A Russian destroyer opened warning fire on a Norwegian ship

The Russian destroyer Admiral Levchenko opens warning fire on a Norwegian fishing vessel in the Barents Sea.

The Norwegian publication FriFagbevegelse reported on this.

The incident involving the shelling of the 15-meter vessel MS Ragnhild Kristine took place on September 12 in the Barents Sea, north of Varde in Norway’s exclusive economic zone.

A Russian Navy ship participating in the Ocean 24 military exercises reported that the Norwegian vessel was in the danger zone and demanded that it leave.

“Not far from where we saw our cables, there was a Russian warship. Then I was contacted by radio, saying: “This is a Russian warship, you need to leave the area,” says Øystein Orten.

However, the crew of the vessel MS Ragnhild Kristine ignored the Russians’ order, explaining that they needed to pick up the cables at sea. Then the destroyer opened warning fire from its cannon in its direction.

“I looked over my shoulder to the starboard side, and there was a warship coming towards us at full speed. The ship first stopped at a distance of 200 meters, which was a bit threatening, I might add. To get our attention, they signaled for 15 seconds and then opened fire. Our hull shook a lot,” he says.

Orten noted that despite the fire, they were not hit. After that, they were forced to leave the area under the escort of the destroyer Admiral Levchenko.

Norway’s response

Norwegian Defense Ministry officials said Norwegian ships are not required to leave Norway’s EEZ during military exercises.

“The Norwegian Armed Forces are aware that there was a dialogue between the vessel MS Ragnhild Kristine and a Russian warship that was training in the declared danger zone,” says Lt. Col. Vegard Finberg, spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters.

However, he noted that the incident took place in the Norwegian economic zone, which is also international waters. This means that ships from all countries are free to use the area as a sea lane or a place for military exercises.

The Russian Embassy in Oslo claimed that it was not aware of the incident.