After an interruption of almost three decades, direct passenger voyages between the Russian port city of Murmansk and the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard have resumed. The first voyage of the research vessel Professor Molchanov in 2026 departed on March 8 after being delayed several days due to a severe storm. Originally, departure had been scheduled for March 4. At present, the Professor Molchanov is the only ship connecting Russia with Svalbard.
The transport operations are organized by the Russian state-owned company Arktikugol. The main purpose of the voyages is to transport employees, their family members, scientists, contractors, and supplies to the Russian settlements on Svalbard. At the same time, the trips are increasingly gaining importance for tourism.
In 2025, direct maritime traffic between Murmansk and the Russian mining settlement of Barentsburg resumed after 27 years. Last year, the Professor Molchanov completed a total of five voyages. For 2026, the number of trips is planned to increase to ten.
Regular passenger traffic between Murmansk and Barentsburg had been discontinued in the late 1990s. The reason was the closure of the mine in the settlement of Pyramiden by Arktikugol in 1998 after operations were no longer economically viable. While Pyramiden was abandoned, the mine in Barentsburg remained operational, allowing the settlement to survive.
In addition to supplying the Russian communities, Arktikugol is making stronger efforts to expand tourism on Svalbard. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, flight connections between Russia and Svalbard were suspended. Later, international sanctions led to further restrictions, increasing the importance of the sea route.
Tourists aboard the Professor Molchanov can expect an extensive program after arriving on the archipelago. Planned activities include boat excursions along fjords to glaciers and bird colonies, as well as visits to the Russian settlements of Barentsburg, Pyramiden, Grumant, and Colesbukta. A stay in Longyearbyen, the Norwegian administrative center of Svalbard, is also part of the itinerary.
The direct visa-free sea voyages between Murmansk and Svalbard were organized jointly by the Arktikugol Trust and the company Morskaya Praktika. The project was launched on the instructions of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev. The initiative was supported by the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic, the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Northern UGMS,” and the government of the Murmansk region.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal