politics
Makes Voluntary Insurance Checks Permanent:
Norway Does Not Intend to Board Shadow Fleet Vessels
Norway does not intend to seize shadow fleet vessels, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said after talks with Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir this week, signalling Oslo’s cautious stance toward shadow fleet tankers operating along its Arctic coastline even as it moves to tighten monitoring measures.
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On Wednesday 18 February, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir (Social Democratic Alliance) visited Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor) in Oslo, Norway.
Norway and Iceland agreed to deepen cooperation on maritime surveillance, Arctic security and infrastructure protection following talks focused on rising geopolitical tensions and increased shipping activity in the High North.
The meeting highlighted shared concerns about Russia’s war in Ukraine, NATO’s northern flank and the growing presence of poorly regulated tanker traffic in Arctic waters, including vessels suspected of carrying Russian oil outside Western sanctions regimes.
Order and security
“Norway hasn’t been talking about seizing anybody’s ships – but we are talking about having order and security and predictability in maritime transport,” Støre said.
He added: “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.”
Norway hasn’t been talking about seizing anybody’s ships
Officials said the leaders discussed joint monitoring in the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap, subsea cable protection, satellite surveillance and coordination between coast guards, reflecting growing NATO focus on Arctic chokepoints.
For Iceland, which lacks its own military, closer cooperation with Norway is central to protecting critical infrastructure and maritime routes. Both sides also discussed energy security and Arctic shipping governance as sea ice declines and traffic rises.
Norway’s approach
Norway used the meeting to underline its policy toward so-called shadow fleet tankers transporting Russian crude through its waters.
In August 2025 Oslo introduced voluntary insurance certificate checks on suspect vessels transiting Norwegian waters. This week the government confirmed the measure would continue indefinitely.
The checks allow Norwegian authorities to request proof of insurance and safety compliance but stop short of boarding or seizing ships, a stance analysts say reflects legal constraints and concern about escalation with Moscow.
Worried
In 2025, several dozen shadow fleet tankers sailed along Norway’s coast from Baltic and Arctic ports toward Asia, often old vessels with opaque ownership structures and questionable insurance.
Shipping analysts cited examples such as the tanker Valera, which transited northbound after loading Russian LNG, and carrier Wen Cheng, which has been circling off Norway’s coast for several weeks.
Norwegian officials worry that accidents involving poorly insured tankers could cause environmental disasters in sensitive Arctic ecosystems.
