say anything, asks Mannsverk. The sanctions were introduced on the same day that Mannsverk showed the prime minister around the shipyard. On 9 May 2022, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr visited Støre Kimek.8. March 2022 Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold visited the Vedum shipyard. On the same day that Vedum visited Kimek, Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre visited the company in Kirkenes. The Prime Minister’s office has not responded to news’s inquiry into the matter. The Kimek shipyard is clearly visible in the cityscape of Kirkenes. Photo: Kristina Kalinina / news
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The Kimek shipyard notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they broke the sanctions rules – news Troms and Finnmark
