Taimyr

The 'Taimyr', which is on the sanctions lists of the US and Ukraine because of its involvement in Russian weapon transportation, made a port call in Barentsburg, Svalbard on Dec 22, 2025. The ship set out from Murmansk on Dec 19. On Dec 26, the ship again set out at sea and returned to Murmansk. The 'Taimyr 'is owned and operated by TC Nord Project, a shipping company based in Arkhangelsk. The company and all its ships were subjected to sanctions by Ukraine and the US in May 2022 following involvement in transportation of Russian weapons. Neither the EU, nor Norway, have imposed sanctions against the TC Nord Project and its vessels. It was not clear what kind of cargo was on board the 'Taimyr' in the recent shipment to Barentsburg. The recipient of the goods was most likely Arktikugol, the Russian state-owned coal mining company. Barentsburg is a Russian settlement on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago. It is run by Arktikugol and is subject to Norwegian legislation as part of the Svalbard Treaty. In September, the 'Kapitan Yakovlev' had visited the Norwegian archipelago, which is known as a ship that has taken part in Russian weapons deliveries in the Black Sea as part of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The ship is owned and operated by the Northern Shipping Company, which has been under US and Ukrainian sanctions since May 2022. The 'Kapitan Yakovlev' made port calls in Sevastopol, as well as in Novorossiisk, in 2023 and 2025. As the ship entered the occupied port of Sevastopol, the ship’s captain turned off the AIS.

On April 28, 2021, a fire broke out aboard the 'Taimyr' in the port of Arkhangelsk. Smoke development was noticed in the second cargo hold of the vessel. The packaging inside a container was alight. The area of the fire was 10 square meters. The fire brigade attended with nine units and 33 fire fighters, and the ship's fire extinguishing system was activated.