Russia has called on civilian ships to leave Norwegian waters during the ongoing military exercises. Norwegian fishermen are not interested in Russia’s demands.
– We have not received any notification from the authorities that we should leave the area. We stay here, owning a fishing boat Dag Jøslund says the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation for NRK.
Jøslund, like many others, is fishing in the Barents Sea near the island of Bjørnøya, and one could not conclude that anything is wrong from his words. In reality, there is a tense atmosphere in the vicinity of Norway’s Svalbard.
On Friday, Russia’s Northern Fleet began a large-scale military exercise in Norwegian waters in the Barents Sea. of the Barents Observer 20 larger Russian ships, submarines, smaller support vessels and more than 8,000 soldiers will take part in the exercise, which will continue until Tuesday.
Before the military exercise, Russia announced that it would close two sea areas and the airspace above them. At the same time, Russia said that it intends to conduct missile tests during the exercises.
The areas declared by Russia are located just south and north of the island of Bjørnøya.
Several Norwegian fishing vessels and one research vessel are still located in both areas. Jøslund’s own ship “Nokasa” is located about 180 kilometers south of the island of Bjørnøya.
“This is a clear exaggeration”
NRK has spoken with several fishermen in the training area. Many of them refuse to follow Russian orders.
– The closure of the sea area came completely unexpectedly and at a really bad time, director of Nordfjord havfiske Odd Einar Mortensen tells NRK.
Mortensen, like many other fishermen, closely follows the development of the situation. He and his crew have not yet agreed to leave the area.
Also CEO of Atlantic Seafish Kjell-Gunnar Hoddevik says he is constantly assessing the situation with his crew. According to him, it is completely unacceptable that Russia believes it can evict Norwegians from its own fishing waters.
– We have never experienced anything similar in the Norwegian sea area. This is a clear exaggeration, and we are not going to go anywhere lightly, says Hoddevik.
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Russia has the right to train in Norwegian waters
Director of the Norwegian fishing company Fiskebåt Autun Maråk has made many complaints to the Norwegian authorities about the negative effects of Russian exercises on fishing activities in the area.
However, according to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia has every right to conduct military exercises in the waters of foreign countries.
– The Law of the Sea gives states the right to exercise in the economic zones of other countries, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ane Haavardsdatter Lunde tells.
At the same time, he states that military exercises must be carried out in compliance with laws and international civil rights.
According to Mårak, it is very strange that a country that has started a war in its neighboring country is allowed to conduct exercises in Norwegian waters.
Norwegian Coast Guard operational manager Njål Røkenes According to Russia, fishermen who are outraged by the demands have no obligation to leave the area.
– The party conducting the missile tests must make sure that there are no other ships in the area, he says.
Spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces Reidar Flasnesin according to the country’s armed forces does not take a position on whether the fishermen should leave the training area declared by Russia. However, according to him, Russia should not fire missiles in areas where civilian ships are located.