The Faroe Islands is currently debating whether to follow the example set by Norway and the E.U. in banning two Russian fishing companies from fishing in its waters.
"Recently, the E.U. and Norway implemented sanctions against two Russian shipowners, who have ships that are fishing in Faroese waters. That was not because of the war in Ukraine, but there are reasons to believe that they participate in suspicious activity," Faroese Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen said in a recent parliamentary session. "Within a short time, the government will ask the parliament to extend the current authorization so we can implement the same sanctions.”
The companies, Norebo JSC and Murman Seafood, are under suspicion for espionage activity.
The E.U. placed a ban on the two firms in May, explaining in a council regulation at the time that a ship owned by Murman Seafood had shown suspicious activity, “including its presence in close vicinity to an ongoing NATO military exercise and regular presence close to Norwegian critical infrastructure and military sites.”
Norebo's vessels, meanwhile, had been linked to a “Russian state-sponsored surveillance campaign that employs civilian fishing trawlers to conduct espionage missions directed against civilian and military infrastructure in the North and Baltic seas.”
Norway then placed a ban on the same two firms in early July.
"Recently, we have seen increasingly aggressive Russian hybrid campaigns against allied nations. This trend is expected to continue," Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement at that time, similarly accusing the firms of engaging in intelligence activity targeting critical underwater infrastructure in Norwegian and allied maritime areas.
Norebo in particular has drawn suspicion since at least June of last year, when the Netherlands banned all Russian fishing vessel access to its ports due to suspicious activity carried out by the company, such as Norebo vessels frequently docking near areas where military shipments are taking place. Accusations of suspicious activity carried out by Murman vessels go back even further.
Now, the Faroe Islands is considering whether to institute a similar ban on the two firms.
The self-governing archipelago implemented sanctions against Russia after the latter country started its war against Ukraine in 2022. According to Vørn, the Faroese sea authority, landings from Russian vessels in the Faroes subsequently decreased from more than 27,000 MT in 2022 to 11,000 MT in 2023 and then 673 MT in 2024.
Prime Minister Johannesen also announced in his recent parliamentary speech that the Faroes were planning to donate speedboats to Ukraine's war effort.
However, like Norway, the Faroe Islands has bilateral quota sharing agreements with Russia. According to Vørn, the Faroese sea authority, 28 Russian ships have a license to fish mackerel, herring, and blue whiting in Faroese waters. Melkart-2, a vessel belonging to Murmansk Seafood, is on the list with current licenses in the Faroe Islands. In 2023, two more ships belonging to the same company, Melkart-3 and Melkart-5, landed more than 360 MT of fish in the Faroe Islands.
In its ban, the E.U. singled out Melkart-5 as having engaged in “untypical behavior inconsistent with its regular economic practices and fishing activity.”
To implement sanctions against the two shipowners, the Faroese government needs authorization from parliament. While the prime minister has suggested a ban is necessary, others like Jakob Vestergaard, the former Faroese minister of fisheries, have said the Faroese government should not act hastily.
Vestergaard is a member of the parliament's foreign policy group. In an interview with the Faroese Public Service, KVF.fo, he said that the government should not just blindly follow Norway and the E.U.
"We should not do anything unless we have specific proof [of espionage]," he said.
Bjarni Hammer, a member of parliament who is part of the same party as the prime minister, the Social Democrats, agreed with Vestergaard.
"To be honest, I think we should stay calm. We're talking about fishing vessels with normal fishers. Faroese people don't need to be scared of fishing vessels," he said.
Norebo has denounced any sanctions brought against it, saying in a statement that the "accusations brought are false.
“There is no evidence that can be delivered … to ever substantiate [these] incorrect claims,” the company said.
