Danish Military Called to Let Russian Ship Sail Free Ahead of Arrest in Legal Dispute – Report

Experts have called the case surrounding the Russian research ship "Akademik Ioffe", currently detained in Denmark, a "hot-button issue" and a "hot potato", warning of security policy implications.

Prior to the arrest of the Russian research ship "Akademik Ioffe", the Danish Defence Command made the court aware that it considered the subsequently detained vessel a state ship. According to maritime law, state ships cannot be arrested and must therefore be allowed to sail freely, Danish Radio has reported, citing court documents.

Last week, the state-owned Russian research ship "Akademik Ioffe" was detained in Skagen by the court in Hjørring on behalf of a Canadian travel company due to a financial dispute. Prior to that, however, the court received a warning from the Danish military.

"The military stated that they had been informed that the bailiff intended to arrest the 'Akademik Ioffe'", the bailiff wrote in the court book. "They wanted to make the court aware that the Armed Forces considered the ship in question a state ship owned by Russia, and had given the ship permission to sail into Danish waters for the purpose of bunkering".

Despite the call, the court still decided to detain the vessel in what is called a ship arrest off Skagen harbour, where it is still located.

The intervention of the Armed Forces amazed legal professionals. Among others, University of Southern Denmark professor Kristina Maria Siig called such an intervention "undesirable in principle", given that the executive and judicial branches of government in Denmark are separated.

"There is always reason to be worried when the authorities contact the courts in a specific case. The starting point is that we do not use it in this country. Unless the Ministry of Defence itself is a party to the case", Siig told Danish Radio.

The Defence Command's interference may be due to the case having security policy implications and potentially developing into a "hot-button issue", Defence Academy professor Peter Viggo Jakobsen explained, calling the case a "hot potato".

"There is no doubt that the Defence Command's call illustrates that Denmark would have preferred the ship to have sailed on. Better a sour Canada than a sour Russia", Viggo Jakobsen said. "It shows the dilemma that Denmark is in. Once the legal system starts, you have to let it run".

Flemming Splidsboel Hansen of the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), suggested that Russia is following the case closely and is ready to take further action.

"Of course, we risk that a conflict may break out and be escalated. However, it remains a mild one. From the Russian side, it looks as if they are waiting to see what happens and how the Danish authorities react", Flemming Splidsboel Hansen said.

The 117-metre-long "Akademik Ioffe", named after Soviet physicist Abram Ioffe and run by the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, was on her way back from a scientific expedition in the northeastern part of the Atlantic.

According to Danish broadcaster TV2, it was the Canadian travel company One Ocean Expeditions that asked the Hjørring court to hold the ship as a financial guarantee, as it is now trying to extract $19 million from the ship's owners from a previous dispute. In 2018, the company leased the "Akademik Ioffe" for Arctic cruises. However, the ship ran aground during its first voyage and all subsequent cruises had to be cancelled. The case is currently pending before a Canadian court.