Arbitration Panel Orders Russia to Pay $6.2 Mln for Detaining Greenpeace Ship

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — An international tribunal has ordered Russia to pay the compensation of nearly 5.4 million euros ($6.2 million) to the Netherlands for seizing the Dutch-flagged Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said Tuesday in a press release.

"The Tribunal decided that Russia shall pay to the Netherlands the following sums, with interest: EUR 1,695,126.18 as compensation for damage to the Arctic Sunrise; EUR 600,000 as compensation for non-material damage to the Arctic 30 for their wrongful arrest, prosecution, and detention in Russia; EUR 2,461,935.43 as compensation for material damage resulting from the measures taken by Russia against the Arctic 30; EUR 13,500 as compensation for the costs incurred by the Netherlands for the issuance of a bank guarantee to Russia pursuant to the ITLOS Provisional Measures Order; and EUR 625,000 as reimbursement of Russia’s share of the deposits paid by the Netherlands in the proceedings," the press release said.

In July 2015, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration said it had ruled that Russia should compensate the Netherlands over the illegal seizure of Arctic Sunrise ship, for material and non-material damage, to 30 people on board the vessel, collectively known as the Arctic 30. In August 2015, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia would assess the court's decision and that arbitration tribunal had no jurisdiction in the case.

On September 18, 2013, Greenpeace International used Arctic Sunrise to reach the Russian offshore oil platform Prirazlomnaya, located in the Barents Sea, to protest against drilling in the Arctics. Russian border guards seized the vessel on the next day. All people on board the vessel were detained by Russian authorities after the activists attempted to scale a rig belonging to state-owned gas giant Gazprom. In December, Russia dropped all charges against the Arctic 30 as part of a presidential amnesty.