The Russian Navy’s Yantar reconnaissance ship was chasing the Norwegian research vessel Kronprins Haakon in the Fram Strait.
The incident took place on September 11 between Greenland and Svalbard. It lasted 18 hours. According to the publication, the Yantar ship is used for reconnaissance.
At some point, the Norwegian vessel’s radar detected a Russian ship. It was 370 meters away. Another report says that the Yantar came within 200 meters.
Hallgeir Magne Johansen, the captain of the Norwegian ship, decided to contact the Russians. He asked the crew to keep a safe distance. Yantar representatives did not respond immediately. They stated that they were “interested to see how the Norwegians do operations.”
The Russian vessel repeated the actions of the Norwegian ship. The captain of the Kronprins Haakon did not understand the behavior of the other ship.
“I can’t find any other explanation than that this is an attempt to provoke us or the coast guard,” he said.
Several ministries received information about this case. All of them agreed that Yantar complied with the rules of navigation in international waters.
Vegard Norstad Finberg, spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces, said the coast guard was nearby throughout the entire time. He noted that the Russian ship did not physically interfere with the Norwegians. So they were able to continue their research activities.
