Norway Detains Chinese Vessel Ya Qing Hai Yang Over Invalid Flag Registration

Norwegian maritime authorities detained the Chinese-owned heavy-lift vessel Ya Qing Hai Yang after an inspection found that the ship lacked valid flag registration and the required certificates. The vessel had previously been sanctioned for its involvement in delivering equipment for Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project.

Norway's Maritime Authority inspected the vessel on October 13 in Andfjorden, off the Vesterålen islands in the north of the country, where it had sought shelter from bad weather. Dag Inge Aarhus, the agency's director of communications, explained that the inspection found the vessel did not have valid flag registration or the necessary certificates, and it was therefore detained until further notice. The ship was required to regularize its registration and documentation before Norway would consider releasing it, and as of November 3 and 4 it remained at anchor in the same area.

The Ya Qing Hai Yang previously operated under the name Ocean 28 and in October 2024 transported power generation modules from China to the Utrenniy terminal, which supplies Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 project on the Gydan Peninsula. The United States sanctioned the vessel and its operator, identified as Hongkong Yaqing Shipping Co Limited, in January 2025, and the European Union also included it on its sanctions lists. Despite this history, Norwegian authorities clarified that the detention was based on registration and certification deficiencies, not on the vessel's sanctioned status.

The case was described as the first known Arctic detention of a Chinese vessel linked to Russia's so-called shadow fleet, though Aarhus noted that historical records would need to be reviewed before confirming whether this is unprecedented for Norway. Until now, the country had prioritized monitoring and voluntary verification of insurance documentation over boarding or detaining vessels suspected of belonging to that fleet.

A second Chinese-owned heavy-lift vessel, the Jian Yang Cheng He, was also inspected in Andfjorden, where five deficiencies were found, including lack of order and cleanliness, inadequately protected hot surfaces, and documentation requiring updates, but it was not detained. That vessel briefly left the fjord on October 30 and returned about twelve hours later, with authorization from Norway's Joint Headquarters to seek shelter again. Both vessels had sailed from China via the Northern Sea Route during the summer and were later spotted near Murmansk and along the maritime border between Norway and Russia.