On August 10, 2023, the Russian-language Facebook pages “PAN News” and “Don news” published a video, according to which Norway sold a strategically important military facility, the submarine base, Olavsvern, to Russia for 4.4 million USD. The same video was published on July 29, 2023, on the Russian-language YouTube channel “НОВОСТИ СЕГОДНЯ.”
According to the video, the Norwegian government sold the base, and it was purchased by a private individual, Gunnar Wilhelmsen, who, in turn, sold his property to Russia. The video also mentions that Jens Stoltenberg (the then Prime Minister of Norway) approved the sale of the base. The video mentions that the base attracted the attention of the Norwegian authorities when two Russian ships, “Akademik Nemchinov” and “Akademik Shatskiy,” stopped there – at that time, it was found out that Wilhelmsen had sold the base to the Russians. The video mentions that these ships are equipped with secret technologies with the ability to conduct hydrological and seismic analysis and research at great depths, while the scientists who work on these ships will pass the detailed analysis to the Russian military, which will now acquire a unique opportunity to study the infrastructure of NATO.
On August 4, 2023, the Russian-language propaganda media “Мировое Политическое Шоу” published an article reflecting the identical story.
The claim that Norway sold the military base to Russia is disinformation. In 2013, the Olavsvern military base was decommissioned, and the facility was bought by a Norwegian private investment group. In 2014-2015, Russian ships also used the base’s marina, although Olavsvern was never owned by the Russian government or any Russian company. The information was confirmed to “Myth Detector” by the current owner of the base, WilNor Governmental Services AS, which purchased the base in 2020.
Olavsvern Naval Base
The construction of the Olavsvern naval base began in 1960. The complex covers 25,000 square meters. There are barracks and various workspaces covering an area of 13,000 square meters, the base has a deep-water port of 3,000 square meters, and the base is also equipped with a submarine dock. The Olavsvern base was an important strategic object during the Cold War. However, in 2000, the Norwegian government considered that Russia was no longer a real threat to Norway and that spending on maintaining this type of naval base was inappropriate.
In 2009, the Norwegian Parliament decided to cease the operation of the base. Soon the base was put up for sale on finn.no. Consequently, the base lost its military purpose. Finally, the base was bought by private investors in 2013, who formed the group Olavsvern Group AS. Among the investors was Gunnar Wilhelmsen, who is named as the owner of the base in a video disseminated on Facebook. The objective of the investment group was to involve the naval base in activities related to the oil extraction industry in the region. The object was actually sold during the prime ministership of Jens Stoltenberg, although its function as a military base was already canceled. Hence, the claim that the base was sold to the Russians – either then or in the following years is disinformation, as the facility was not managed by the Russians.
The sale of the base to a private person attracted special attention in 2015 when it became known that the port of Olavsvern was used by the Russian ships “Akademik Nemchinov” and “Akademik Shatskiy.” Newsweek published an article with the title – “The Secret Norwegian Submarine Base Being Rented by the Russians.” The article mentions that these ships belong to the Russian geophysical company belongs to Sevmorneftegeofizika, a Russian geophysics company that specializes in seismic measuring in deep and shallow waters. Gazprom and other Kremlin-related companies were among the clients of “Sevmorneftegeofizika.” Accordingly, the deployment of “Sevmorneftegeofizika” ships in Olavsverni harbor was also criticized. However, the base was not owned by the Russian government or any Russian company, and such information is not given in the Newsweek article either. The information that the base was never under Russian ownership was confirmed to “Myth Detector” by the current owner of the Olavsverni base, WilNor Governmental Services AS.
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Since 2020 Olavsvern Base is Owned by NATO-Partner Company WilNor Governmental Services AS
The Norwegian company WilNor Governmental Services AS acquired a controlling stake in the Olavsver n Group AS, the owner of the Olavsvern base, in 2020, and accordingly, the base came under its ownership. The company closely cooperates with the Norwegian Armed Forces and NATO and provides logistics services to its partners. Accordingly, the presence of the Norwegian armed forces on the base has been restored to some extent. The company’s goal was to return the military function to Olavsvern, and as a result, the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps conducted winter exercises at the base already in 2021. And in 2020, the Norwegian media wrote that it was possible to place US nuclear submarines at the Olavsvern base.
“Myth Detector” contacted WilNor Governmental Services AS to clarify the details. The company provided “Myth Detector” with the statement of the chief executive officer, Vidar Hole. According to the statement, the oil extraction industry did not develop in the vicinity of the base, and the investors who bought the base in 2013 decided to develop other commercial activities there. As part of this process, the base’s docks were available for various ships to dock and resupply. In 2014-2015, two Russian research ships, “Akademic Nemchinov” and “Akademik Shatskiy,” were parked in the Olavsvern marina. The base’s dock was also used by Russian fishing vessels for short stops and refueling. The company Bunker Oil provided fuel for ships at the Olavsvern base. In correspondence with “Myth Detector,” WilNor Governmental Services AS confirmed that Russian interest groups were never among the owners of the base, and the base was not directly rented to Russian representatives.
“There has never been Russian ownership interests at Olavsvern, nor has the base itself been rented to Russians. The Russian activity at Olavsvern has been limited to port calls and lay up some years ago. WilNor Governmental Services AS (WGS) acquired 66% of the shares in Olavsvern in late 2020. WGS is a company dedicated to logistics support of NATO forces. Since WGS took ownership of the base, Russian and Chinese vessels have not been allowed to call at Olavsvern.- reads the statement of the CEO of WilNor Governmental Services AS.
Therefore, in addition to the fact that the activity of actors connected to Russia at the Olavsvern base was quite limited in the past, it is now completely stopped.
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