Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik, and Chief of Defence General Eirik Kristoffersen speak to the media on the status of the purchase of British-made frigates, at the prime minister's office in Oslo, Norway, August 31, 2025. NTB/Rodrigo Freitas via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NORWAY OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NORWAY.
By Ott Ummelas
Feb 18, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Leaders from two Nordic states expressed skepticism over ambitions to seize vessels linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, signaling that proposals among allies to tighten restrictions on the Kremlin’s war economy face limits.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and his Icelandic counterpart, Kristrun Frostadottir, said their authorities were not considering seizing vessels, though they were weighing options to tighten inspections of vessels in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea.
The comments present a counterpoint after defense officials from the Baltic and Nordic region met last week to discuss tougher measures, including seizures. The meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a group of 10 nations, took place on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
“Norway hasn’t been talking about seizing anybody’s ships — but we are talking about having order and security and predictability in maritime transport,” Store told reporters in Oslo Wednesday alongside Frostadottir. The Icelandic premier said options for seizure weren’t being discussed.
At the JEF meeting in Munich, UK Defense Secretary John Healey was joined by British military chief Richard Knighton to present options including joint seizure operations for oil tankers critical for funding Russia’s war in Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Read More: UK and European Allies Weigh Seizing Russian Shadow Fleet Ships
Norway said last week it will indefinitely extend a measure requesting foreign-registered oil tankers in its exclusive economic zone to provide voluntary insurance information, which had been temporarily introduced last August. It has supported all European Union sanctions targeting the shadow fleet and maintains “close dialogue with other flag and port states about challenges and possible measures,” it said then.
“We want to secure that our coasts are safe, that there is not what I would call irregular shipping transportation happening in international waters, and call up and inspect if necessary to see to it that this is happening according to the rules,” Store said Wednesday.
Read More: European Nations Issue Warning to Russia-Linked Shadow Fleet
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.
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