A Russian military ship demanded that a Norwegian fishing vessel leave the area in the Arctic Ocean, and when it did not comply, opened warning fire. This was reported by the captain of the affected vessel, Eystein Orten.
According to him, he and his crew of five encountered the large anti-submarine ship of the Russian Navy, the Admiral Levchenko, on September 12.
"I was called on the radio: 'This is a Russian military ship; you need to leave this area.' I replied that that was out of the question," Orten recounted the dialogue.
After this, the 163-meter military ship headed towards the 15-meter fishing boat, sounding its horn and making a warning shot that exploded in the water near the Norwegian vessel.
"It was a powerful explosion; our boat shook," said Orten, adding that they quickly moved to a safe distance.
A representative of the Norwegian Armed Forces' Joint Headquarters confirmed that there were radio communications between the Russian military ship and the Norwegian fishing vessel, but the warning shot was not recorded.
The incident occurred in Norway's exclusive economic zone in the Barents Sea, which is divided between Norway and Russia. Prior to this, Russian military forces had conducted exercises and launched missiles in Norway's economic zone, which angered local fishermen.
