The Ust Luga — loaded with $116 million worth of Russian jet fuel — was en route to the port of Slagentangen, about 85 miles south of the capital Oslo, when activists chained themselves to its anchor, Aud Hegli Nordø, a spokesman for Greenpeace Nordic, to CNN.
In an effort to prevent the tanker from docking, seven Greenpeace activists set out in boats across the waters of the Oslofjord, chaining themselves to the anchor, Nordø said.
All were taken into police custody, alongside several activists from climate action group Extinction Rebellion who joined the blockade, a Greenpeace spokesperson confirmed to CNN. The ER activists were later released.
The Ust Luga is now docked in Slagen, according to Marine Traffic tracking site.
“The fact that in the current situation our government still allows imports of Russian fossil fuels is inscrutable,” Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway, said in a statement to CNN.
“I am shocked that Norway is operating as a free port for Russian oil, which we know is financing.” [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s Warfare”.
According to Marine Traffic, the Ust Luga tanker is registered in Hong Kong.
An ExxonMobil spokesperson told CNN in a statement that supplies of Russian fuel to Norway “comply with contracts in place before the invasion.”
“We have not made any new purchases of Russian products since the invasion and there are no plans for future purchases,” she said.
“We are fully compliant with all sanctions and we support internationally coordinated efforts to end Russia’s unprovoked attack,” the spokesperson added.
† Mark Thompson contributed to this report.