Norway closes ports to Russian ships, except fishing

This northern country is not an EU member, but has adopted almost all of the Union's European sanctions against Russia often with minor delays since the Kremlin began an invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

Norway announced on Friday that it would implement the fifth group of sanctions, which the 27-member bloc was hired for three weeks ago, on April 7th.

This includes the ban, with certain exceptions, for road transport of goods from Russia, with which Norway shares the Arctic border through the Storsko crossing between the two countries.

The docking ban on Norwegian ports of Russian-flagged ships will take effect on May 7th and will not affect fishing boats, many of which empty their prey on the Norwegian coast or Norwegian Svalbard Archipelago.

The Arctic Archipelago is governed by a century-old treaty allowing all signatory states, including Russia, to participate equally in economic activities.

“Sanctions are our main means of pressure against the Russian regime”, said Norway's Foreign Affairs Minister Anniken Heitfeld.

The “is key here to stay close to the EU and other countries, to continue to weaken Russia's ability to finance the war in Ukraine”, she added.

Since 1976, under an agreement signed at the height of the Cold War, Norway and Russia have agreed on quotas to catch some species of fish at the Barents Sea, which is home to the valuable reserves of the cod.

Oslo said the exemption was made for fishing boats, in line with EU sanctions. / REL