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SVALBARD

Tourists rescued after Norwegian ship ran aground in Svalbard

Eleven French tourists and four crew members were rescued by helicopter after their ship ran aground in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic, local authorities said Tuesday.

Published: 23 May 2023 15:08 CEST
Pictured is the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard.
Tourists have been rescued from a ship which ran aground in Svalbard. Photo by Vince Gx on Unsplash

No one was hurt in the incident, which occurred late Monday, the governor’s office said in a press release.

It is not yet known why the tourist vessel MS Isbjorn 2 ran aground in a bay of the Isfjord fjord, in the territory twice the size of Belgium and
located a thousand kilometres (600 miles) from the North Pole.

The 15 people onboard were rescued by helicopter and transported to Longyearbyen, the main town of the archipelago, also known as Spitsbergen.

“None of the people onboard were physically injured”, the authorities said. An investigation was launched to determine the cause of the accident. MS Isbjorn 2 was towed to Longyearbyen.

According to the authorities, no notable oil spill was detected in the fragile ecosystem, where 65 percent of the area is protected.

Tourism, alongside scientific research, is one of the pillars of the economy in Svalbard, having taken over from coal mining, which was the main
activity for a long time.

Before Covid, up to 140,000 people a year visited the archipelago, which is home to fewer than 3,000 inhabitants.

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SVALBARD

Norway calls off sale of last private land in Arctic Svalbard

The Norwegian government called offa plan to sell the last privately owned piece of land on the strategic Arctic archipelago of Svalbard on Monday in order to prevent its acquisition by China.

Published: 1 July 2024 12:35 CEST
Norway calls off sale of last private land in Arctic Svalbard

The remote Sore Fagerfjord property in southwestern Svalbard — 60 square kilometres (23 square miles) of mountains, plains and a glacier — was on sale for 300 million euros ($326 million).

The archipelago is located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, in an Arctic region that has become a geopolitical and economic hotspot as the ice melts and relations grow ever frostier between Russia and the West.

Svalbard is governed under an unusual legal framework that allows foreign entities to gain footholds in the region.

A treaty signed in 1920 recognises Norwegian sovereignty over the territory but it also gives citizens of the signatory powers — which include Russia and China — the same rights to exploit its mineral resources.

Russia, for example, has maintained a coal mining community on Svalbard, via the state-run company Trust Arktikugol, for decades.

Yet Norway, keen to protect its sovereignty, would not look kindly on the property falling into foreign hands, and the government said Monday a potential sale will require state approval under national security law.

“The current owners of Sore Fagerfjord… are open to selling to actors that could challenge Norwegian legislation in Svalbard,” Trade and Industry Minister Cecilie Myrseth said.

“It could disturb stability in the region and potentially threaten Norwegian interests,” she added.

Lawyer Per Kyllingstad, who represents the sellers, has previously told AFP that he had received “concrete signs of interest” from potential Chinese buyers who have “been showing a real interest in the Arctic and Svalbard for a long time.”

The piece of land is a unique occasion to grab the “last private land in Svalbard, and, to our knowledge, the last private land in the world’s High Arctic,” he said.

Kyllingstad did not immediately respond to the government announcement.

The property’s seller is a company controlled by a Russian-born Norwegian, according to local media.

Critics are sceptical about the price and feasibility of the sale. The property, in the southwest of the archipelago where no infrastructure exists, covers protected areas where construction and motorised transport are prohibited, stripping it of commercial value.

In 2016, the government paid 33.5 million euros to acquire the second-last piece of private land on Svalbard, near Longyearbyen, which was also reportedly being eyed by Chinese investors.

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